If you’ve visited the popular porn site PornHub recently, you may want to have your computer tested for viruses.
A recent report put out by Cybsersecurity firm Proofpoint announced that it had uncovered a malicious program lurking in Pornhub’s advertising network. According to ProofPoint researchers, the virus, called Kovter, had been routinely attacking visitors for over a year.
Here’s how users were infected by the virus: after visiting the site, a new tab would sometimes pop up saying there was a “critical update” for the web browser the visitor was using. If the user clicked the update button, the virus would be downloaded to their computer, where it would then the track users’ personal information and browsing habits.
Fortunately, in this case the malware mostly just took over the user’s computer and used it to click on ads and generate money. But ProofPoint researchers say it could have been much much worse.
“While the payload in this case is ad fraud malware, it could just as easily have been ransomware, an information stealer, or any other malware,” Proofpoint said in the report. “Regardless, threat actors are following the money and looking to more effective combinations of social engineering, targeting and pre-filtering to infect new victims at scale.”
Learn How To Protect Your Computer From Malware
The Federal Trade Commission offers advice on how to protect computers from Malware. Malware is short for “malicious software” and includes viruses and spyware installed on your computer or mobile device without your consent. To learn more, Click Here.
