![]() ![]() Games and other resource-intensive programs start to slow down because the miner makes full use of computer resources, including the video card, to mine cryptocurrency. The only visible evidence is a tiny icon at the bottom of the screen, next to the ones for volume control and clock. The program window is collapsed and not displayed among the running applications. To keep the miner out of mind, the intruders keep it out of sight. The naive penny-pincher is earning cash for cybercriminals without even realizing it. That’s exactly what happened to our hero: The pirated video editor installed a special version of the NiceHash miner, configured to mine straight into the pirates’ cryptowallets. Among the latter, recent years have seen a spike in the number of attempts to earn money at the expense of freebie lovers through embedding miners in such programs (for info about what miners are, see here and here). It’s a false economy with potentially nasty consequences. We’ve already warned about the dangers of downloading “free” versions of non-freeware programs. What’s going on? Free software and parasitic miners to boot Another surprise comes the following month: The electricity bill is quite a bit higher than usual. ![]() Games that used to load up without a problem are now taking ages or even crashing. But then he or she notices that the computer is slower than usual. Our protagonist seems to have lucked out. The software downloads, installs, and launches without any trouble - but also without requiring a key or activation code. One of the first links takes them to a seemingly innocuous site with decent design, user reviews, and even a feedback form.Īt first, everything seems fine. Instead of paying through the nose for a video editor, they search for “download Adobe Premiere free” or something to that effect. Let’s say someone wants to post their holiday videos to show friends. ![]()
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