Even though Google's Play Store doesn't allow pornography, there are still plenty of ways to get it on a mobile device .
The most common involves downloading the APK (Android application package) directly from a web browser and installing it yourself. One such example would be PornHub's own official app.
But before you flick the switch on installing from unknown sources, pay heed to the latest research from cybersecurity professionals at ESET.
The company claims that malicious hackers are creating fake PornHub apps that look legit , but actually give them direct access to your phone.
Android is no stranger to malware (and, latterly, ransomware) but Google has been deliberately cleaning up its house in the last couple of years.
The difference here is that, by installing the app yourself, you're sidestepping Google's increasingly stringent app security measures.
According to TheNextWeb , a malicious app will first ask to check for viruses before it plays any videos. This is, of course, a trick and the app will install ransomware on your phone, bricking it and asking for $100 in Bitcoin before it lets you back in.
"File-encrypting crypto-ransomware is extremely popular among malware writers and there are many different families of Windows Filecoders (the ESET detection name for the category)," explained ESET in a PDF revealing its findings .
"Many of them have jumped on to the ransomware bandwagon, hoping to copy the success of Cryptolocker and the like, but our technical analyses of all those families has shown that many of them are implemented poorly.
"For users, this means two things: Firstly, that even if they do pay up, their files may not get decrypted. Secondly, that it may be possible to decrypt their files without paying.
"As far as ransomware on Android is concerned, we have seen several variants where the code for decrypting files or uninstalling the lock-screen was missing altogether, so paying would not have solved anything."
Realistically, the best way to avoid having your phone stolen out from under you is to not install any porn apps in the first place.
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