Illegal downloading services, porn sites, bogus advertising schemes -- we've all come to acknowledge the Internet territory that's ripe with opportunity to contract a virus. But the New York Times online is something of which few would be suspicious, making a recent virus particularly difficult to protect against.

Today the NYT began warning readers not to click on a pop-up link beckoning them to download anti-virus software. The ad reads: "Your computer may be infected with a virus, download a free scan now," and even if a reader clicks the option "No Thanks," a trojan is installed onto the PC. Thankfully the Times is taking the high road by warning its readers up-front about the potential harm the ads could cause, posting a note on its home page citing an "unauthorized advertisement" as the source of the problem.

It's strange to see that the New York Times -- which typically works to inform the public about breaches in Internet security elsewhere on the Web -- has fallen prey to hackers. It's something that brings to life the fragility of the transition into new media and the dichotomy between print and online journalism. Media Memo tech blogger Peter Kafka writes that on the Web, no one's really safe.

"Web advertising is still a wild and woolly place, and this type of thing still plagues high-end publishers too. Sometimes it’s the fault of ad networks the publishers use to move their unsold inventory; sometimes the bogus ads are bought directly from the publishers themselves," he writes.

"I’ve asked both the Times PR staff and ad tech team for additional information about the ads, but haven’t heard back yet. Still, you have to give the paper credit for flagging this on their front page at all."