How to Watch Porn Safely
Here’s How to Enjoy Adult Content Online Without Compromising Your Privacy
Here’s How to Enjoy Adult Content Online Without Compromising Your Privacy
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It’s no secret that internet pornography and computer viruses are concepts that many people associate with one another.
And while that may be an association born from an earlier time — one when people downloaded porn videos rather than just streaming them online, only to find that they’d accidentally downloaded a devious program coded by a hacker looking to steal their personal information or otherwise corrupt their computer — that doesn’t mean that today’s porn sites are now safe havens where nothing bad could ever happen to you or your cherished digital devices.
Yep, while masturbating is totally healthy, watching XXX videos online can be a dangerous habit if you’re not following the necessary steps to protect your data.
Luckily for you, we got sex and porn expert Coleen Singer to give you the scoop on how to enjoy the spicy, steamy content that turns you on — without the risk of getting hacked. Here’s what she had to say — plus a list of some top VPN options to keep you safe online.
Why It’s Important to Protect Your Data
Do you remember way back when, when computers became mainstream and you’d buy all that fancy virus and malware protection to ensure you had a speedy experience? Though technology has majorly evolved over the past decade (and some change), hackers have also mastered their skill and become predators to porno lovers. That’s why certain websites aren’t a great idea.
“It is not porn that you have to be careful of, but rather the website where you are viewing it. Although most porn sites do not harvest much data on users, the danger is that many of the free sites (like tubes) run embedded ads from traffic networks,” Singer explains. “These advertisements come in the form of ‘iFrame’ ads that are served by the advertisers and it is common that some of these companies send out malware and spyware packages embedded in some ads before the ad network catches them.”
Tactics for Safe Online Porn Watching
Just like you’d get insurance for your car, your home and even your body and well-being, you want to make sure you put up protection for your computer and, thus, your top-secret info. Singer says there are many measures you can take to ensure you can safely surf your sexy sites. To name a few tips and tricks:
Say “Yes” to an Ad-Blocker
“Get an ad blocker add-on to your browser that will prevent these iFrames from allowing malware and viruses from getting into your computer or mobile device,” she explains. Usually inexpensive, this will not only protect your info when you’re watching nudes, but also when you’re visiting any site that could be tricky.
Singer says you can download a browser add-on that will tell you exactly what sites are mining your data. A place to start is Ghostery, available for Chrome and Firefox.
Always Browse Incognito
Though a private window will prevent websites from saving to your browsing history and cookies from being fed into your system, Singer adds that it also is helpful for making sure not everyone and their brother knows what type of porn gets you going. “The other security issue to be aware of is protecting your viewing habits from being discovered by others in your family, or your girlfriend, wife, boyfriend, or maybe worse yet, place of work,” she says.
If You’re Visiting Free Sites, Make Sure They’re Encrypted
Free might always seem better than paid, but that isn’t always true when you are seeking the best quality for your computer — or frankly, your porn experience. If you must save some dough and get lost in a free site, Singer says to make sure it’s an encrypted one. “You will know if you are on one of these if the beginning of the site URL, aka website address, displays as “https,” rather than the usual “http://www.”
For a free experience, Singer recommends the following: “Popular adult sites for a wide variety of high quality porn that I would recommend are [all NSFW] Pornpros.com, Vivid.com, EvilAngel.com and Penthouse.com. Specialty sites that are great, safe places include Wasteland.com (BDSM and kinky stuff), Sssh.com (porn for women and couples) and, if you like gay content, NakedSword.com is excellent.”
Oh, and need we mention that part of “good encryption” means choosing a safe and secure password? That means not using your last name, or QWERTY, or password — duh!
But… Try Not to Go to Free Sites
The more something costs, the better chance that you will be safe to view the content. This is because paywalls make sure that the companies get a steady income, making it easier for them to protect your data. “Read porn site reviews from reputable review sites and choose a couple of premium pay sites that offer what you like and get a monthly subscription,” Singer explains. “Paysite owners will always do everything possible to keep their customers safe and offer the highest quality content for less than most people spend at Starbucks over the course of a month!
If you want malware-free porn, then your best bet is to pay, no questions asked. As Singer says, “Porn video files are simply movies encoded for digital distribution and pose no malware threat. It is all of the “other stuff” on the same page you are viewing that leaves you open to data mining and malware delivery. Again, membership sites have ads that do not facilitate this because they want to keep you as a customer and not hurt the device you are using to enjoy their movies or pictures.”
Keep This In Mind When Downloading Movies
If you prefer to download than to stream (old school!), then Singer says to make sure the ones that you add to your computer only have the suffix of .mp4, .mov or .wmv. “These are legitimate video file formats and there is literally no way that they can contain a viral payload,” she explains.
