McAfee Says Crypto Mining Malware Increased 4,000% in 2018

[Lmaooo]

The 2018 McAfee Labs Threat Report in December has shown a massive increase in crypto mining malware activity this year that is in the 4,000% region.

The report shows that the sharp rises began in the final quarter of 2017 through the first quarter of 2018. During the second quarter of the year, the figures dropped and then jumped again between the second and third quarter,

The figures have shown that crypto-criminals are now targeting miners with new cryptojacking malware. Crypto mining malware rose 71% in Q3 of 2018 alone according to McAfee. Criminals have been targeting those who use “routers or IoT devices such as IP cameras or video recorders as crypto miners” because they lack security and have weak CPUs.

McAfee also discussed a few examples of how crypto-criminals were exploiting the users of messenger services such as Telegram, Discord, and Slack to infect their computers with mining malware.

CCN | https://www.ccn.com/mcafee-says-crypto-mining-malware-increased-4000-in-2018/

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[cellard]

I had a couple of windows builds that I managed and when I forgot about keeping them up to date they ended up getting infected by some sort of ransomware. The disks automatically encrypted themselves and now they ask for a password. Luckily there isn't anything of value that I think of. That coupled with some loss of passes, I have a set of unusable HDDs.

Anyway, if anything ransomware infections will forever have a bullish reason for Bitcoin. This demand will continue as ransomware will keep getting more effective and owners of infected computers must buy Bitcoin or lose the data.

[davis196]

I had a couple of windows builds that I managed and when I forgot about keeping them up to date they ended up getting infected by some sort of ransomware. The disks automatically encrypted themselves and now they ask for a password. Luckily there isn't anything of value that I think of. That coupled with some loss of passes, I have a set of unusable HDDs.

Anyway, if anything ransomware infections will forever have a bullish reason for Bitcoin. This demand will continue as ransomware will keep getting more effective and owners of infected computers must buy Bitcoin or lose the data.

Ransomare have a bullish reason for bitcoin?Do you really think that forcing more people to buy btc in order to pay those ransoms will drive the bitcoin price up?BTC ransomware creates a negative image of bitcoin and it forces the bitcoin price to decrease.I don't think that anybody would be that stupid to pay a bitcoin ransome,because most of the time,they will never unlock their data.

[el kaka22]

It is one of the easiest ways to make money if you are smart and your victims are not smart at all. I mean you do not "hack" anything on their computer, you don't steal anything, you don't basically get anything from them aside from their GPU or CPU. Of course that causes their computers to be incredibly slow and get old much quicker and even sometimes breaks their computers which are the bad sides of this thing but in the end when there are hackers who are out to get your credit card information, this seems a lot less damaging to people.

You just put some mining malware and let it work and make money from it. If you could achieve thousands of computers all at once than you can make thousands of dollars without mining a single bit yourself. It is really genius if you ask me.

[hatshepsut93]

I had a couple of windows builds that I managed and when I forgot about keeping them up to date they ended up getting infected by some sort of ransomware. The disks automatically encrypted themselves and now they ask for a password. Luckily there isn't anything of value that I think of. That coupled with some loss of passes, I have a set of unusable HDDs.

Anyway, if anything ransomware infections will forever have a bullish reason for Bitcoin. This demand will continue as ransomware will keep getting more effective and owners of infected computers must buy Bitcoin or lose the data.

Being up to date doesn't make you immune and it's obviously is not the reason of infection. I've turned off updates on my windows 10 a year ago and to this day I haven't got a single case of malware. You just need to be very careful about what you install on your machine, regardless of the platform. Also, use the admin account if you don't need to, because it makes very easy for malware to do anything it wants.

There's nothing bullish in ransomware, people who buy BTC to pay up their ransoms are nothing compared to daily volumes. Then, there's no guarantee that criminals don't sell BTC asap. Also it tarnishes Bitcoin's reputation.

[masterzino]

Most users aren't aware what is going on with their machines. So it's a normal development of things.

