No Coin, a browser extension that prevents the mining of cryptocurrencies on your computer without your knowledge is now available for Opera web browser.
No Coin is used to web miners that use your processor power to mine cryptocurrencies without your knowledge. Opera included an extension to block ads a few versions ago, but the most recent version brings the possibility to download No Coin as well. The extension uses a blacklist of softwares such as Coinhive.
If you are interested, you can find the repository of the No Coin list on GitHub. The extension is certified by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and it’s open source. It is used in conjunction with the following extensions: AdBlock, AdBlock Plus and uBlock Origin. When it comes to mobile devices, it is used with Adblock Browser and with the version Opera 50 of the Opera web browser it’s automatically used.
This extension could be effective against Coinhive, a code which is added to websites and then mines the cryptocurrency called Moner without the user’s knowledge. One of the most famous cases of the use of Coinhive to earn money took place on The Pirate Bay, one of the most famous websites used for download of pirate software and other content. There are many other websites which have included this malicious code.
Another example is the use of this code during the streaming of TV shows and movies belonging to the famous television network, CBS. This happened on the platform called Showtime.com and its subsidiary ShowtimeAnytime.com. Around 60% of the processing capacity was used for mining in the Monero blockchain network, while the users were browsing the websites.
The No Coin extension appeared for Google Chrome web browser in September. Mozilla Firefox followed immediately and added the extension to its web browser to prevent the web miners from using the processing power of the users illicitly.
A recent research found out that the processing power of the users can be used even if all the website windows are closed. In these cases, 50% of the CPU power is still being used by a process linked to the web browser.
IT security expert Troy Mursch considers this type of activity to be a kidnapping of which the users are not aware. Web miners can even use the entire processing power of the CPU, which is a serious problem. Smartphone users could notice their devices are becoming hot and the battery is running out faster in the case of web mining.
