Protect your browser from coinjacking malware

Web log: Use minerBlock to detect and block most coinjacking activity

There's been a lot of talk about "coinjacking" or "cryptojacking" over the past few weeks, especially since Irish Government websites were among those hit by the malware used to secretly mine cryptocurrency in the background of infected websites to the detriment of the end user's device performance.

If your laptop or PC has been acting suspiciously sluggish perhaps it’s time to check if you’ve been hit because this cryptomining malware relies on your CPU power to generate money for someone else without your consent or knowledge. Run Task Manager (PC) or Activity Monitor (Mac) to find out if your CPU performance has taken a nose dive for no apparent reason.

Meanwhile, minerBlock is a Chrome and Firefox browser extension that can detect most coinjacking activity and block it. Worth installing, especially if you visit video streaming and (bittorrent) download sites, where this is more common.