Print an Expertek Tip: What-are-Sin-Sites-and-why-are-they-bad

How to avoid malware infections from known bad sites, and other activities.

Just like real life, stepping into morally-questionable territory on the web carries inherent risks that you may unknowingly expose yourself to. "Sin sites" have a surprising number of ways to infect your computer, and are not obvious. Firstly, Banner ads on these sites are potentially risky, just loading them onto your screen. Frequently, visitors to these types of sites are asked to download and install a viewer or other piece of software that allows them access to the illicit info they are wanting, but once downloaded and installed, can carry a payload that does unexpected things, like downloading other threats, or may just be a threat all by itself.

For more info on malware, Please refer to our article here.

Expertek refers to "sin sites" when talking about their Cloud Care Plus Anti-Malware Software.

Sin sites defined:

• Gambling Sites - Sites that use real money are especially suspect.
• Cheat Code Sites - Kids look here to turn on "god mode" and such for their games. These types of sites frequently want you to download a "viewer" or unlocker for the cheat code, don't do it.
• Crack Code Sites - Kids go to these sites to allow them to play illegal copies of games without the required disc. Like Cheat code sites, these types of sites frequently want you to download a "viewer" or installer for the crack code, don't do it.
• Porn Sites - Adult and sexually oriented sites, especially anything out of the norm.
• File-Sharing Sites - Bearshare, gnutella, bit-torrents, limewire. Illegal and prone to hazards.
• Copyrighted Material - Many movie sites on the web today offer you the ability to watch copyrighted material online, but the viewer they insist that you use frequently includes add-on malware.

Here's an article regarding the legal ramifications and more regarding torrents and should apply equally to file sharing of any sort.

It's easy to sidestep the cheat and crack code downloader issue, by simply saying "NO" to the download offering, and looking elsewhere for the info you seek. Keep in mind, this info, should not require a special viewer or installer typically, just some info on the page, so any viewer offered should be considered suspect.

One other thing to keep in mind: the FREE downloads that we all love, are not free of potential issues. During the install, if you are offered a "CUSTOM" (as opposed to a 'typical') install, we suggest checking that option to see what things they are offering and what you may want to turn off. You see, programmers are paying their bills somehow and we find that they are doing it by selling space in their software for advertising and trial-ware, offering unrelated and unnecessary add-ons with their free software. Tool bars, scanners, and more, are frequently found inside the installer for your cool little 'free' game, and you'll find that later you may wish you hadn't installed them. We've written a complete article on the issue of "Free Software".

Lastly, here are two resources you will love.

1. The Web of Trust offers a browser add-on that we recommend highly, it quickly identifies where you are going, and will notify you if the site is questionable.

2. Ad Block Plus is an excellent plug-in or add-on for Chrome and Firefox. It effectively speeds up your browsing (by not loading certain parts of a page) while eliminating ads that may or may not be safe, from being visible.