Crooks are always looking for a new ways to make some dirty bucks and crypto miners are much more easiest than extortions for example.

[Harlot]

This might also be the reason why miners are shutting down even though the mining difficulty had decreased. There are so many vulnerabilities and threats being done to them that the their main income is being affected not only by price but also to criminals like them. The whole industry is affected because of it and it is giving FUD in the market showing that the miners are not coming back to mine crypto. As usual the only way to counter this is by upgrading their security which they should have done by now but still miners are not coming back so I think prices are a more concern for them.

[kryptqnick]

Unfortunately, that seems right. My antivirus is blocking files that have 'miner' in their names pretty often. And that's something that comes not even from deliberate downloads, but from reading some articles and watching videos on various websites! My father also had such an issue with lots of monero being mined on his computer for months. Exploiting others is easy and profitable, because they are paying the bills. I am pretty sure most of people don't even notice that their PCs are not working as good as they could. I think it's important for people to become aware of that. As such attacks become more common, I'm sure the newer antiviruses will target this type of malware in the future.

[omonuyak]

The 2018 McAfee Labs Threat Report in December has shown a massive increase in crypto mining malware activity this year that is in the 4,000% region.

The report shows that the sharp rises began in the final quarter of 2017 through the first quarter of 2018. During the second quarter of the year, the figures dropped and then jumped again between the second and third quarter,

The figures have shown that crypto-criminals are now targeting miners with new cryptojacking malware. Crypto mining malware rose 71% in Q3 of 2018 alone according to McAfee. Criminals have been targeting those who use “routers or IoT devices such as IP cameras or video recorders as crypto miners” because they lack security and have weak CPUs.

McAfee also discussed a few examples of how crypto-criminals were exploiting the users of messenger services such as Telegram, Discord, and Slack to infect their computers with mining malware.

CCN | https://www.ccn.com/mcafee-says-crypto-mining-malware-increased-4000-in-2018/

This is very serious and that is the much reason why we need security projects that can guide investors investments and miners.  Alot of criminal are going on and those criminals are using all means to steal bitcoin and others cryptocurrencies.  I think McAfee is quiet correct in the % of the malware attack this year as this is also affecting the market 

[cellard]

I had a couple of windows builds that I managed and when I forgot about keeping them up to date they ended up getting infected by some sort of ransomware. The disks automatically encrypted themselves and now they ask for a password. Luckily there isn't anything of value that I think of. That coupled with some loss of passes, I have a set of unusable HDDs.

Anyway, if anything ransomware infections will forever have a bullish reason for Bitcoin. This demand will continue as ransomware will keep getting more effective and owners of infected computers must buy Bitcoin or lose the data.

Ransomare have a bullish reason for bitcoin?Do you really think that forcing more people to buy btc in order to pay those ransoms will drive the bitcoin price up?BTC ransomware creates a negative image of bitcoin and it forces the bitcoin price to decrease.I don't think that anybody would be that stupid to pay a bitcoin ransome,because most of the time,they will never unlock their data.

Well, the bitcoins have to be bought nonetheless. Irrespective of the moral wrong of infecting people with ransomware which is obviously a bad thing, looking strictly at supply and demand, the demand of bitcoin grows as the infected with ransomware have to buy it to take back control of data.

If the hackers aren't dumb, they will not sell the coins in the markets, so it will not have a negative impact on price.

The net result is a price that raises.

[dothebeats]

It is still on the rise albeit the recent crash in price of cryptocurrencies. It usually appears on sites that give you direct access on download links and automatically installs the malware on your machine in the background. I've become a victim of such on my gaming machine back in 2017, when I downloaded a dll file that is needed to run a certain game. I usually get 200+ fps on the same game on ultra preset, but suddenly the performance shifted to shit (30-40 fps on normal scenes) which prompted me to do a full scan of the said machine. To my surprise, a mining malware is active on my pc which causes the poor performance of the rig on the said game. Luckily the malware was easy to remove yet I still did a full reformat just to be safe.

