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Chrome Web Store no longer allows crypto-mining extensions
Google announced today that it will be doing away with Chrome extensions that mine cryptocurrencies. Until now, the Chrome Web Store has allowed these sorts of extensions provided that crypto-mining is their only purpose and that users are fully informed of what they will do. But Google says that around 90 percent of the crypto-mining extensions developers have tried to bring to the Chrome Web Store haven't abided by those rules. Those not complying have been rejected or removed from the store, but now they won't be allowed in at all, even if they adhere to earlier standards.
A New York town just placed a moratorium on crypto mining
As cryptocurrency becomes a more important force in the world market, more companies are cropping up to mine it. And that, in turn, is becoming a problem for places where these miners are setting up. The town of Plattsburgh, New York, has become the first in the US to place a moratorium on cryptocurrency mining. It's not an outright ban, at least not yet -- it doesn't affect miners currently operating in the city, just new ones looking to set up shop, and it's only in place for 18 months.
Qarnot’s wall-mounted heater doubles as a crypto-mining rig
As a student, I used to joke that my Xbox 360 doubled as the flat's central heating system. A few hours of Red Dead Redemption and boom, I could slip under the covers and fall asleep without an icy-cold mist forming around my breath. Qarnot, however, isn't joking about its new QC-1 "crypto heater." That's right, the startup is promoting its first crypto-mining rig on the inevitable warmth that its innards will produce. Generating Bitcoin and other "digital gold" requires expensive electricity, so why not save some money by heating your home at the same time? That's the pitch, anyway.
Salon asks readers to pick their poison: ads or crypto mining
If you use an ad-blocker, you'll now be met with a pop-up when you visit Salon's website, the Financial Times reports. It will offer you two choices -- turn off your ad-blocker or let the website mine cryptocurrency with some of your computer's extra processing power. Salon says on its site that it makes its money off of advertisements, but because more and more readers are now using ad-blockers, it has seen a large drop in revenue. Cryptocurrency mining is its way of recuperating those losses. "Like most media sites, ad-blockers cut deeply into our revenue and create a more one-sided relationship between reader and publisher," Salon says. "For our beta program, we'll start by applying your processing power to mine cryptocurrencies to recoup lost ad revenue when you use an ad blocker. We plan to further use any learnings from this to help support the evolution and growth of blockchain technology, digital currencies and other ways to better service the value exchange between content and user contribution."
Showtime websites used visitors’ browsers to mine cryptocurrency
Over the weekend, visitors to Showtime's website or its streaming site ShowtimeAnytime might have noticed their computers slowing down a bit. That's because someone slipped in some JavaScript into the sites that caused them to siphon off processing time from users' browsers in order to mine the cryptocurrency Monero. The Register reports that the software took up as much as 60 percent of visitors' CPU capacity.
WannaCry cousin uses your computer to mine Bitcoins
WannaCry might have wreaked havoc all over the globe, but it apparently has a cousin that's been far more effective in earning money for its creators. While looking into the WannaCry attacks, security firm Proofpoint has discovered the existence of another threat called Adylkuzz that also uses NSA's leaked hacking tools EternalBlue and DoublePulsar that exploit Windows vulnerabilities. Unlike the ransomware that takes over its victims' computers in an attempt to extort money, Adylkuzz has a much quieter existence. It's a small program that lurks in your PC, using its resources to mine for a cryptocurrency called Monero.
