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Title : Has YOUR computer been 'cryptojacked'? Experts reveal how to tell if hackers are using it to mine bitcoin.
Link : Has YOUR computer been 'cryptojacked'? Experts reveal how to tell if hackers are using it to mine bitcoin.

WHAT IS BITCOIN?

Bitcoin is a type of digital currency that was created in 2009.

Like other cryptocurrencies, it's a decentralized form of payment, which means that no banks or other authorities control it.

There are thousands of cryptocurrencies available for buying, selling and trading

Users may object to this, especially if it slows down their computers.

But given how hard it is for most companies to make money from online advertising, it might be something we have to get used to – unless we want to start paying more for things.

Units of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin aren't created by a central bank like regular money but are generated or 'mined' by computers solving complex equations.

Cryptojacking involves using someone's computer without their knowledge, perhaps for just seconds at a time, to mine a cryptocurrency.

In the case of bitcoin, mining requires specialised hardware and consumes masses of energy. For example, each bitcoin transaction takes enough energy to boil around 36,000 kettles filled with water. In a year, the whole bitcoin mining network consumes more energy than Ireland.

But bitcoin is not the only show in town and there are many competing cryptocurrences.

HOW TO TELL IF YOUR COMPUTER HAS BEEN 'CRYPTOJACKED'

Cryptojacking involves the secret use of your computer to mine for currency.

Hidden mining software may be embedded in an ad using JavaScript code.

Hackers have even found ways to inject the scripts into websites like Politifact.com and Showtime, mining money for themselves off of another site’s traffic.

It's common for the code to run on the website without the user noticing it.

Users who have been hit by cryptojackers often complain of a slower internet connection and slower processing speeds.

It can also drain a computer's battery much faster than normal.

If you want to prevent your computer from being cryptojacked you need a software tool which checks the code as it runs such as an ad-blocker.

One of the most successful is Monero, which builds a degree of privacy into transactions (something bitcoin doesn't do). Currently it requires no specialised hardware for mining, so anyone with computing power to spare can mine it.

Mining usually takes the form of a competition.

Whichever computer solves the equation the fastest is rewarded with the money.

With Moreno and other similar cryptocurrencies, a pool of computers can work together and share the reward if they win the competition.

This allows individual computers to work on a just small part of the mining task.

The larger the pool, the more chance there is of winning the reward.

When a computer is cryptojacked, it is added to a pool for to work on the task.

JavaScript advertisements running on a website can enable a computer to be cryptojacked. When a computer is cryptojacked, it's added to a pool for miners to work on the task. The mining is done at little cost to the website or internet provider, but can take up a great deal of processing power on the owner's computer

This is often done using a commercially available piece of software, such as Coinhive, which can written into what looks like an ad using the common website language JavaScript.

As the ad runs in the background, the computer is added to a pool.

This means the website or internet provider doing the cryptojacking can mine cryptocurrency with little cost to themselves.

One estimate is that 220 of the top 1,000 websites in the world are conducting cryptojacking, making a total of US$43,000 over a three week period.

This might not be very much but file-sharing sites in particular have been searching for new businesses models in order to support their operations and cryptojacking could grow into a new income source.

This is often done using a commercially available piece of software, such as Coinhive, which can written into what looks like an ad using the common website language JavaScript.

As the ad runs in the background, the computer is added to a pool.

This means the website or internet provider doing the cryptojacking can mine cryptocurrency with little cost to themselves.

One estimate is that 220 of the top 1,000 websites in the world are conducting cryptojacking, making a total of US$43,000 over a three week period.

Coinhive is a common JavaScript miner used for cryptojacking. Coinhive recommends that users that deploy the software should inform users they're being cryptojacked. But it's common for the code to run without users realising and without a way to opt out of it

The problem for the computer's owner is that this takes up processor power, making other operations take much longer.

Pirate Bay users have complained that their processors have been using up to 85% of their capacity compared with less than 10% for normal operations.

This can be accompanied by a large battery drain.

The Pirate Bay has since said this high processor usage was a bug and the system should normally use between 20% and 30% of processing power.

Coinhive strongly advises the websites that deploy it that they should inform users they are being cryptojacked.

But it's common for the code to run without users realising and without a way to opt out of it.

If you want to prevent your computer from being cryptojacked you need a software tool which checks the code as it runs such as an ad-blocker.

But you might feel that allowing a site to use a little bit of your computer's processing power is a better alternative to being bombarded with advertising.

Whatever you do, you'll likely end up paying for 'free' services somehow.

Bill Buchanan OBC, Head, The Cyber Academy,Edinburgh Napier University.