By Charles Miller
Last week I painted a very dark picture of cryptojacking and how this practice was being used by some criminal elements, thus putting internet users at risk. This week I want to do a 180 and explain that cryptojacking is not necessarily an evil that needs to be eliminated.
For those who might not have bought their copy of Atención last week, I will briefly explain that cryptojacking is the process by which someone can use your computing power to make Bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies which they keep. Cybercriminals are moving into this now, yet there is also a very small number of perfectly legitimate applications starting to do this.
From the beginning two ways available for websites to raise revenue have been to charge a fee to access the site or put advertising on the site. Some websites are now exploring a third alternative and that is to offer no ads if visitors agree to let the website use their computer’s processing power to cryptomine while the visitor is on that website. The website gets to keep any cryptocurrency your computer is successful in mining while you, the user, get an ads-free visit to that website. Some see this as a fair trade-off.
So you see that using your computing power and your electricity to cryptomine is not always a diabolical plot to steal your resources. The popular Coinhive site has JavaScript readily available so that web developers can deploy it to mine cryptocurrency. It is suggested that any websites doing this should be honest with their visitors about what is going on, but I suspect not all will be. How is an internet user to know when a website is mining cryptocurrency and using your computer and your electricity to do so? The answer is to be observant. If your computer suddenly gets slow when visiting a certain website or if your cooling fan starts running the whole time you are on that site, it is time to be suspicious and check your CPU utilization.
In Windows, open the Task Manager to the Performance tab. MacOS users, open Activity Monitor. Total CPU usage, which varies from computer to computer, is shown here. A normal percentage for casual usage is generally 20% or less. If you see your CPU usage pegged at a much higher percentage and staying there, it should give you cause for concern and is a warning that your computer might be being cryptomined. Leave your Task Manager or Activity Monitor open. Closing your web browser should cause the CPU usage to drop immediately if that website was indeed using your resources for cryptomining without your permission.
If all of this sounds too complicated, well… welcome to the 21st Century. Now that website owners are able to use your resources to mine for cryptocurrency, some are sure to do so. If you, the user, fail to recognize this, the money your computer makes will not be going into your bank account but you will be paying the electric bill.
Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant, a frequent visitor to San Miguel since 1981, and now practically a full-time resident. He may be contacted at 415 101 8528 or email FAQ8@SMAguru.com.