Heck, even websites have embedded mining malware scripts that run on the background that the end-user doesn't know about.

[cybernetik7]

Like in every sector, thieves who want to make easy money harm on crypto mining sector. Since we all are not computer experts, we don't know whether our computers are used by these hackers.  Exploiting people like us is very easy and they gain money without paying the bills.

[tdrinker]

Malware will only become more complex and more prevalent as there is so much money to be made through success. Perhaps Mr McAfee might transition in to making an anti-malware for miners.

[netto7]

crypto mining malware will come with  new crypto mining software  and say more hashrate with low dev fee.

in Q3 it have a lot of malware mining software


i try to report scam miner in this  topic  i hope it can help

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5047129.msg46700620#msg46700620

[jossiel]

Those telegram groups and other same channels who have been operating a "cloud mining" service inside became rampant this year. People should learn and be vigilant about it and must be careful with things like this.

The number of newbies who are being introduced to this type of trade in cryptos are increasing as well, so the victims are. To those that dont want to leave those telegram groups and is requiring you to download a file with an unfamiliar extension file, be aware of that because it can be the script that will be injected to your computers.

[Semosuchi Tesongrato]

Well, malware gets everywhere, no wonder it's even in the mining industry.
However, such an exaggerated increase only indicates that you are dedicated to mining incompetent people who do not take a minimum of precautions against attacks.

[charlotte04]

The 2018 McAfee Labs Threat Report in December has shown a massive increase in crypto mining malware activity this year that is in the 4,000% region.

The report shows that the sharp rises began in the final quarter of 2017 through the first quarter of 2018. During the second quarter of the year, the figures dropped and then jumped again between the second and third quarter,

The figures have shown that crypto-criminals are now targeting miners with new cryptojacking malware. Crypto mining malware rose 71% in Q3 of 2018 alone according to McAfee. Criminals have been targeting those who use “routers or IoT devices such as IP cameras or video recorders as crypto miners” because they lack security and have weak CPUs.

McAfee also discussed a few examples of how crypto-criminals were exploiting the users of messenger services such as Telegram, Discord, and Slack to infect their computers with mining malware.

CCN | https://www.ccn.com/mcafee-says-crypto-mining-malware-increased-4000-in-2018/

For me, McAfee really doesn't know anything about crypto. He just do his job as an influencer to hype people up for a coin and many people also follows him for that.

[netto7]

The 2018 McAfee Labs Threat Report in December has shown a massive increase in crypto mining malware activity this year that is in the 4,000% region.

The report shows that the sharp rises began in the final quarter of 2017 through the first quarter of 2018. During the second quarter of the year, the figures dropped and then jumped again between the second and third quarter,

The figures have shown that crypto-criminals are now targeting miners with new cryptojacking malware. Crypto mining malware rose 71% in Q3 of 2018 alone according to McAfee. Criminals have been targeting those who use “routers or IoT devices such as IP cameras or video recorders as crypto miners” because they lack security and have weak CPUs.

McAfee also discussed a few examples of how crypto-criminals were exploiting the users of messenger services such as Telegram, Discord, and Slack to infect their computers with mining malware.

CCN | https://www.ccn.com/mcafee-says-crypto-mining-malware-increased-4000-in-2018/

For me, McAfee really doesn't know anything about crypto. He just do his job as an influencer to hype people up for a coin and many people also follows him for that.

i think mr. mcafee not working at company any more.

this report come from employee

[Luchinono]

The statistics just goes to show there have been an increase in the number of scammers across the network,installing malwares is one very way to get the better of crypto enthusiast,but I think the success of such attempts have been at a reduced level, as people are now more vigilant, far more wiser and more proactive to such scam attempts

[1Referee]

i think mr. mcafee not working at company any more.

this report come from employee

John is long over anything related to AV solutions. He keeps trashing them hard. They don't work, and they are an entry point for governments to sniff through your files without you knowing.

