Cryptojacking

Cryptojacking is the act of exploiting a <a href="/facts/Computer/SQe1aK05">computer</a> to mine <a href="/facts/Cryptocurrencies/Rg6JAS8y">cryptocurrencies</a>, often through <a href="/facts/Website/SAsjJnca">websites</a>, against the user's will or while the user is unaware. One notable piece of software used for cryptojacking was <a href="/facts/Coinhive/yQvg9Dcc">Coinhive</a>, which was used in over two-thirds of cryptojacks before its March 2019 shutdown. The cryptocurrencies mined the most often are privacy coins—coins with hidden transaction histories—such as <a href="/facts/Monero/KAQXR18X">Monero</a> and <a href="/facts/Zcash/t36Edlhr">Zcash</a>.
Like most malicious attacks on the computing public, the motive is profit, but unlike other threats, it is designed to remain completely hidden from the user. Cryptojacking <a href="/facts/Malware/5ee7TLFR">malware</a> can lead to slowdowns and crashes due to straining of computational resources.
Bitcoin mining by personal computers infected with malware is being challenged by dedicated hardware, such as <a href="/facts/Field-programmable_gate_array/M8LSGcAU">FPGA</a> and <a href="/facts/Application-specific_integrated_circuit/YGUXpX50">ASIC</a> platforms, which are more efficient in terms of power consumption and thus may have lower costs than theft of computing resources.

Cryptojacking open-in-new

Cryptojacking