Why visiting adult websites could affect your security and privacy?

A lot of folks on the web visit adult websites regularly – and because these websites are popular among users, doesn’t mean they are 100 percent safe. Many of these websites tend to collect user data for reasons unknown to us. Some of them are only there just to take advantage of users because there are a lot of people who are addicted to visiting these pages.

Protect yourself from adult websites

The best option is to avoid visiting adult websites, but if you must, we suggest to keep reading to learn how to protect yourself from dangers. And make no mistake, there are a ton of dangers where adult websites are concerned, so always bear this in mind.

1. Some adult services on the web will spread malware
2. Worry about being tracked
3. You could face legal problems
4. Scams and frauds are associated with adult websites too
5. Your data leaking to the public is a possibility.

Apart from using a good strong Internet Security Suite, we recommend you take the following precautions.

1] Some adult services on the web will spread malware

Malware is a significant problem on the web right now, and much of it can be found on adult websites. Now, we are not saying most adult websites are installing malware to infect user computers, but rather the advertisement they use to fund their service.

You see, because these websites are not able to use Google AdSense and other mainstream advertisement services to make money, they are forced to use those that are not very trusting. Going down this road puts the user at risk, and that is not good. Malvertising is something one needs to be aware of! Sometimes, by simply visiting a website, users can get infected via Drive-by-downloads.

In these cases only, we recommend using a plugin or extension that prevents ads from being displayed to get around the problem as well as a quality pop-up blocker to block popups from redirecting you to malicious pages.

TIP: If you see pop-ups, scan your PC with your antivirus software and one of these Browser Hijacker Removal Tools.

2] Worry about being tracked

Advertisers love to track users across the web, and the same goes for the ones supporting adult websites. These trackers can be used to gather your browsing history, so if you’re the type of person who watches adult content quite often, you should feel violated.

To escape this problem, please use a VPN service. We prefer folks to spend rather than use free VPNs. For those who are not willing to spend some cash, please use the private browsing option found in all major web browsers.

Anti-tracking extensions are also a great bet. We would like to recommend the extension from DuckDuckGo.

3] You could face legal problems

One might believe that visiting one of these many adult websites cannot get anyone in trouble with the law, but that is not true. You see, adult content with children is not legal, and unfortunately, some of these adult services tend to host  X rated content either by choice or by accident when a user uploads.

Watching or downloading these videos can lead to the authorities visiting your home. Try to avoid such situations at all costs.

4] Scams and frauds are associated with adult websites too

Most adult content on the web is available for free, but some websites want users to pay for premium content. Be careful of any website that requires a subscription fee to view content because your monthly fees could skyrocket.

They lure unsuspecting users in with free or affordable trials, and from there, a huge monthly fee is deducted each month. Its quite the scam, and it works.

However, the most troublesome, in our opinion, is ransomware. A website might install one of these malware onto your computer. It will likely get hold of your web history, and from there, the crooks behind it will threaten to release to the public unless money is paid to them.

The best way to solve such problems is to never download anything from these websites, or just use your imagination instead of visiting.

Read: How to best secure web browsers for Windows.

5] Your data leaking to the public is a possibility

OK, so if you must visit one of these many adult websites at 1 am in the morning for whatever reasons, how about never creating an account? Just stay anonymous and have a good time. You see, when an account is created, you put yourself at risk should hackers ever gain access to the website’s user data.

After every visit, we recommend using a junk remover like CCleaner and a good Browser Hijacker Removal Tool like AdwCleaner to scan your system, as a matter of abundant precaution.

Remember what happened to Ashley Maddison? You know, that dating website for married people. The slogan for the service is, “Life is short. Have an affair,” and many people did. Unfortunately for a lot of them, their information was leaked, and as such, their lives were turned upside down.

Related read: How to block adult websites in Windows.

Don’t ever fall into a situation like that. Simply refuse to use any adult website that requires your personal information.