In order to mitigate the impact of cryptocurrency malware as well as the unwanted use of computer resources for cryptocurrency mining, Trend Micro suggests the following best practices:

It can result in decreased system performance and can also expose users to various risks, including information theft and other malware. Malware involving cryptocurrencies have been on the rise of late, as they make popular targets for cybercriminals who prefer the convenience and anonymity they offer over non-digital currencies.įor users, the effect of cryptocurrency malware can be widespread. Back in May, the Adylkuzz trojan (detected by Trend Micro as TROJ_COINMINER.WN) leveraged the EternalBlue vulnerability – the same one used by WannaCry - in order to steal user resources and mine Monero. Monero is an interesting choice of cryptocurrency for The Pirate Bay, as while the cryptocurrency itself is legitimate, it has also been involved in recent malware attacks. In general, most users agreed, however, that The Pirate Bay should have been more transparent about the implementation of the miner and should have given users the option whether to donate CPU power or not. Reception to the move has been mixed, with some users applauding it as a means of generating more income while others were annoyed that their computer resources were being used without their knowledge. Users found code in the website that points to a service called Coinhive as the miner TPB uses. This has been corrected to allow only 20-30% usage instead.

The post also mentioned that a small mistake in the code resulted in the usage of all the CPU power of its visitors. In a blog post, the site’s administrators mentioned that they were testing a JavaScript miner in order to generate enough revenue to get rid of all the ads on the site. However, users might have gotten more than they bargained for, as the website was discovered to be using the computers of its visitors to generate coins for the Monero digital currency as a means of additional income. The Pirate Bay (TPB), perhaps the most popular torrent-hosting website, is often used to download software and media – many of which are illegally uploaded.

Monero crypto web miner