[kwlug-disc] Another Humble Bundle: Cryptocurrency

Khalid Baheyeldin kb at 2bits.com
Wed Oct 18 13:50:27 EDT 2017


I already block ads because, again, most of it is javascript
heavy, or loads flash ads that suck up CPU and RAM.
Not to mention that some ad networks have been
caught serving malware unknowingly.

So I block Javascript regardless if it is ads or cryptocurrency.

The issue with crypto currency in javascript in the browser
is that they are intentionally using up your resources without
your consent (not just showing you ads and badly written ads
suck up the CPU as a side effect).


On 10/18/17, Joel Nahrgang <joelsn at gmail.com> wrote:
> Right, but if they notified you they were doing this, would this be better
> than seeing ads which uses resources. I'm not sure myself
>
> On Wed, Oct 18, 2017 at 1:39 PM, Khalid Baheyeldin <kb at 2bits.com> wrote:
>
>> It is not security. It is resources on YOUR laptop that are being
>> used without explicit consent. CPU cycles, RAM, and responsiveness.
>>
>> More and more sites doing it everyday ...
>>
>> https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/the-
>> internet-is-ripe-with-in-browser-miners-and-its-getting-worse-each-day/
>>
>> On 10/18/17, Joel Nahrgang <joelsn at gmail.com> wrote:
>> > Not sure if anyone here listens to the Security now podcast,but in the
>> > recent one, they were discussing the browser mining and it seems like
>> there
>> > are a lot more sites that do it then we may think.
>> > It was interesting to hear their take - not really insecure and doesn't
>> > really use much of the computer.
>> >
>> > On Sun, Oct 15, 2017 at 1:57 PM, Khalid Baheyeldin <kb at 2bits.com>
>> > wrote:
>> >
>> >> I use uBlock Origin as well. In addition to that, NoScript.
>> >>
>> >> Exactly to prevent this kind of abuse, and keep my (older)
>> >> laptop performant.
>> >>
>> >> On 10/15/17, Chamunks <chamunks at gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> > And this is why I use uMatrix and other JS smashing things.
>> >> > https://brave.com
>> >> > https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/umatrix/
>> >> > https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ublock-origin/
>> >> cjpalhdlnbpafiamejdnhcphjbkeiagm?hl=en
>> >> >
>> >> > On Sat, Oct 14, 2017 at 8:16 PM Khalid Baheyeldin <kb at 2bits.com>
>> wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> >> I wonder if it is indeed a hack by a third party, or sites are
>> >> >> experimenting with mining, or simply their ad serving
>> >> >> service was used by third parties to serve ads.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> The ad service possibility is not likely in the case of
>> >> >> Politifact, since The Register says the code in question
>> >> >> was in the site navigation bar.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> But all ad serving is based on Javascript, and it would
>> >> >> be possible with some craftiness to serve mining JS.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> We saw malware/ransomware a few months ago served
>> >> >> this way.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> On 10/14/17, Ronald Barnes <ron at ronaldbarnes.ca> wrote:
>> >> >> > Khalid Baheyeldin wrote on 2017-10-14 02:43 PM:
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >> An ad blocking firm did some research, and they claim
>> >> >> >> that 500 million people are mining cryptocurrency when
>> >> >> >> visiting web sites.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Haven't followed all the links supplied, but just reading that
>> >> >> > Politifact had this "feature"; likely placed there by miscreants,
>> >> >> > not
>> >> >> > Politifact
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >>
>> >> >> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/10/13/politifact_mining_
>> >> cryptocurrency/
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Apologies if this was previously mentioned.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > r b
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > _______________________________________________
>> >> >> > kwlug-disc mailing list
>> >> >> > kwlug-disc at kwlug.org
>> >> >> > http://kwlug.org/mailman/listinfo/kwlug-disc_kwlug.org
>> >> >> >
>> >> >>
>> >> >>
>> >> >> --
>> >> >> Khalid M. Baheyeldin
>> >> >> 2bits.com, Inc.
>> >> >> http://2bits.com
>> >> >> Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
>> >> >> Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
>> >> >> Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
>> >> >>
>> >> >> _______________________________________________
>> >> >> kwlug-disc mailing list
>> >> >> kwlug-disc at kwlug.org
>> >> >> http://kwlug.org/mailman/listinfo/kwlug-disc_kwlug.org
>> >> >>
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >> Khalid M. Baheyeldin
>> >> 2bits.com, Inc.
>> >> http://2bits.com
>> >> Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
>> >> Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
>> >> Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
>> >>
>> >> _______________________________________________
>> >> kwlug-disc mailing list
>> >> kwlug-disc at kwlug.org
>> >> http://kwlug.org/mailman/listinfo/kwlug-disc_kwlug.org
>> >>
>> >
>>
>>
>> --
>> Khalid M. Baheyeldin
>> 2bits.com, Inc.
>> http://2bits.com
>> Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
>> Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
>> Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
>>
>


-- 
Khalid M. Baheyeldin
2bits.com, Inc.
http://2bits.com
Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci




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