Firefox Adds Protections Against Hidden Cryptocurrency Mining and Fingerprinting

In-browser cryptocurrency mining scripts have been a major headache for users for years now. Without you knowing, websites and cyberhackers are able to embed cryptocurrency mining operations in your browser. They then proceed to use your computer’s GPU to mine cryptocurrencies for themselves. Like a leech, foreign cryptocurrency miners slow down your computer, drain your battery more quickly, and offload all electricity costs onto the infected host. No browser has effectively dealt with this issue head-on until now.  Firefox is releasing a feature that explicitly bans cryptocurrency mining scripts. The new feature by Mozilla for Firefox Nightly also blocks equally-malicious “fingerprinting” scripts. These work by harvesting a snapshot of your computer’s configuration to track you on the web — even if you delete your cookies. In collaboration with digital security firm Disconnect, the Mozilla team has established a list of domains which have a history of fingerprinting and cryptocurrency mining scripts. Both of these malicious threats can now be fought against by enabling protections in Firefox’s Content Blocking suite. In its announcement, Mozilla said that these protections will be the default for all users in future releases. [bctt tweet=”Mozilla has officially unveiled a new feature in its Firefox Nightly browser which blocks fingerprinting and cryptomining scripts. It is the next step of its anti-tracking protections. ” username=”beincrypto”] Currently, the new measure is being tested by a small group of users. The list of blocked domains is also expected to expand, and users can report malicious sites to this effect as well. In doing so, Mozilla hopes to establish a comprehensive database of sites which use fingerprinting and cryptocurrency mining scripts — and ban them completely from its services. Have you ever fallen victim to a cryptocurrency mining script? Is the problem as rampant nowadays as it used to be? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! 

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