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Now Even YouTube Serves Ads With CPU-draining Cryptocurrency Miners (arstechnica.com)
YouTube was recently caught displaying ads that covertly leach off visitors' CPUs and electricity to generate digital currency on behalf of anonymous attackers, it was widely reported. From a report: Word of the abusive ads started no later than Tuesday, as people took to social media sites to complain their antivirus programs were detecting cryptocurrency mining code when they visited YouTube. The warnings came even when people changed the browser they were using, and the warnings seemed to be limited to times when users were on YouTube. On Friday, researchers with antivirus provider Trend Micro said the ads helped drive a more than three-fold spike in Web miner detections. They said the attackers behind the ads were abusing Google's DoubleClick ad platform to display them to YouTube visitors in select countries, including Japan, France, Taiwan, Italy, and Spain. The ads contain JavaScript that mines the digital coin known as Monero.
This is why I run an adblocker and a script blocker.
And why I refuse to visit sites that insist I turn it off.
Speaking of which, anyone know any WebExtensions that do anti-anti-adblock? The old one was XUL.
General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
"Unoccupied CPUs" were a waste back when a CPU used the same amount of power idling as working.
Today, giving my "unoccupied CPU" a task for your benefit is theft of my battery life (time until I need to recharge), battery lifetime (total number of cycles), electricity (both direct device usage and indirect cooling needs), and device lifetime (hotter devices fail sooner).
Now, if you'd like to offer me payment for these things you wish to consume, we can talk.
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I don't know why this is the first time I'm realizing this, but "ads" that cryptomine seem like a great idea. Given the amount of web browsing that is just that, with an otherwise unoccupied CPU, I'd much rather the sites I visit be earning some money directly from my use than displaying crappy ads all over and splitting that income with the middlemen.
I would be fine with this in place of ads if a) it's fully disclosed b) it's opt-in, and c) it's set to consume no more than say 25% of my CPU.
I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.