xHamster Ads – Are You Safe?
Web porn surfers beware, xHamster ads are safe (but not always). The reality is that there is no way to really be completely sure that any ad is truly safe all the time. Even legitimate ads can be at the very least a nuisance. Landing pages (that’s marketer-speak for a web page the ad click takes you to or lands on) leave cookies on your device. Have you ever noticed that after visiting an advertiser’s website, you keep seeing more ads from that same website? That’s a cookie at work! Websites with tons of flashy ads on them can pop open windows or tabs, making it hard for a visitor to leave the site.
Like thousands of other websites, xHamster has served unsafe ads. During September 2015, xHamster, was targeted by a malvertising campaign. Malvertising means malicious ads, or those that intend to cause the user harm by stealing personal information or more likely by installing viruses, redirecting web traffic, or downloading ransomware to a device. The malvertising downloaded a combination of Bedep ad fraud and ransomware known as CryptoWall.
A few days after that malware attack, xHamster was targeted in another malvertising incident. This malware distributed browlock browser-based ransomware.
What is Adware?
Malware is any type of unwanted program, app, or cookie on an electronic device. Annoying or cumbersome malware, including invasive data sniffing cookies, from advertisers is often referred to as adware. Adware is any sort of app or program downloaded by an advertising campaign. It can be assumed that users just want to select an ad and see the goods advertised. Adware downloads additional apps with and sometimes without the users’ knowledge. Although adware may not attempt to hold a device hostage for ransom the way malware does, it can invade users’ privacy and slow down a device’s performance.
Malvertising is the practice of using online ads to deliver malware, ransomware, and other invasive apps. It’s also used to redirect web traffic to make money from other websites.
About xHamster
xHamster is the world’s third most popular porn website. Its content consists of user-generated videos that are uploaded to the site. Although the porn site is almost entirely a video sharing site, xHamster does produce a series called The Sex Factor.
