{"id":115262,"date":"2018-12-05T13:31:24","date_gmt":"2018-12-05T13:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=115262"},"modified":"2025-07-01T22:39:10","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T05:39:10","slug":"is-your-browser-being-hijacked-to-mine-cryptocurrency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/is-your-browser-being-hijacked-to-mine-cryptocurrency\/","title":{"rendered":"Is your browser being hijacked to mine cryptocurrency?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hackers are always finding new and innovative ways to exploit you while still avoiding the law. <\/span><\/p>\n

After all, <\/span>stealing your identity or personal details is risky<\/span><\/a> \u2013\u00a0a crime reserved for the bold and experienced criminal. <\/span><\/p>\n

Infecting your machine with ransomware is effective, but <\/span>the gains aren\u2019t guaranteed<\/span><\/a> \u2013 the victim can always restore from backup (assuming the backup isn\u2019t also infected). <\/span><\/p>\n

But now, cybercriminals have a new trick up their sleeve. <\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of stealing your sensitive data, <\/span>they\u2019re going to steal your computer power and internet bandwidth instead<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

By hijacking your and others\u2019 computers, a hacker can harness enough CPU power to mine hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies without anyone realising it. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s called <\/span>cryptojacking<\/b> \u2013 and <\/span>it\u2019s proving one of the most pervasive cyberthreats of 2018<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n \"Browse\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n Browse the web up to 8x faster than Chrome and Safari.<\/span>\r\n DOWNLOAD NOW<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/path><\/path>10<\/text><\/svg>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n Enjoy private, secure and fast browsing with Brave.<\/span>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/span><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t notice, does it matter?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Cybercrime involves theft, money laundering, counterfeit goods, terrorism, and other illegal activities. Given the relative anonymity offered by the internet, organised crime is digitising its activities to <\/span>maximise profits or for funding other nefarious deeds<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

So yes, in the grand scheme of things, it does matter, assuming you want to live in a world with as little crime as possible. <\/span><\/p>\n

On a personal level, if your browser is hijacked to mine cryptocurrency, your computer will use more CPU power than normal. This additional load creates heat, and over time might degrade the components inside your machine, meaning you have to replace it sooner than expected. <\/span><\/p>\n

And if you have noticed your computer running much slower than usual, but have so far chosen to ignore it, your browser could very well be mining cryptocurrency for some shady organisation. <\/span><\/p>\n

How does this mining work, exactly?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are similar to digital money, and can be traded for other cryptocurrencies or converted into fiat currencies like USD, GBP, or EUR. <\/span><\/p>\n

Mining refers to a special process for creating certain cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin. Mining uses a lot of electricity, CPU power, and bandwidth, so most of it is done in \u201cpools\u201d, where several linked computers (or hundreds) work on mining cryptocurrency at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n

All that power goes into solving cryptographic puzzles. Solve a puzzle before other miners, and you receive a reward \u2013 usually more cryptocurrency. But few people can afford the hardware necessary to make mining a profitable enterprise, so criminals hijack web browsers and computers instead. <\/span><\/p>\n

By combining your processing power with those of other victims, criminals can make serious money without ever stealing a digit of your data. Worse, using certain tricks like pop-unders, <\/span>they can continue mining after you\u2019ve closed your browser window<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Is there a way to stop cybercriminals hijacking my browser?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Yes, there is. And not only will it stop cryptojacking through your browser, but it\u2019ll prevent ads, spyware, malware, and other internet threats. <\/span><\/p>\n

The answer is Brave.<\/span><\/p>\n

\r\n
\r\n
\r\n
\r\n \"Browse\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n Browse the web up to 8x faster than Chrome and Safari.<\/span>\r\n DOWNLOAD NOW<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n <\/path><\/path>10<\/text><\/svg>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n Enjoy private, secure and fast browsing with Brave.<\/span>\r\n <\/div>\r\n
\r\n \r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/span><\/p>\n

Brave was developed by Javascript inventor and Co-Founder of Mozilla, Brendan Eich. It was developed in response to a growing need for online protection \u2013\u00a0not just from cybercriminals, but also invasive ISPs, corporations, and anyone else wanting your data for their own ends. <\/span><\/p>\n

Brave also blocks everyday ads and trackers, and gives users an interesting way to continue to support the publishers who have lost revenue from blocked ads: a blockchain-based <\/span>Brave Rewards<\/span><\/a> solution.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cryptojacking is essentially a malware threat, and nowadays your machine doesn\u2019t have to be infected by cryptojacking software for it to work. Instead, all you have to do is browse a website hacked by a cryptojacker and it\u2019ll run a mining script in the background while you browse. <\/span><\/p>\n

How to block or disable all cryptocurrency mining scripts through Brave<\/b><\/h3>\n

Brave blocks all malware by default, and you can disable all scripts \u2013 including those written by cryptojackers \u2013 from the settings menu. If you\u2019ve not started using Brave yet, download and install it now. Then follow the instructions below. <\/span><\/p>\n

OSX and Windows<\/b><\/h3>\n

Open Brave > three horizontal lines in upper right > Settings > Brave shields defaults > Script blocking > toggle on<\/span><\/p>\n

Cryptojacking is a serious threat. It slows your machine, degrades the components, and worse, puts money in the hands of the people who cause the most harm. So download, install, and start using Brave now, otherwise the next site you visit might be swiping value from right under your nose. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hackers are always finding new and innovative ways to exploit you while still avoiding the law. After all, stealing your identity or personal details is risky \u2013\u00a0a crime reserved for the bold and experienced criminal. Infecting your machine with ransomware is effective, but the gains aren\u2019t guaranteed \u2013 the victim can always restore from backup … Continue reading “Is your browser being hijacked to mine cryptocurrency?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9075,"featured_media":115263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[],"tags":[],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-115262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9075"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115262"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":326915,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115262\/revisions\/326915"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115262"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=115262"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=115262"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=115262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}