It's not all that long ago where various governments have stopped using Kaspersky AV out of fear for the Russian government.

In the end, people are stupid. If you don't chase quick gains and free money that doesn't exist, you won't have to deal with any of this. Using common sense is more effective than all the AV solutions combined. People intentionally install crap and in some cases intentionally ignore AV warnings, so there is nothing that you can do to stop this. Expect it to grow the deeper we dig into mainstream adoption.

[chenille]

McAfee might be a very controversial person in crypto but i think crypto mining malware is really increasing because it's a profitable business for them. Energy is free because it's stolen so they don't have to worry about profitability too much.
I doubt if the numbers are correct, most likely it was less, but an increase in geral is not surprising. Hackers / scammers are everywhere, unfortunately.

Aaaand he needs to promote his products. 

[haroldtee]

It is still on the rise albeit the recent crash in price of cryptocurrencies. It usually appears on sites that give you direct access on download links and automatically installs the malware on your machine in the background. I've become a victim of such on my gaming machine back in 2017, when I downloaded a dll file that is needed to run a certain game. I usually get 200+ fps on the same game on ultra preset, but suddenly the performance shifted to shit (30-40 fps on normal scenes) which prompted me to do a full scan of the said machine. To my surprise, a mining malware is active on my pc which causes the poor performance of the rig on the said game. Luckily the malware was easy to remove yet I still did a full reformat just to be safe.

Heck, even websites have embedded mining malware scripts that run on the background that the end-user doesn't know about.

Certainly, with the way things are going, technology is speeding up and so are hackers when it comes to creating malwares knowing there will always be the gullible ones who knows nothing much when it comes to securing their gadgets. Knowledge as you said from learning at this stage is something that is required a whole lot right now. Nonetheless, as much as PC viruses have been huge over the years, trust me, till date so many people are still not aware of the necessity of having an up to date antivirus with good reputation let alone figuring out the possibilities of a crypto mining malware on their system or hardwares. Apparently, everything will always come with its own snag.

[proxydomain711]

The 2018 McAfee Labs Threat Report in December has shown a massive increase in crypto mining malware activity this year that is in the 4,000% region.

The report shows that the sharp rises began in the final quarter of 2017 through the first quarter of 2018. During the second quarter of the year, the figures dropped and then jumped again between the second and third quarter,

The figures have shown that crypto-criminals are now targeting miners with new cryptojacking malware. Crypto mining malware rose 71% in Q3 of 2018 alone according to McAfee. Criminals have been targeting those who use “routers or IoT devices such as IP cameras or video recorders as crypto miners” because they lack security and have weak CPUs.

McAfee also discussed a few examples of how crypto-criminals were exploiting the users of messenger services such as Telegram, Discord, and Slack to infect their computers with mining malware.

CCN | https://www.ccn.com/mcafee-says-crypto-mining-malware-increased-4000-in-2018/

Everything is adapting and changing, even malware too. As bitcoin's becoming more popular, at least to those knowledgableable, the demand in having cryptocurrency such as bitcoin also rises. Personally, I encountered one of these cryptomining malware that is embedded on the installer of a game I downloaded. Luckily, my Windows Defender is up to date and immediately done necessary actions.

As said by others, those who do not know anything on computers aside from downloading stuff will likely to be a victim of these malwares that will degrade their cpu's/gpu's life, and probably ruining their experience as these malwares take up their resources.

[Kemarit]

I was also a victim of mining software in 2017. Heck my computer went haywire prompting me to reset and re-format everything, good thing is that its not the machine I used for my daily crypto activity. It's always been that hackers is always ahead one step in this game and its very difficult to us to adjust unless we really do our share to be careful not to download and click everything we see in the net because if might be the malware. And if you are not technically inclined then I'm sure you will just go on without knowing that someone is taking over your computer resources and making money out of you.

[Crypdon]

The malware targeting weak devices is worrying as they won't have any anti-virus protection, also it will have to infect a shed load of devices as they won't be able to mine much with those weak CPUs.

