SCIENCE BOND

Porn industry representatives argued that condoms were a turn-off for viewers and could destroy the industry. They warned such a ruling in favour of condoms could lead to actors also being required to wear safety goggles and dental dams. Performers are currently required to be tested every two weeks for STDs. The vote came after the Aids Healthcare Foundation lobbied California's Division of Occupational Safety and Health's Standards Board (Cal/OSHA) for stricter workplace safety rules in porn. But industry representatives also said making actors wear condoms could push the industry underground, where health risks would be greater. They also said stricter safety provisions could be interpreted as requiring sex workers to ensure their eyes were protected from infection by blood-borne pathogens by wearing goggles like those worn by doctors. Such a requirement would spell the end of many porn film scenes, they said. "If one performer in a scene wants a condom, everyb...

The advertising, apparently for a service called Sex Messenger, also contained tools for identifying whether the user was genuine rather than a bot.  It appeared on porn site xhamster, one of the world's most visited domains.  However the firm said porn sites are no more dangerous than mainstream ones.  The ad has now been removed.  The malware, which also made use of the security of cloud-based platforms to hide what it was doing, worked by directing the user to a fraudulent page once it had determined that they were running Microsoft's Internet Explorer and had identified the device's security settings.  So-called "malvertising" often installs ransomware on to a victim's machine. It loads a page containing false accusations of criminal activity and instructions for paying a fine. "These efforts ensure that only real users will get to see the exploit  kit landing page therefore excluding honeypots and security researchers alike," wrote Ma...

A malicious Android app that held people to ransom has been found by US security firm Zscaler.  Adult Player appeared to offer pornography, but secretly took pictures of users with the phone's front-facing camera.  It then locked the user's device and displayed a demand for $500 (£330) which was difficult to bypass.Apps which demand money from people with a threat to release private information, or wipe a device, are known as ransomware.  In August, Intel Security said examples of ransomware had increased 127% since 2014 - primarily affecting desktop computers and laptops. "One of the reasons for the increase is that it's very easy to make,"  said Raj Samani, chief technology officer for Intel Security in Europe.  There are people you can pay to do the work for you, and it pays really well. One group we tracked made more than $75,000 in 10 weeks.  Apps like this rely on the embarrassment factor. If you don't pay, your reputation is on the line....