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CBS's Showtime caught mining crypto-coins in viewers' web browsers

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Re: CBS's Showtime caught mining crypto-coins in viewers' web browsers

#11

Post by ringaroundthetx »

maxerickson wrote: post #8
sumitgt wrote: post #3

Actually, why is this not a potential legitimate business model? I let you stream content for free and you let me mine cryto-coins with your spare CPU cycles while you watch. Isn't that better for people who don't like all the tracking by ads?

Which coin is worth mining on a CPU at all?

Monero? Existing botnets earn $50,000/day mining on people's computers at night while finding ways to spread to additional ones.

A single computer earns pennies, a couple hundred thousand earn way more.

Re: CBS's Showtime caught mining crypto-coins in viewers' web browsers

#12

Post by kentonv »

hellbanner wrote: post #4

The web seriously sucks. One thing I admire, at least in theory, about Xbox 360 games or iOS apps is the limited access a specific program can run. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiqioE1zGCw talks about this Why is the overwhelming majority of networked software still not secure, despite all effort to the contrary? Why is it almost certain to get exploited so long as attackers can craft its inputs? Why is it the cas…

> EDIT: Sandstorm was looking to fix user permissions for individual programs on computers (they went defunct/bankrupt/no-longer-developing last I heard).

I'm still developing, just not full-time.

Re: CBS's Showtime caught mining crypto-coins in viewers' web browsers

#13

Post by rmrfrmrf »

sumitgt wrote: post #3

Actually, why is this not a potential legitimate business model? I let you stream content for free and you let me mine cryto-coins with your spare CPU cycles while you watch. Isn't that better for people who don't like all the tracking by ads?

It is, but the difference here is that the contracted developer added it to mine coins for themselves.

Re: CBS's Showtime caught mining crypto-coins in viewers' web browsers

#16

Post by ruytlm »

sumitgt wrote: post #3

Actually, why is this not a potential legitimate business model? I let you stream content for free and you let me mine cryto-coins with your spare CPU cycles while you watch. Isn't that better for people who don't like all the tracking by ads?

It makes sense while the coins have value; I wonder what value they would retain if every website started doing this.

Also, I question whether it's a sensible use of electricity on the whole.

Re: CBS's Showtime caught mining crypto-coins in viewers' web browsers

#17

Post by ceejayoz »

sumitgt wrote: post #3

Actually, why is this not a potential legitimate business model? I let you stream content for free and you let me mine cryto-coins with your spare CPU cycles while you watch. Isn't that better for people who don't like all the tracking by ads?

Doing it on my laptop probably means I won't even finish the episode before I run out of batteries.

Re: CBS's Showtime caught mining crypto-coins in viewers' web browsers

#18

Post by lurker456 »

ruytlm wrote: post #16
sumitgt wrote: post #3

Actually, why is this not a potential legitimate business model? I let you stream content for free and you let me mine cryto-coins with your spare CPU cycles while you watch. Isn't that better for people who don't like all the tracking by ads?

It makes sense while the coins have value; I wonder what value they would retain if every website started doing this. Also, I question whether it's a sensible use of electricity on the whole.

I hate it being done without informed consent. It's also a huge waste of electricity. On the plus side it could lead to micropayment funded instead of ad-funded sites.

Re: CBS's Showtime caught mining crypto-coins in viewers' web browsers

#20

Post by rmrfrmrf »

hellbanner wrote: post #4

The web seriously sucks. One thing I admire, at least in theory, about Xbox 360 games or iOS apps is the limited access a specific program can run. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiqioE1zGCw talks about this Why is the overwhelming majority of networked software still not secure, despite all effort to the contrary? Why is it almost certain to get exploited so long as attackers can craft its inputs? Why is it the cas…

1) The system you’re describing wouldn’t have prevented this.

2) Just use NoScript if you’re that paranoid.

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