In 2017, cyber criminals have developed new ingenious ways to keep their victims without money and valuable information. They steal phone numbers to intercept one-time passwords and hack your Bank account, embed a virus in a pirate broadcast of the popular TV show to collect personal data, and — something else — secretly mined cryptocurrency by using the computing power of compromised computers. Dynamiclayouts according to IBM's X-Force and "Kaspersky Lab", from the beginning of 2017, the number of attacks on the corporate network with the purpose of mining cryptocurrencies has increased six-fold, and viruses, providing a hidden bitcoin mining and were infected a third of all Metropolitan computers.

Recently, the probability that your computer will take into slavery, has increased dramatically. Some online services have begun to test alternative method of monetization, and hackers found in this resource for illegal earnings, which can literally extort from other people's computers.

Where did the energy-guzzlers?

On September 16 members of the largest torrent tracker The Pirate Bay found that the load on the processors of their computers has increased dramatically. As later stated by the representatives of the tracker, it was caused by a test run system for mining cryptocurrency Monero. The mining code provides a simple, built-in Javascript. It was invented by Coinhive in order for site owners to use CPUs for mining and earning machines users like "at the same time". The Internet was outraged that the resource administration conducted the test without any announcements. The Engadget approvaldate of The Pirate Bay that unauthorized distributors of content are forced to try to earn without the help of Microsoft and Google that block for standard ad placements.

But as it turned out, the services has access to legal earnings, is also involved in testing new system to bypass the user or, as the major sources of traffic have been used by enterprising hackers. On a hidden mining Monero caught the American channel Showtime, and it became known that this could be loaded to 60 percent from online custom processors. The company has not commented on this information.

The same problem faced by readers of a number of Ukrainian media owned by one holding company. After user complaints such publications as Football.ua, Korrespondent.net admitted that the power could use a "one partner" media resources, and formally apologized to users in official statements.

 
Photo: Andrew Burton / Getty Images

Captaining JavaScript-based media is seen as an alternative to the traditional advertising model. But the reality is that, as in the case of banner advertising, the amount received from each user is very small. Significantly you can earn only very popular online, where users spend a lot of time. And while it is possible only to the pirates, seeking to plant malicious scripts maximum number of sites.

It is obvious that, despite the good-looking facade, which is the development of new ways of monetization, site owners are in no hurry to declare in advance the intention for its users, as if hoping that all delivered audience the inconvenience will be blamed on hackers. And, of course, to make some money until users learned to block infection.

In addition, all programs for the pirate mining is eloquent common features, profitable, and pirates, and those who, not having sufficient technical training covered activity: while viruses infect only computers running on Windows operating system, and make it mine Monero. As a result, the scammers get the cryptocurrency, and the user collapse the performance of the computer up to the serious injury to the system.

Epidemic Monero

Now Monero has a different Outlook: it occupies the 8th place in the ranking of cryptocurrencies by market capitalization and costs around one hundred dollars. But the reputation steadily appreciating cryptocurrency is at risk and pirates, and services in search of new ways of monetization for covert mining choose. In the end, every day there are more reports of lesion sites with viruses-getters Monero.

Features mining Monero is such that for him more suited as times the capacity of the processors, particularly the Intel Core I7 and graphics cards for example. The most common script СoinHive was developed for covert mining of this coin and using Internet browsers. But the main thing — a measure of anonymity Monero. Unlike bitcoin wallet address Monero cannot be traced, but transaction history is not stored anywhere, which is extremely important for all followers of the shadow wages.

When high-profile cases related to the closure of sites AlphaBay, Hansa and a temporary freeze crypto currency exchange BTC-e, showed that the intelligence services have the tools to identify users of the blockchain, involved in illegal activities, the criminal world began a massive shift with bitcoins for other cryptocurrencies. During this year, the share of illicit transactions in bitcoin, is steadily falling and now stands at just 20 per cent of total transactions, which include selling drugs on the darknet, and the laundering of funds obtained by other illegal means in recognized currencies.

How to check and protect your computer?

Your computer is at risk if you are using Windows. But laptops, unlike desktop PCs, found immunity to the pirate plague. The device from Apple is also resistant to currently known scripts for covert mining.

Image: page, Evg Bell in Facebook
If overheating, unresponsiveness and other visible evidence of overloading the system CPU is not observed, to identify the script should check for the appropriate list of malware. In case of detection of one of the scripts, which can be seen via the task Manager of the browser, they should be lock in the settings.

In addition to the radical-blocking JavaScript, you can fight viruses by combining the individual blocking malicious scripts and advertising. For this approach, for example, joint setting of programme RequestPolicy Continued and uMatrix. Google Chrome users can install a custom blokirovki AntiMiner.

However, additional protection of miners also loads the computer's RAM, though not as much as the activities themselves miners. Users who are not ready to install another extension, and limited to, for example, the standard uBlock, but the result is not guaranteed. Still have to block all suspicious scripts, by trial and error by identifying which of them will not affect the operation of the sites.

The Internet is a new era or I earn, and then the technology will be forgotten?

Most likely, the advertising market the first thing to react to new opportunities for marginal sites by raising the price of advertising. Small web services and platforms for selling services around in the hackers, and get their three rubles and calm down. Well, the largest of the company as soon as possible return to the old method.

Photo: Thomas Peter / Reuters
However, the method of monetization through mining has the prospect, if his ideology will be able to stop the epidemic of hidden prey and to find a civilized approach to resource allocation and to solve the main ethical problem — the problem of consent.

Companies lose reputation, by default, assuming that the user agree on one payment method — advertising, also agree on another option, but still hidden. On the situation in the network paranoia caused by surveillance by the authorities, and all new distortions of the law, to rely on the tacit consent simply stupid. Instead of suppressing the need of active actions from the major players like Showtime, which will serve as a positive example for others. For example, a constructive solution may be to offer users to pay for the services, software or content giving power of their cars to rental companies.

Anna Generowicz

Source: https://lenta.ru/articles/2017/10/02/piratemining/

Tags: financial center , finances