Is secure.adultfriendfinder.com Safe?

secure.adultfriendfinder.com/ is currently categorized by K9 Web Protection as: Spyware / Malware Sources Sites which distribute spyware and other malware. Spyware is defined as software which takes control of your computer, modifies computer settings, collects or reports personal information, or misrepresents itself by tricking users to install, download, or enter personal information. This includes drive-by downloads; browser hijackers; dialers; intrusive advertising; any program which modifies your homepage, bookmarks, or security settings; and keyloggers. It also includes any software which bundles spyware (as defined above) as part of its offering. Information collected or reported is "personal" if it contains uniquely identifying data, such as email addresses, name, social security number, IP address, etc. A site is not classified as spyware if the user is reasonably notified that the software will perform these actions (i.e., it alerts that it will send personal information, be installed, or that it will log keystrokes).

I was confused when asked to rate this site ro "Child Safety" as this is, after all an "Adult Site"! I hate to issue my rating of a site as Low or Bad or Poor for something the site is not offering anyway. I will not try to hack the site as if I was a child just to test it for it's ability to block or deny access. I would fear my normal access would be denied or canceled as a hacker (which I decidedly am not). What does a rating of Poor mean when I see it on this site? Does it mean; (1) The site "Allows" a lot of Children to visit or use it? or (2) Does it mean the adults who rate it think it would be a poor choice for Children? or (3) Does it mean to opening screen is too riske' and should not be so rich in adult material so accidental viewing or selecting a bookmark fails to protect a child user from seeing the "naughty adult "stuff? Conversly, what does a High, Good or Excellent rating mean? Does it mean that Child Protection is "Great" or that default Child access prohibitions are great, or doesn it mean this is an excellent site for children to use (educational, colorful, child-lingo positive, etc., etc.? You need to refine the wording of this "Rating" vis-a-vis Adult sites rating Child access. i believe children below the age of 21 should have NO access that they could legally gain on their own, that the Opening Splash Screen has to service the adult customer base with a certain amount of acceptable adult-ish material. Neither test relates well to "Child Safety" rating in WOT

I have been a paying member of this site off and on for several years, and I have been consistently dissatisfied each time. I don't know why I keep joining -- perhaps hoping that this time it will be different, but it never is. Yes, I have met a few people from this site, but very few -- and none were people I wanted to see more than once. My overall impression is that there's a lot of deception on this site -- most of it generated by the site owners themselves. You can't do much at all until you pay, and I am convinced the site itself generates fake profiles and messages to entice free members to upgrade. Free members cannot contact other members, or even check out more than a snapshot of their profile until they pay. So the site shows enticing photos from fake members you can't fully check out until you pay. Pretty clever scheme. The site boasts it has nearly 35 million members. What isn't so obvious is that male members outnumber females 10 to 1, and I've never seen more than 125,000 or so people online. I would guess the site counts everyone who has ever created a profile as a member -- even those who visited the site only once and never returned. Unless you explicitly delete your profile, it stays in AFF's database of active members, apparently forever. Each profile shows when it was last used. Most of the female profiles in my area haven't been used in the last 3 months. And a fair number of the seemingly active female profiles appear to be totally fake. In fact, I think they are generated by AFF itself to create the illusion of more activity than is actually present. I've seen the same alluring profiles in my city page for years -- always with the same stats and ages that never change, accompanied by the same steamy pic. Yet not once have my messages to these profiles ever been answered -- not even to say buzz off. Moreover, I've seen the same or very similar profiles in other cities, where supposedly I would never be looking. This convinces me that at least some -- and perhaps most -- of these profiles are created by AFF itself to entice free members to upgrade, since you can't contact anybody on the site, or even look at their detailed profile, until you pay. I also believe that a fair amount of unsolicited messages I receive, ostensibly from chicks who are 'interested' in me, are totally fake and generated by AFF as well. When I attempt to contact the supposed sources of these messages, I never receive a response. And the number of such messages I receive always seems to increase whenever my membership is about to expire, or when I have rejoined as a free member. I wonder why that would be? :) In fairness, as I said earlier, I have met a few people off this site -- but very few. My advice would be to take take your time and explore the site carefully before you fork over money. Be skeptical of any messages or profiles you see, and do not be impressed by the big numbers this site throws out in its marketing messages. Most of all, be VERY skeptical of profiles that make you go "Wow!" In my experience, very few "wow" women ever use sites like this. In fact, the surest tip-off to me that a profile is fake is if it contains a photo of a truly attractive or sexy woman. Think about it. Why would a knockout gal need to go looking for men online? Duh.