[nur rochid]

The malware targeting weak devices is worrying as they won't have any anti-virus protection, also it will have to infect a shed load of devices as they won't be able to mine much with those weak CPUs.

they are like parasites, and are always smarter than us. therefore to remain cautious in stepping, do not open a site that is not clear, which results in them taking over our computer, and our labors will be destroyed

[eaglewhite80]

It is still on the rise albeit the recent crash in price of cryptocurrencies. It usually appears on sites that give you direct access on download links and automatically installs the malware on your machine in the background. I've become a victim of such on my gaming machine back in 2017, when I downloaded a dll file that is needed to run a certain game. I usually get 200+ fps on the same game on ultra preset, but suddenly the performance shifted to shit (30-40 fps on normal scenes) which prompted me to do a full scan of the said machine. To my surprise, a mining malware is active on my pc which causes the poor performance of the rig on the said game. Luckily the malware was easy to remove yet I still did a full reformat just to be safe.

Heck, even websites have embedded mining malware scripts that run on the background that the end-user doesn't know about.

Well, as crazy as it is based on how they keep looking for loopholes and trying to have a filled day, it is a normal thing to be seeing at this stage. Sure, there is a need for most security organizations to be thinking of a way to at least curb this issue, but being that this is a new thing for them, it certainly will have to be something gradual.

Awareness as it is now, is something that is very important as so many people right now are not even aware of things like this, since they are not tech savvies. At least, you were able to detect something was wrong with the speed of your machine and had to do the needful, how many people would even realize that?

[ToyotaFortuner]

maybe that was just one of McAfee's strategies to be able to sell its anti-virus products so that when he said like that there would be many who would try to ask what the solution to the virus was increasing so he could deliver the products to users and make marketing the product is increasing.

[guoyu78]

Just because the source of the topic comes from a whacko like mcafee doesn't make the malwares non existing.

I mean he is definitely a crazy person and I think he wasn't like this forever, he probably just got rich too quickly and used that money on drugs and so forth to make a new life for himself which drove him into craziness. But, none of that matters considering crypto mining malware is the new form of attack, first was the keyloggers that stole your accounts, than phishing to get into your accounts, than things that blocked your computer and blackmailed you to pay or delete everything.

Right now, the best one is mining malware, they do not ask anything in return, you can leave your computer on for a night and sleep while they mine coins on your PC and you would have no idea.

[jcarlo]

I think it could be true. Cryptocurrency getting more popular and hackers always trying to steal our coin and token in our own wallet or exchanger. Many attempt hacing in exchanger wallet in 2018 and some works. Better always check web certificate when we visiting a site

[wendiar19]

nowadays there are so many crypto mining that are created and lots of hackers are trying to learn crypto mining so that they can commit acts of crime as McAfee has said that so many viruses are created to try to attack crypto mining, this is a very dangerous threat by Therefore, maybe McAfee has provided a solution for mining to keep it safe.

[Kakmakr]

There are a bunch of people commenting on John McAfee and he has nothing to do with this. The stats used in this article has come from a recent McAfee <Software company> report. It would be nice if people would take the time to actually read the article, before they comment on something. 

The malware incidents linked to Bitcoin will increase, because the pseudo anonymity of Bitcoin protect these criminal activities and the unprotected devices are on the increase. 

[deadthings]

With the increase in the number of cars in the world, the number of road accidents also increased. Of course, when the number of something increases, the number of positive and negative actions increases with that. The increase in popularity of Bitcoin has caused an increase in the amount of malware. Simple as that

[Oilacris]

There are a bunch of people commenting on John McAfee and he has nothing to do with this. The stats used in this article has come from a recent McAfee <Software company> report. It would be nice if people would take the time to actually read the article, before they comment on something. 

The malware incidents linked to Bitcoin will increase, because the pseudo anonymity of Bitcoin protect these criminal activities and the unprotected devices are on the increase. 

