By Stewart Tongue

YNOT – Surfers are less likely to encounter cybercrime at adult entertainment websites than in many other places online, according to antivirus software development firm Norton. The company attributes the increase in the reliability of adult sites to a change wrought by difficult economic times: Porn companies, a spokesperson indicated, have instituted extraordinary security measures in order to earn and retain consumers’ patronage.

The sites most likely to attack users’ computers, according to Norton chief cybersecurity advisor Adam Palmer, are pirate havens and those that belong to illegal file-sharing networks. No surprise there.

Second on Norton’s list of danger zones, though, is something of a shock: websites devoted to religion.

“Going to church websites is more risky than going to pornography websites,” Palmer said.

Norton’s definition of cybercrime is broad, including hidden and unsolicited links, malware, viruses and other attempts to steal from, annoy or harass an end-user or damage his equipment. The company considered all transmission modes — including desktop computers and mobile devices — and all kinds of sites from personal pages to social networks in crunching the numbers.

And the numbers are frightening. A recent study conducted by market research firm StrategyOne indicated 1.5 million people fall victim to some kind of cybercrime daily. The costs top $110 billion each year, with an average cost to each user of $306.

“Young men aged 18-34 are the most likely to fall victim to cyber-crime,” Palmer said. “They’re more likely to spend the most time online and engage in risky behavior.”

The study also indicated that many people remain ignorant about how to protect themselves online and what to do should they fall victim to cybercriminals. More than 18 percent of respondents admitted forwarding links without checking them first, and 46 percent admitted they wouldn’t know about a virus or malware infection unless their computer suddenly stopped functioning.