Some time ago we mentioned that Microsoft Edge contains bloatware. If you thought it was bad, expect to hear it today. Norton 360 installs a crypto miner on users' computers called Norton Crypto.
How can an antivirus vendor resort to such practices? The product is supposed to prevent the installation and execution of such programs. Well, this one mode it appears to be legit, and the company mentions it in the FAQ. It was first announced last year, and Norton explains how it works Norton Crypto.
The security company describes Norton Crypto as a “feature”, which will uses your computer for cryptocurrency mining when Norton 360 detects that the system is idle. Settings will be managed by Norton.
Norton Crypto is available in all packages. The currency mined by the software is Ethereum and Norton creates a digital wallet for each user before starting mining. The company says that the digital key for the wallet is available only to the specific user, is encrypted and stored in the cloud. Users can transfer the contents of their digital wallets to Coinbase, so they can make withdrawals.
But this mining possibility is free. Norton will charge users 15% of what users earned, while transferring cryptocurrency (on Coinbase) between blockchain networks could also incur additional fees.