Common thing that do happen on this forum on where if theres a given link they don't tend to read it and just basing or posting on the last persons post even without proper connection on whats being given.
So its not really surprising at all.

If this is only basing on McAfee stats then how much more on others as well.

[bayu7adi]

What exactly does McAfee want to do again? he did too much drama to be able to monetize all the statements he made,
Is that the news, then he will create a new antivirus for the miners and sell it commercially?
and do you really know, that the virus really exists? and is it accurate?

[andika2018]

McAfee have a good reputation in internet security. Cryptocurrency getting more popular every years and its attracting hackers to steal peoples coin and token. Its our own responsible to secure our own wallet because right now many suspicious link sent to our email. We should keep safe our private key and not share it to anyone we can not trust

[bones261]

McAfee have a good reputation in internet security. Cryptocurrency getting more popular every years and its attracting hackers to steal peoples coin and token. Its our own responsible to secure our own wallet because right now many suspicious link sent to our email. We should keep safe our private key and not share it to anyone we can not trust

    Wat??? Mcafee AV has got to be the worst garbage on the market. I realize that Mr McAfee hasn't had a hand in the company for quite a long while. However, it's garbage now and was garbage back in the day.
    By the way, I wouldn't give absolutely any credence to anything this guy states. The guy is a walking chemistry lab.  I strongly believe that I would find better advice and predictions if I went to a mental hospital and interviewed a paranoid schizophrenic who's not responding to medication.

[pedangrusak]

Crypto mining is a product that continues to produce without the need for analysis and other activities, they only need to have supporting infrastructure, this is used by these criminals to spread bots and malware that invade devices to mine even though it is not sufficient, but in the quantity of devices they mastering will provide enough benefits and this motivation makes them want to do this

[setialovers]

McAfee have a good reputation in internet security. Cryptocurrency getting more popular every years and its attracting hackers to steal peoples coin and token. Its our own responsible to secure our own wallet because right now many suspicious link sent to our email. We should keep safe our private key and not share it to anyone we can not trust

McAfee is controvertial person but he already involve in internet security for many years. I think we should carefully with his statement and treat it as pre-caution. Maybe he right and maybe he wrong but its true that many hackers always trying to steal our coin in exchanger or our wallet

[ashokbishnoi1008]

i think mr. mcafee not working at company any more.

this report come from employee

John is long over anything related to AV solutions. He keeps trashing them hard. They don't work, and they are an entry point for governments to sniff through your files without you knowing.

It's not all that long ago where various governments have stopped using Kaspersky AV out of fear for the Russian government.

In the end, people are stupid. If you don't chase quick gains and free money that doesn't exist, you won't have to deal with any of this. Using common sense is more effective than all the AV solutions combined. People intentionally install crap and in some cases intentionally ignore AV warnings, so there is nothing that you can do to stop this. Expect it to grow the deeper we dig into mainstream adoption.
[/quBTCote]

[Naida_BR]

The 2018 McAfee Labs Threat Report in December has shown a massive increase in crypto mining malware activity this year that is in the 4,000% region.

The report shows that the sharp rises began in the final quarter of 2017 through the first quarter of 2018. During the second quarter of the year, the figures dropped and then jumped again between the second and third quarter,

The figures have shown that crypto-criminals are now targeting miners with new cryptojacking malware. Crypto mining malware rose 71% in Q3 of 2018 alone according to McAfee. Criminals have been targeting those who use “routers or IoT devices such as IP cameras or video recorders as crypto miners” because they lack security and have weak CPUs.

McAfee also discussed a few examples of how crypto-criminals were exploiting the users of messenger services such as Telegram, Discord, and Slack to infect their computers with mining malware.

CCN | https://www.ccn.com/mcafee-says-crypto-mining-malware-increased-4000-in-2018/

Every individual that is cautious doesn't need to be afraid of such malware. If you are aware of how the crypto system works then you can spot any malicious activity that happens.
McAfee tries to promote his products as he has discovered a new market with great potential for his company that may lead to big profits if it grows bigger.