Opera update keeps sites from hijacking your browser to mine bitcoin
Just enable that ad blocker, son.
Did you know that your browser can be tricked into mining cryptocurrency like BitCoin without your knowledge? Apparently, there are scripts floating around out there on various servers and website plugins that can hijack your web browser and use its CPU for mining purposes, even after the browser window is closed. Yikes. Opera version 50 releases tomorrow at 10 AM CET, and it includes with cryptocurrency mining protection built right into its ad blocker software.
As TechCrunch notes, this isn't the most efficient way for folks to mine cryptocurrency, but it could be useful at scale. There are already extensions for Chrome and Firefox that block the scripts, but this is the first time a major browser enables it by default with an ad blocker. Opera added the feature in its beta release candidate for the current browser a few weeks back.
