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

[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. 

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[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.
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