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Sex and online security: how much danger are we really in?

Posted on 19 Aug 2009 at 11:45

Davey Winder explores the connections between online sex and online security

Financial folly

In my own email inbox I find far more complaints from people who feel that they've been scammed than I do from those whose systems have been compromised by malware, and this is largely due to the embarrassment factor I'd guess - though to me it's not that hard to say "my computer is infected with so-and-so Trojan, don't know where it came from, how do I get rid of it".

But where money's involved there's no such guilt at all, only a feeling of stupidity - and stupidity rather than scam is usually what it turns out to be. I must warn anyone who signs up for a monthly online subscription to any service - but in particular to an adult content one - to check the terms and conditions before signing on the virtual dotted line. All too often a monthly fee will be billed as a recurring payment on your credit card, and is quite plainly described as such in those terms and conditions of course.

The trouble is that people tend to confuse these with bank direct debit schemes and imagine that cancelling them is just a matter of a quick call or email to your bank. Unfortunately such recurring payments (also known as continuous payment authorities) can only be stopped by the person who's on the receiving end of the money.

Anyone who sneaks a quick peek at some pornographic peepshow is not necessarily going to end up with a compromised system and suffer identity theft

The embarrassment factor comes into play again here, and people will often decide to leave their monthly payment running - if it was for some adult service - rather than have to telephone a real human being to ask them to stop it. You can't simply cancel your credit card either, because most card companies will not permit this if there are any active payment requests still showing upon it - a vicious circle.

According to MoneySavingExpert.com these are dangerous payment methods that should be avoided, and to cancel them it recommends contacting the company involved and notifying them that you intend to dispute the transaction, in the hope that they'll give up at that point. If they don't, then contact your credit card company and dispute that you authorised the transaction as they're obliged to investigate unauthorised ones. As a last resort you can play the Financial Ombudsman card, or at least threaten to do so, which will often spur the credit card company into making the cancellation.

Feeling a connection?

So where has this lightning tour of the strange world of online sex and security got us? There's no doubt that the two are connected, but not quite so joined-at-the-hip as some would have you believe. Anyone who sneaks a quick peek at some pornographic peepshow is not necessarily going to end up with a compromised system and suffer identity theft - but there again, nor is there any guarantee against that worst-case scenario happening.

Apply the same rules of the online road as you should for any other internet activity, and these security risks can be mitigated somewhat: you need a fully-patched OS; fully-patched applications; a secure web browser; up-to-date antivirus and internet security software; and a hefty dose of good old fashioned common sense before setting virtual foot into the online Red Light District.

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