Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Opera 50 Web Browser Will Offer Anti-Bitcoin Cryptocurrency Mining Feature (betanews.com)

Posted by msmash on from the fighting-back dept.

BrianFagioli writes: The upcoming version 50 of the Opera web browser will offer an integrated anti-Bitcoin mining feature. Besides Bitcoin, it will also block the mining of other cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin and Ethereum. If you aren't aware, some websites are hijacking user computers to mine for cryptocurrencies. This is not only a potential violation of trust, but it can negatively impact the computer's performance too. Mining is also a huge waste of electricity. Opera 50 will offer an optional setting that, when enabled, blocks this nonsense.

12 of 76 comments (clear)

  1. All well and good by DaMattster · · Score: 2

    But it still has to be able to detect that the code is even there. It's going to be a cat and mouse game similar to anti-virus and anti-malware. It will need definition updates in order to detect and block the code. The authors of this bitcoin mining software will just alter and tweak it a little bit. It's a moving target.

    1. Re:All well and good by theweatherelectric · · Score: 5, Interesting

      But it still has to be able to detect that the code is even there.

      It's just a block list. Specifically, this block list. You can make use of the NoCoin block list in, for example, uBlock Origin.

      Opera isn't doing anything particularly special here and it's a shame that they don't give the block list author any credit in the blog post (though they do in the comment section and in opera://about/credits in Opera 50 beta itself).

    2. Re: All well and good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Best way to do that is to disable the bloody thing by default.

      Sucking down as much scripted content from dubious sources and running it on your computer automatically is... not smart.

      At all.

  2. Re: I've got a 3ghz CPU with many, many cores by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Unfortunately, the end result will be that you'll get both.

  3. Don't care by nospam007 · · Score: 2

    I'd prefer they'd mine bitcoin in the background any day over any ads or a gazillion trackers that follow me around.

    1. Re:Don't care by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'd prefer they'd mine bitcoin in the background any day over any ads or a gazillion trackers

      Why not both? Seriously, webdevs don’t see an either-or here but a both-and situation. So should you: block all of it.

  4. Hijacking? That's rich! by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Nothing about this is hijacking. Hijacking implies it's an unauthorized takeover when the fact is that it's simply Javascript is doing exactly what it was created to do: execute arbitrary instructions from a remote source. The only thing different is that this is annoying people enough that it threatens all the jerks that demand to execute Javascript.

    Here's an idea: add basic animation and ad hoc relative source loading for CSS then completely do away with Javascript. Oh but the money people don't give a shit about what users want, it's all about what they want.

    Be real, this is just the logical conclusion of Javascript.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  5. Anti-Bitcoin Cryptocurrency Mining by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 2

    What are Anti-Bitcoins and why would I want to mine them in my browser?

    --
    Ezekiel 23:20
  6. Re:Javascript? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    That's only because you are paying for the time nd the energy

    if the energy is paid for by others and the time is parallel over a large enough group of systems, then the efficiency doesn't matter for the person doing the mining.

  7. Re:Javascript? by Opportunist · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It needn't be practical. It's the spam problem: If the cost is zero, a nonzero profit, no matter how small, is reason enough to do it.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  8. Re:Easy Poll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    Would you rather have ads in your content or cryptocoin miners running in the background?

    False dichotomy.

    The answer is "neither". I had neither yesterday. I have neither today. I will have neither tomorrow.

  9. Another angle by nehumanuscrede · · Score: 4, Interesting

    How difficult would it be to limit how much CPU the browser has access to ?

    Restricted to minimal CPU by default, allows you to whitelist sites that you trust.

    Plausible ? Better way ?