Another tip is to never download a movie from a torrent or file sharing site. Why? Singer says this is where many viruses, malware and scumware payloads are waiting to infect you, as they’re disguised as porn movies. “If you cannot spot the filename suffix in the download link, do not touch it! Best bet of all: do not go to torrents or file sharing sites at all. They are mostly pirated content and filled with all kinds of bad things waiting to happen to you and your computer.”
VPNs That Can Protect You
One more good idea for safe porn-watching? Using a virtual private networks, or VPNs.
What is a VPN? It’s a network that’s created using public internet wires to connect to a private network, protecting your IP address and other computer-specific info you might want to hide. Especially since some less-than-trustworthy adult sites may creep across your browser, being cautious is never a bad idea. Here are some of AskMen’s top VPN picks to check out:
NordVPN
As an older VPN service, you can rely on the quality of NordVPN. Not only does it protect your WiFi when you connect to hot spots, but it gives you full range of the Internet, no matter where you roam (pun intended). Your search history is also completely private, since the company uses military-grade encryption.
Check out NordVPN
Private Internet Access
Another valued company by a no-brainer name, Private Internet Access, gives your surfing habits multiple layers of protection, using VPN tunneling. Not only do they offer protection on your computer, but if you happen to sneak in a quick ‘stress-reliever’ mid-day, you can use their VPN service on your smartphone, too. Another unique quality of this VPN services is they operate at the TCP/IP interface level, which in human terms means that both your internet and your programs are held secret and secure.
Check out Private Internet Access
IPVanish
Travel frequently and need your laptop bookmarked with your go-to sites, to come along for the journey? For men on the go, having reliable internet speeds is important, since various countries offer the same quality as America. IPVanish spans more than 40,000 IPs on more than 850 servers in more than 60 countries, so you can play around anonymously, no matter where your nomadic life takes you.
Check out IPVanish
Hide.me
True to name, hide.me does what it claims: makes you invisible! In addition to hide speeds and a vocal fan base, hide.me also is adamant about one thing: they never store logs of your online activity, ever. Because your logs can be linked back to you, this may jeopardize your security. While other VPNs might keep logs, hide.me doesn’t, giving you another layer of peace of mind.
Check out Hide.me
HideMyAss (AVG)
This sarcastic company might come across as less than top-tier when you Google them, but they have a robust offering to porn-lovers, especially if you watch via your television. In fact, you can use their VPN services on any device you have – from internet enabled TVs and game consoles to computers and smartphones and more. Another perk? You can have two going at the same time, no sweat.
Check out HideMyAss
Avast
For a more expensive option, consider the professional-grade anti-virus VPN, Avast. With more than 400 million people using their service worldwide, you can bet your hard-earned cash it’s worth the investment. Especially if you’re connecting to various open servers or you just want an extra layer of security, Avast is a viable option.
Check out Avast
TunnelBear
Don’t be intimidated by their bear, he means well. And he wants to keep you safe. While TunnelBear offers many of the same perks that other VPNs do, more than anything else, TunnelBear focuses on being user-friendly. Since VPNs can be confusing at first download, their easy-to-navigate interface makes it simple to get started — and get stroking.
Check out TunnelBear
Is Pornhub Safe?
To put it bluntly: nope.
As Singer warns, they are collecting more and more information about you the more often you visit (which is likely almost daily). “By setting cookies, they can keep track of everything you do on their site, and potentially certain other sites, and sell this data to other companies,” she explains. “They also use this data for publicity stunts that they release to mainstream media outlets that serve as ‘clickbait’ to get readers to come to their site so they can harvest even more data!”
Another more moral reason to not bookmark Pornhub or similar sites is because they don’t always do the right thing by their performers and production crews.
“Every full-length movie you watch on these sites deprives the performers, studios, editors, crews and others in the content creation sector of income. This has dramatically damaged the legitimate porn industry,” Singer says.
How Do You Know If Porn Is Safe and Legal?
Singer explains that most downloaded porn is safe because it comes as a video file in the MP4 format. With streaming porn, use trusted sites and a good ad-blocker.
But legal porn? Singer says that’s a trickier topic.
“If you want to make sure that the porn you are viewing is legal, always look at the bottom of every web page you are watching porn on for a link to a ’18 U.S.C. 2257 Record-Keeping Requirements Compliance Statement,’” she explains. “This is a federal law in the U.S. and 2257 is the system in place that shows proof that all models and performers are over the age of 18 and shot the film with full consent.”
One other thing to look for on porn sites? Singer says to keep an eye out for “a page about their ethics and safe practices. This is becoming very common with ethical studios and shows they are treating their performers professionally. An example can be seen here.”
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Source: AskMen
