What's going on: Growing attention for crypto not only means skyrocketing prices, it also means that a lot of people who are willing to use not so nice practices to do so, are trying to capitalize on the hype. The idea is simple: Mining for cryptocurrencies needs expensive hardware and consumes a lot of energy. But what if you weren't using your own PC and your own electricity network?
You don't even have to know what you're doing here, because there are easy to use packages out there. The most popular is CoinHive, a JavaScript based program that is implemented on web sites and runs in the browsers of visitors to crunch the calculations that mine Monero. While Ethereum mining runs great on graphics cards while bitcoin mining uses specially made chips called application-specific integrated circuits, Monero’s underlying mining challenge was made to run best on ordinary PC CPUs.
The problem is that CoinHive is popping up all over the web, grabbing as much CPU power as it can from every PC it touches - without even notifying the affected visitors. In many cases, it appears the software has even been installed on web sites without the permission of the website owners, with the generated Monero coins going into the digital wallets of unknown hackers located somewhere else entirely. As of last month, Monero-mining malware ranked as the sixth most prevalent threat in the wild, cyber security company Check Point said.
Why should I care: Crypto mining in web-browsers could be an attractive new way on monetizing web content. Instead of bothering visitors with ads, just borrow a limited amount of their CPU power while they visit your web site. The borrowed CPU time uses just a little bit more electricity, boosting each visitor’s electric bill only a tiny bit. It could turn out that this really will be an option, but right now it's used without people knowing.
What can you do to avoid this spreading plague of stolen CPU cycles? Browser plugins that block adware and malware, like uBlock Origin, will stop CoinHive.
Source: fortune.com
GIF: giphy.com
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