Crypto Mining

plodr · February 12, 2018, 04:48:19 PM

After reading what happened in the UK
http://www.computerweekly.com/news/252434855/Criminals-hijack-government-sites-to-mine-cryptocurrency-used-to-hide-wealth

my question is: Is there a site or some software that I can use to test that my computer has not been corralled to mine crypto currency?

Pete! · February 12, 2018, 06:08:36 PM

Something in the McAfee Multi Access security suite, supplied by my ISP, is blocking both "CoinHive" and "BrowseAloud"...... I decided not to override.

Corrine · February 12, 2018, 07:27:22 PM

Blocking: How to Block Cryptocurrency Miners in Your Web Browser

A bit of info in the "How to find out if my PC is secretly mining cryptocurrency? section in this article: 6 Easy Ways To Block Cryptocurrency Mining In Your Web Browser

plodr · February 12, 2018, 08:29:14 PM

Thanks to the Queen of Security! :)
I'll go read the links and take some notes.

I try and be safe but when government sites get hacked, even safe sites can't actually be trusted as safe.

uBlockOrigin blocked the coinhive site in Palemoon. It didn't get as far as MBAM blocking it.

Corrine · February 12, 2018, 09:26:33 PM

Love uBlock Origin! I have it on both Pale Moon and Microsoft Edge. If you've gone to the dashboard and added HP Hosts or MVPS Hosts, that is likely why the conhive site was blocked ahead of MBAM.

plodr · February 13, 2018, 01:07:52 AM

No, I haven't done a thing with any Hosts files.

Pete! · February 13, 2018, 02:00:44 PM

Quote from: Corrine on February 12, 2018, 09:26:33 PM
Love uBlock Origin! I have it on both Pale Moon and Microsoft Edge. If you've gone to the dashboard and added HP Hosts or MVPS Hosts, that is likely why the conhive site was blocked ahead of MBAM.

Thanks for the tip. :)

It was easy enough to add "No Coin" to Firefox, but I was wondering what to do about Edge. "uBlock Origin" is one of the extensions available for Edge, and adding HP Hosts or MVPS Hosts were options.

pastywhitegurl · February 14, 2018, 12:07:32 AM

If I already have Ublock Origin and MBAM PRO, do I need another coin mining blocker?

Corrine · February 14, 2018, 01:43:57 AM

I think that is sufficient.

pastywhitegurl · February 14, 2018, 01:53:31 AM

Thanks! I had noticed FireFox has a couple extensions for that and was wondering.

JDBush61 · February 14, 2018, 04:09:33 AM

Quote from: Corrine on February 12, 2018, 09:26:33 PM
Love uBlock Origin! I have it on both Pale Moon and Microsoft Edge. If you've gone to the dashboard and added HP Hosts or MVPS Hosts, that is likely why the conhive site was blocked ahead of MBAM.

Corrine, on my Windows 7 computer I usually use Pale Moon (with Adblock Latitude 3.0.3.1 extension), yet sometimes Firefox or Internet Explorer. I also have "SeaMonkey" installed, yet never use it.

Please give us the specific instructions on how to install the uBlock Origin (and also "uBlock Origin Updater"?). Is uBlock Origin easy to install, and keep updated? Also, will using uBlock Origin alone keep us safe from the crypto-mining scripts / secret CPU usage? I read through the articles you cited. I currently use MBAM, yet don't wish to pay for MBAM Pro.

As always, your expert advice is greatly appreciated!

Ps; If you have any additional advice for those of us who often use Safari, I would greatly appreciate it!

plodr · February 14, 2018, 03:00:24 PM

uBlock Origin is now tricky to install in Palemoon since Firefox went to the new type of addon. Mozilla has removed all the old type addons.

I found an easier way:
Go here https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/versions/
and find a version, the newest you can find, that has a green download button. 1.13.8 can be installed.

Then go here and install the uBlock Origin updater
https://addons.palemoon.org/extensions/privacy-and-security/

After you have them both showing in your addons, check for updates and uBO should update to 1.15.6

winchester73 · February 14, 2018, 03:16:07 PM

Would it be useful to have a discussion about using a hosts file vs. a browser–based ad blocker? Or both?

Corrine · February 14, 2018, 08:59:39 PM

John, uBlock Origin is available for Safari on GitHub. You may want to read this article to get a bit of background on uBlock Origin: macOS: uBlock Origin comes to Safari | CIO. The download links at GitHub are in the article.

Corrine · February 14, 2018, 09:12:32 PM

While we're on the topic of uBlock Origin, some time ago Satrow directed me to a thread on the Pale Moon forum with suggestions for setting it up. Since I can't find the thread now, I made screen copies of the setup I have. The options are available by selecting Options > Show Dashboard from the extension.