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Coinhive Cryptojacking Service Will Shut Down Next Week (zdnet.com)

Coinhive, an in-browser Monero cryptocurrency miner famous for being abused by malware gangs, announced this week its intention to shut down all operations next month, on March 8, 2019. From a report: The service cited multiple reasons for its decision in a blog post published yesterday. "The drop in hash rate (over 50%) after the last Monero hard fork hit us hard," the company said. "So did the 'crash' of the crypto currency market with the value of XMR depreciating over 85% within a year." "This and the announced hard fork and algorithm update of the Monero network on March 9 has lead us to the conclusion that we need to discontinue Coinhive," the company said. Coinhive said all in-browser Monero mining will stop working after March 8, and registered users will have until April 30 to withdraw funds from their accounts. The service, which launched in mid-September 2017, promoted itself as an alternative to classic banner ads. In its heyday, the site was making around $250,000 per month, according to some estimates.

20 comments

  1. Ads, or ads + unsolicited coin-mining malware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "The service, which launched in mid-September 2017, promoted itself as an alternative to classic banner ads." Yeah, a worse alternative! Fuckers! Good riddance.

    1. Re:Ads, or ads + unsolicited coin-mining malware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Don't forget that Slashdead was using this up to a few months ago in lieu of captchas. So whenever you went to register a new account, coinhive thrashed your browser for a few minutes to mint some BizX bucks.
       
      Sickening.
       
      captcha: wealthy (I kid you not.)

    2. Re:Ads, or ads + unsolicited coin-mining malware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "So whenever you went to register a new account" - Dodged another bullet I guess, fuck this place sometimes. If it's not apologizing for China via lies it's sucking Putin's dick for pork rinds.

    3. Re:Ads, or ads + unsolicited coin-mining malware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uranium One apologists! I know, right?

  2. Bubble by XXongo · · Score: 4, Insightful
    Right now, cryptocurrency is in a bubble: people use it to speculate; they don't use it as a currency.

    To be currency, the value has to be stable.

    Maybe some day some cryptocurrency will be stable, and will be usable as a currency. But right now? Nope.

    1. Re:Bubble by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's funny because three days ago I used Bitcoin Cash BCH to buy all my weekly groceries as usual.
      And I've bought about three computers, monitors, etc in the last two years with it.
      I bought a car with Bitcoin.
      And sold about half my junk already on openbazaar.

  3. The damage has been done by xack · · Score: 2

    The “money” generated by the site is minimal compared to the bandwidth and electric bills caused by the mining, and most mining was blocked by adblockers and firewalls anyway.

    1. Re:The damage has been done by doconnor · · Score: 2

      Ads also use a lot of bandwidth and electricity and also have virtually no tangible benefit.

    2. Re:The damage has been done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most? Most people don't actually have adblockers or firewalls that stop it. That's horseshit.

    3. Re: The damage has been done by peragrin · · Score: 1

      I am actually getting to the point of setting up a dns whitelist for ads. Block every viral ad at the router for all my guests.

      Think of the bandwidth savings.

      --
      i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
    4. Re:The damage has been done by tepples · · Score: 1

      The benefit of ads is that they allow smaller transactions of access in exchange for attention than the credit card networks allow. A credit card processor will take 30 cents per transaction, as will an ACH processor. This rules out pay-per-page through commonly used electronic payment methods.

    5. Re: The damage has been done by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do yourself a favor and use pihole

  4. I for one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    will be glad when the entire cryptocurrency thing is a pile of smoldering embers. It's a promise that cannot be delivered upon with any real traction because there are so many competing standards. And the fact that bad actors are drawn to it like moths to a flame. I've been running No Coin in my browsers as well as blocking it on my Pi-hole since it was a thing.

    1. Re: I for one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Of course you might care more if I logged in rather than sneak around as AC. I am lame I know.

  5. Just another sign!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just another sign of incoming total collapse of all cryptocurrencies!!!

    @HODLers:
    SELL ASAP!!!
    (Unless someday suddenly you want to lose all of your cryptocurrency investment(s) (when the final big panic starts)!!!)

  6. "LISTEN, & understand..." apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject & "that terminator is out there. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse OR FEAR & it absolutely WILL NOT STOP, ever, until YOU are DEAD..."

    * "Can you stop it?"

    Yes, I can & with the hosts file weapon in the link below...

    APK

    P.S.=> Again, see subject & https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... ... apk

  7. Myself & hosts SHUT 'EM DOWN for years by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "classic Windows hosts trick to block the Coinhive or Crypto-Loot domains" - https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/a-new-player-joins-coinhive-on-the-browser-cryptojacking-scene/ - BLEEPING COMPUTER

    See subject & "I'm Reese, Sgt. TechComm DN38416 assigned to protect you - You've been TARGETTED 4 termination!"

    * "Come w/ me if you wanna live..."

    APK

    P.S.=> For the best hosts file multiplatform:

    APK Hosts File Engine 2.0++ 64-bit for Linux h t t p : / / a p k . i t - m a t e . c o . u k / A P K H o s t s F i l e E n g i n e F o r L i n u x . z i p (remove spaces between chars & download)

    APK Hosts File Engine 10++ SR-1 32/64-bit for Windows https://hosts-file.net/?s=Down... (DL link @ bottom)

    Soon for MacOS (I just got a NEW Mac-Mini to port it there)... apk

  8. "LISTEN, & understand..." apk by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    See subject & "that terminator is out there. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse OR FEAR & it absolutely WILL NOT STOP, ever, until YOU are DEAD..."

    * "Can you stop it?"

    Yes, I can & with the hosts file weapon in the link below... continuing my "terminator theme" today, again!

    APK

    P.S.=> Again, see subject & https://tech.slashdot.org/comm... ... apk

  9. Alternative to Coinhive. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Besides the drop in XMR prices, what should be most people’s verdict on Coinhive closing down so soon! Was the closure also influenced by competitors? In this aspect we look at CoinIMP mostly since it’s the very closest among all Coinhive alternatives.