This malware, first discovered by Kaspersky Labs in , is a Google Chrome extension that uses Facebook Messenger to infect users' computers. Initially.
Table of contents
- What Is a Miner Virus and How Can You Remove It?
- Cryptojacking definition
- Why antivirus alone can't stop cryptorunning mining |
- What is Cryptocurrency?
Pushing your machinery to these levels without the correct cooling and provisions in place can easily cost you your pride and joy or witness a loss of productivity in a workplace environment due to hardware failing from overheating challenges. The UK and Australian governments recently suffered website outages thanks to a crypto-jacking malware that infected thousands of government machines. The source of infection was a compromised browser plug-in made by a third-party.
What Is a Miner Virus and How Can You Remove It?
Windows machines tend to be the target of crypto-jacking malware, but other devices and operating systems can also be turned into bitcoin mining bots:. A compromised device is often forced by the malware to run at the maximum of what its components can handle. Mining can slow other processes, overwork cards and processors, or even brick the machine. With degraded capabilities and the connection between the infected host and the command and control server for the crypto mining software being unsecured, the machine can also be vulnerable to infection from other kinds of malware.
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- What is Cryptocurrency Mining Malware?.
While an end user or network admin might realize that a machine is running more slowly than normal, or that CPU usage on the network is high, determining the source of the issue can be difficult. The fact that a crypto-jacked machine is running slowly also makes it harder to investigate. The mining processes initiated by the malware can also mask themselves as normal system tasks. Unfortunately, there is no blanket protection against crypto-jacking. Using an individual's computing power without their permission and draining the productivity and life of their hardware is bad enough. Burrowing into the inner workings of a machine, crippling its functionality, and hiding any trace of the malware is even worse and more invasive.
A specific example is Auto Refresh Plus, which disguises itself as a mandatory update to Mozilla Firefox. Once it's installed, it begins mining cryptocurrency in the background while bombarding you with unwanted ads. There are a couple of names you should know about if you want to stay abreast of the cryptojacking phenomenon.
Coinhive was a service that tried to mine cryptocurrency for good uses, but ended up being misused.
RoughTed, a totally separate phenomenon, is the umbrella term for a cybercrime campaign involving many different illicit activities. The idea was great — a script on the website would tell your computer to mine for the cryptocurrency Monero. In turn, the website wouldn't need to host ads! It had many potential applications. As long as the page was open in a browser, the person's computer would continuously mine for Monero, generating donations.
What went wrong? A few bad actors used the tech for their own personal gain. Coinhive became prevalent on hacked websites. While the original intent behind Coinhive was to use only a portion of a person's computing power, the result was that cryptojackers turned the knob to 11, slowing down the computer to the point of unusability. Increased CPU usage aside, much more alarming was the security breach itself.
Cryptojacking definition
The amount of private information which could've been leaked is staggering. Ad-blockers and antivirus software had to keep up and block these scripts from running, and cryptojacking became a veritable security breach. It didn't matter how it was being used; it was simply too easy for websites to mine without permission. On top of that, services which sought to mine cryptocurrency ethically still failed to ask for permission, discouraging many who might have otherwise advocated for it. That happened with the peer-to-peer, file-sharing site The Pirate Bay, which replaced banner ads with Coinhive without telling anyone.
Not only that, but The Pirate Bay configured Coinhive incorrectly , causing users to experience a massive spike in CPU usage upon visiting the site. The Pirate Bay received plenty of backlash. With the technology being misused in so many different ways, cryptomining as an alternative to ads was dead in the water. Coinhive closed up shop in RoughTed is an organized cybercrime campaign that has changed the whole game of cybersecurity.
Imagine malware that takes advantage of something we see every day on the internet: ads. If hackers could take advantage of third-party ad networks distributing ads throughout the internet, half of the work would be done for them.
Why antivirus alone can't stop cryptorunning mining |
They'd have a vast, multi-pronged attack that was so spread out that it would not only hit a huge number of people, but it would also escape easy detection. On websites all across the internet, ads are telling computers to mine for cryptocurrency. Write code that looks innocent.
Programming languages are just that — languages. Malvertising campaigns are able to slip past certain filters by rewriting code. Use shady networks. There are networks that display ads for The New York Times , and those that display ads for gambling sites or pornography sites.
Which sites do you think care more about how their ad space affects their users? The NYT cannot risk their reputation, but as long as a gambling site can get an extra dime, who cares what kind of ad it shows? Make the ads look legit. You might think there is a correlation between an ad's appearance and what it's doing behind the scenes.
What is Cryptocurrency?
There is none. The ad could be for anything at all, look crisp and elegant, and still contain malicious code. Hijack an existing ad network.
Legitimate sites like The New York Times are not entirely immune. In fact, the NYT started unwittingly displaying malicious ads in , all coming from a compromised ad network. RoughTed still has not been stopped, even as it makes Amazon's Content Distribution Network do their work for them. Redirecting is how someone comes into contact with the malware in the first place.
The ad runs a script that sends the user to a malicious server — but only if they are using outdated software. For many users, the malicious ad will do nothing harmful. That makes it harder to detect. Keep redirecting.
- How to Tell if You Have a Bitcoin Miner Virus - ?
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For the victims as well as the hosts, an endless amount of redirects or a set of legitimate-looking ones will help hide any shady activity. So, you can imagine what kind of damage can be inflicted if something like a crypto-miner virus attacks one of these systems. Basically, this means that you are mining cryptos , and wasting your resources at the same time, for someone else. When it comes to the spreading of the crypto miner virus, it should be said that it spreads just like pretty much any other computer virus you can think of.
As you can imagine, the commonest way of having one of these in your systems is to download these from the internet by accessing some of the unprotected websites. When it comes to prevention, it can be said that it is pretty similar to what you are used to. When we say this, we mean that you should access and download only from the protected websites and by updating your anti-virus software frequently.
Now we are going to talk about how you can actually spot bitcoin miner virus on your system. The first symptom you will notice is that your CPU will become much slower over time. As you can imagine, mining is a process that requires a lot of strength and power. So, when you have a virus that attached itself to the system, you can be sure that your system will become much slower than it really is. In some cases, it can even become ineffectual. Plus, it can lead to further damage to your hardware from inside. One more symptom that can show you that this happened is that your PC shutdown from overheating from time to time.
Naturally, you need to check for other possible causes for this happening. But it means that this virus will not attack your CPU. Nevertheless, it will affect the performance of your system, you can be sure of that.