How to protect yourself from hidden mining. Simple and effective tips

Hidden mining is gaining momentum. Crypto jacking has become one of the most common types of fraud. Moreover, in order to fall for the bait of hackers, it is not necessary to even know about the crypt. Secret mining does not recognize borders, distances and monetary statuses.

And although this is one of the most harmless types of fraud, it negatively affects the performance of the PC. The NullTX portal figured out how to clean your computer from hidden miners.

What is crypto jacking

Mining it is hidden and that no one knows about it, except perhaps a hacker. The whole principle of crypto jacking is based on the fact that the resources of a PC of an unsuspecting user are used for fraudsters. Hidden mining does not directly harm, but the computer starts to slow down.

Due to the high complexity of Bitcoin mining, mining it on user devices is pointless. Most often, hackers mine altcoins, the first line among which is Monero. Monero is such a popular coin in the crypto jacking environment that approximately 5 percent of its total volume is mined using hidden mining. Opposition by law enforcement agencies and investigations of cybersecurity companies does not scare criminals.

How it works

Almost any modern device with Internet access can become a “victim” of hidden mining. Most often, PC resources are stolen using mining in a browser. The user goes to the site where the hidden miner is sewn into a Javascript file. At the same time, the owner of the page may not even suspect the fact of crypt mining - hackers sometimes find holes in site security systems to embed their miners.

The first script to mine coins in a browser was CoinHive. He gained particular popularity after the scandal with PirateBay. However, now there are many other CoinHive analogues also bitcoin signals.

The second most popular method is downloading malware for permanent mining. Here, those who want easy money have a bunch of options. Miners palm off to users as disguised system files or as an important system update.

Especially inventive hackers do not spare even the smartphones of the victims. True, application developers, too, are not idle - they are in every way opposed to hidden mining.

How to avoid it

It’s pretty easy to spot something wrong. The computer starts to slow down, opens tabs in the browser for a long time, and slowly switches between windows. In more detail, the effect of hidden miners can be studied in the task manager, which opens with the key combination Ctrl + Alt + Delete. If your CPU utilization is approaching a hundred percent, it's time to beat the alarm.

To counter crypto jacking, you should download special software that blocks CoinHive and similar scripts. The latest Windows 10 update also blocks some scripts, but not all. You can, of course, completely disable Javascript, but without it, comfortable web surfing will become more complicated.

Another option is to switch to Opera. The browser has protection against hidden mining by default, so you don’t even have to download anything.

In the case of mobile devices on iOS or Android platforms, it’s even easier - miners stop working as soon as you switch to another tab or application. The operating system will not allow background processes to use too much processor resources.

And finally, the main measure - stick to elementary cyberhygens. Do not download suspicious files, do not follow suspicious links and always update your antivirus. Periodically check system status and resource consumption.