sites mine cryptocurrency

[Mugwump]

Between the incessant headlines and chatter on social media, it feels like everywhere we go some libertarian evangelist appears asking us if we have a second to talk about the blockchain -- like a religious wingnut lurking outside the grocery store.

The fever for a magic internet money no one actually understands is definitely something akin to religious fervor right now.

In the biggest example of blind faith yet, people are apparently mortgaging their homes to buy Bitcoin as it soars to previously unimagined value. At the time of publishing, one Bitcoin is worth over $16,000 -- far above its worth this time last year when it was $807. But good luck finding places to spend it: Bitcoin is getting mainstream adoption, but you still can't pay your credit card bill with it. The whole thing has a vibe that portends disaster, or at the very least, the beginning of a lot of stories about scammers making bank while normal people get hoodwinked.

So it's no wonder that the always-sketchy, ever-scammy, and terminally exploitative online ad industry is starting to get replaced in favor of cryptocurrency mining -- the nonconsensual use of a website visitor's computer to make more imaginary coins.

The trend emerged in September, yet it's making news this week thanks to Twitter user Noah Dinkin spotting a Starbucks location overtaxing its customers' machines to mine for the cryptocurrency Monero (without their knowledge). The Starbucks reward site for Argentina was using its portal to run Coinhive's code (by way of injecting scripts, like a malware attack) to farm Monero coins on Starbucks customers who were using the coffee giant's wifi. Starbucks still hasn't responded to public inquiries about the cryptocurrency miner, causing speculation that the company may be purposely doing the illicit mining.

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https://www.engadget.com/2017/12/15/as-online-ads-fail-sites-mine-cryptocurrency/