Kissanime site (kissanimes.net) poses itself as a library of a huge number of anime titles, available for free. However, our own research along with user complaints point at this website engaging in questionable activities that may lead to users getting infected with various viruses. In this article, I will explain whether the Kissanime site is safe and how you can browse it safely.
Is Kissanime Safe?
In short, I would recommend you to avoid using Kissanime if you are trying to find a place to watch anime. Diversity of content that it carries, along with absence of any paywalls expectedly makes it attractive for the fans of this genre. However, there are several red flags that say quite obviously that the site is dangerous.
First thing that gets into an eye are questionable advertisements that are present all over the website. They apparently change depending on the system location, and generally contain promotions of adult websites or games, dating services, gambling sites and so on. Following such ads may throw the user into phishing scams or activities that end up with money losses.
Another important detail of these ads is their participation in so-called traffic cloaking. To maximize their profits, advertisers not only route users to the target site, but also collect extensive amounts of data about them. This info is gathered without any notice for the user, and will further be sold to data brokers and other questionable actors, which puts privacy in question.
Redirections are another dangerous element of the Kissanime website. Any click on the website may trigger a new tab opening in your browser, with, once again, zero confirmation from the user. Though this time one can’t even expect what type of content the newly opened page shows.
What I’ve encountered the most in such redirections are fake video player pages that offer installing a “recommended browser extension” or scan a QR code to proceed to the video. In fact, none of these will get the user to the content; their only purpose is to force the user into installing questionable software.
In some cases, such QR codes can lead to phishing pages and malware installation. Overall, fake human verification sites have enormous popularity among malicious actors these days, so one should close such a page as soon as it opens.
Changing URL and a Stolen Name
One more dodgy fact about the website is the fact that it constantly shifts its URLs. One may suggest this is because the site deals with pirated anime videos and receives DMCA takedown requests, but the reason is in fact more concerning.
Because of the situation with advertisements, it receives not just copyright violation notices, but user complaints to the hosting. Authority reacts in a rather obvious way: a website that disregards privacy and online security is getting taken down. But it gets up online in a minute on a different-yet-similar domain name.
List of Known Kissanime URLs
- Kissanime.help
- kissanimes.net
- kissanime.com.ru
- Kissanime.com
- kissanime.com.tr
- kiss-anime.net
- kiss-anime.ws
But there’s more. Several years ago, this exact service was widely known as GoGoAnime; it even says this at the footer of the main page. Though, a new name changed nothing in terms of behavior: the old site had exactly the same overwhelming advertising and redirection problems.
The current name of this activity apparently tries to larp the legitimate KissAnime website, that existed back in early 2010s. Yet that site stopped its activity, never to be back online; con actors have simply taken a name well-known in the anime community as a disguise. And that is yet another reason to avoid Kissanime and all the websites that have this brand name all together.
Review the Websites with Website Reputation Checker
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The service gives kissanimes.net a clear rating, saying that it has a bad reputation across several online security vendors. This simple check can prevent one from opening sketchy websites and potentially exposing themselves to malware threats.
How to Avoid Infecting with Adware and Unwanted Programs?
It is possible to encounter the behavior like what I’ve described above with other, totally legit sites. Users can start getting all these redirections all of a sudden, on websites that never had such issues before. That is a definite sign of malware activity; in particular, adware and unwanted programs of various sorts can cause this problem.
Adware and browser hijackers are commonly spread through websites like Kissanime, using the traffic cloaking tactic. It is particularly easy to make an inexperienced user think they’re dealing with a real human verification, and install any unwanted apps or even outright malware.
By using ad blocking extensions and plugins for your web browser, you can avoid 80% of such problems. Modern ad blockers are effective even against redirect scripts that may be present on websites. The other 20% may be caught by a reliable anti-malware software with a network security module. GridinSoft Anti-Malware will get you covered for this purpose, and will also scan anything you download and run to your computer. Download it by clicking the banner below, and don’t miss out on a 6-day free trial period.
