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Pirate Bay is Mining Cryptocurrency Again, No Opt Out (torrentfreak.com)

Posted by msmash on from the watch-out dept.

The Pirate Bay is mining cryptocurrency again, causing a spike in CPU usage among many visitors. From a report: For now, the notorious torrent site provides no option to disable it. The new mining expedition is not without risk. CDN provider Cloudflare previously suspended the account of a site that used a similar miner, which means that The Pirate Bay could be next. Last month The Pirate Bay caused some uproar by adding a Javascript-based cryptocurrency miner to its website. The miner utilizes CPU power from visitors to generate Monero coins for the site, providing an extra source of revenue. [...] The Pirate Bay currently has no opt-out option, nor has it informed users about the latest mining efforts. This could lead to another problem since Coinhive said it would crack down on customers who failed to keep users in the loop.

5 of 184 comments (clear)

  1. Duh by barrywalker · · Score: 4, Informative

    Turn Javascript off, dummies.

  2. NoScript by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 4, Informative

    I assume one could "opt out" using NoScript.

    It's annoying to be put in that position... but it's not as if it's particularly novel for end users to be forced into taking action to stop web sites from doing things we don't want them doing.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
  3. Re:Who cares? It's better than advertising. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    It's the most wasteful way of donating ever. You're throwing dollar bills out the window (electricity) to donate pennies.

  4. Re:Who cares? It's better than advertising. by viperidaenz · · Score: 3, Informative

    The Pirate Bay doesn't require Javascript to function. Turn it off and the ads are less intrusive too.

  5. Re:Shocked, simply shocked by sexconker · · Score: 3, Informative

    Next you'll tell me that Warez producers incorporate exploit code into the products they crack.

    They don't. Proper scene releases are clean.