Web browser Google Chrome has taken down an extension that users alleged was deploying software in their computers to mine cryptocurrency without their consent. The browser extension, Archive Poster, had over 1.05 lakh users, according to MoneyControl.
In several reviews since the beginning of December, users had complained that the extension was indulging in “cryptojacking”. After technology websites reported about the poor reviews and complaints last week, the extension now no longer appears on its link.
Mining cryptocurrency – performing tasks to earn such digital currencies – requires very powerful hardware, and miners often use multiple computer systems to achieve this. When they do so without users’ consent, it is called “cryptojacking”.
Incidents of malware that hack computers to mine cryptocurrencies have surged six-fold this year, according to IBM Managed Security Services.
Archive Poster, which was a utility tool for Tumblr bloggers, was allegedly mining cryptocurrency by using the CPU power of users’ computers. The extension was developed by qplus.io.
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