by Tim Leogrande, BSIT, MSCP, Ed.S.
MARCH 19 2026 • 16 MIN 33 SEC READ
For reasons which are likely obvious from the title, I’ve put off writing this post for quite some time due to the fact that it discusses a topic I would normally prefer to avoid. Because of what I do for a living, however, I’m asked about it both earnestly and frequently enough that it warrants a direct, thoughtful, and practical response. So it’s time to belly-up to the bar, knock back a shot of Macallan, slide a few greenbacks to the barkeep, and address the elephant in the VIP room:
Is it safe to visit adult websites?
In most cases, the answer is no — at least not without first taking the appropriate security measures. This doesn’t mean that these sites are intentionally designed to harm visitors because that’s very rarely the case. However, the adult-oriented web ecosystem has historically attracted a disproportionate quantity of malicious activity. Trojan horses, adware, ransomware, spyware, and cryptojackers are all far more common within this segment of the Internet than at mainstream websites.
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The good news is that the tools and techniques I’m about to discuss will not only make users safer at these sites, but at just about any corner of the Internet they may choose to visit.
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While reasonable people can disagree about the morality and ethics of adult-oriented websites — and rest assured I harbor strong personal opinions on this topic — as a security professional and educator I’m not the least bit interested in admonishing their stakeholders or subscribers. My mandate is simple, to keep end users safe no matter what legal **uses of computing technology they choose to engage in.
Types of Adult Content Sites
Why These Sites Attract Cybercriminals
Since the popularity of these sites is so enormous (with over 40 billion visits to one subscription platform each year) and many of their visitors aren’t very tech-savvy, it’s no wonder they attract cybercriminals who are keen to tap into this massive audience. That being said, many popular adult sites are relatively innocuous*.* Their security teams work very hard to keep them that way because most are owned by legitimate corporations. Obviously, it’s poor optics to have potentially millions of paying customers upset about how their computer was bogged-down, or their operating system was completely borked, because they visited one of your company’s digital properties.
Notwithstanding, users can still become targets for malicious software (malware) while visiting these sites; especially the less popular ones with lower security standards and smaller operating budgets. This is because many sites have little control over the advertisements they display to users, so the prevalence of malware can be alarmingly high.
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According to recent estimates, there is an astounding 53% likelihood of encountering malware when visiting the world’s most popular adult website.
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Common Threats Endemic to These Sites
A trojan horse is a type of malware that disguises itself as legitimate code or software. Once inside the system or network, attackers are able to carry out any action that a legitimate user could perform, such as exporting files, modifying data, deleting files, or otherwise altering the contents of the device. Trojans may be packaged in downloads for games, tools, apps, or even software patches. Many Trojan attacks also leverage social engineering tactics, as well as spoofing and phishing, to prompt a desired action from the user. (Cloudstrike, 2022)