Google Bans Cryptocurrency Mining Extensions on Chrome Web

Google Bans Cryptocurrency Mining Extensions From Chrome Web Store. In an effort to prevent cryptojacking by extensions that maliciously mine digital currencies without users’ awareness, Google has implemented a new Web Store policy that bans any Chrome extension submitted to the Web Store that mines .Over the past few months, we have seen a sudden rise in malicious extensions that appear to offer useful functionality, while embedding hidden mining scripts that run in the background without the user’s knowledge.

Last month, cryptocurrency miners were even found in a Russian nuclear weapons lab and on thousands of government websites. In January, cryptocurrency mining malware also infected more than half-million PCs.Until now, only those mining extensions were allowed on the Chrome Web Store that are solely intended for mining, and explicitly informed users about its working and revenue model.

If the company finds any mining extension developers submitted was not in compliance and secretly mines using a victim device’s computing power, it simply blocks the extension.
Since about 90 percent of the mining extensions developers submitted to the Chrome Web Store failed to comply with the rules, the tech giant decided to ban all browser extensions that mine  (even if it’s used for legitimate purposes) from its Web Store.”Starting today, Chrome Web Store will no longer accept extensions that mine cryptocurrency,” Google says in its Chromium Blog. “Existing extensions that mine cryptocurrency will be delisted from the Chrome Web Store in late June.”

However, the ban on mining extensions will not impact other digital currency and blockchain-related extensions, such as Bitcoin price checkers, blockchain browsers, and cryptocurrency wallet managers.

Google noted that its new move is “another step forward in ensuring that Chrome users can enjoy the benefits of extensions without exposing themselves to hidden risks.”Though banning cryptocurrency mining extensions is definitely a great move, the ban may not eliminate the problem as a whole, since attackers have increasingly been developing ways to hide their mining functionality in an extension until after it gets Chrome Web Store approval.The ban comes less than a month after Google announced its plans to ban advertisements related to cryptocurrency.

Google is not the first one to impose a ban on cryptocurrency-related abuses. Late last month, Twitter announced its plan to block cryptocurrency-related ads on its platform, and in January, Facebook banned all ads promoting cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and ICOs.

courtesy :https://thehackernews.com/2018/04/cryptojacking-chrome-extension.html

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Pros and Cons of Blockchain Technology

A blockchain is a decentralized ledger that contains data about all transactions performed across a peer-to-peer network. Transactions are recorded by time and grouped into back-linked blocks that are crypto graphically secured and organized in chains. The transaction data contained in these blocks is immutable, and is considered to be trusted and secured.

It is a revolutionary technology that will enhance cyber security and change the way businesses make transactions. The concept of the blockchain was initially described by Satoshi Nakamoto.First introduced in 2008 as the mechanism behind the crypto-currency Bitcoin, blockchain is now recognized as the most influential technology for the future of business. Since then, blockchain – based startups have appeared in various industries including banking, education, social media, and security.

Pros of blockchain technology

1.Empowered

Users are in control of all their information and transaction.

2.High quality data

The data is complete, consistent, timely, accurate and widely available.

3.Durability, reliability and longevity

Due to the decentralized networks, blockchain does not have a central point of failure and is better able to withstand malicious attacks.

4.Process integrity

Users can trust that transaction will be executed exactly as the protocol commands removing the need for a trusted third party.

5.Transparency and immutability

Changes to public blockchain are publicly view-able by all parties creating transparency and all transaction are immutable, meaning they cannot be altered or deleted.

6.Faster transaction

Inter bank transactions can potentially take days for clearing and final settlement, especially outside of working hours. It can reduce transaction times to minutes and are processed 24/7

7.Lower transaction fee

By eliminating third party intermediaries and overhead costs for exchanging assets, blockchains have the potential to greatly reduce transaction fees

Cons of Blockchain Technology

1.Nascent technology

Resolving challenges such as transaction speed, the verification process and data limit will be crucial in making widely applicable.

2.Uncertain regulatory status

Because modern currencies have always been created and regulated by national governments, blockchain and Bitcoin face a hurdle in widespread adoption by pre-existing financial institutions of its government regulation status remains unsettled.

4.Large energy consumption

The Bitcoin network’s miners are attempting 450 thousand trillion solution per second in efforts to validate transaction, using substantial amounts of computer power.

5.Control, security and privacy

While solution exists, including private or permissioned  and strong encryption, there are still cyber security concerns that need to be addressed before the general public will entrust their personal data to a blockchain solution.

6.Cost

It offers tremendous savings in transaction costs and time but the high initial capital costs could be a deterrent.

courtesy: https://www.quora.com

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Pros and Cons of Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency is basically a digital currency that is managed by using one of the most advanced encryption techniques called cryptography. The first ever cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin (BTC) was introduced in 2009. But it wasn’t until 2013 that Bitcoin actually captured the public attention. During that year, Bitcoin traded a record $266 per Bitcoin. Currently, it trades at around $10k, while other cryptocurrencies similar to Bitcoin such as Ethereum, Dogecoin, and Litecoin have also come to the fore.

Pros of Cryptocurrency

There are many advantages of cryptocurrency over the traditional currency technology. Let’s take a look at some of the most important ones to help you understand why you can invest in cryptocurrency.

1.Massive Potential for Returns

According to statistics, if you invested $1,000 in bitcoin in 2013, it would be worth over $400k today. Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) have allowed investors to get huge returns in a short amount of time. Stratis, that raised $600k during their initial coin offerings in 2016, has seen a rise of 63,000 percent in the price.

So it’s not difficult to start thinking of investing in cryptocurrency when you see such return on small investment this quickly.

2.Fraud Proof

One of the biggest advantages of cryptocurrency over real currency is that it is totally fraud-proof. Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin operate on the blockchain technology which is basically a decentralized global record of every bitcoin transaction ever made. Because of its decentralized nature, It cannot be reversed or counterfeited randomly by the sender, which is the case with credit card charge-backs.

3.Fast Processing

Since most cryptocurrency operates with blockchain technology, it allows you to create virtual contacts and eliminate third party approvals that can make the transaction time longer.

4.Lower Transactions Fees

There are no transaction fees in  exchanges since the miners are paid for it by the network. Sending and receiving payment  is much more affordable than real currency. Even though there isn’t any transaction fee, some exchanges like Coin base charge some fee but they are much lower than the normal currency transaction charges.

5.Access to Everyone

It is unregulated and decentralized, giving access to the whole world. Since it is more accessible to us than fiat currency, more and more users are now using cryptocurrency to make payments, including those who don’t have online access to the traditional payment system.

Cons of Cryptocurrency

Although cryptocurrency has so many benefits for a normal person, it comes with a number of disadvantages as well.

1.Lack of Knowledge

Since it is totally driven by technology, many people don’t have any idea of how it works. Due to the lack of knowledge, there is a great level of skepticism and doubt in everyone’s mind about it.

2.Lack of Security

There is no perfect way to protect your bitcoins from basic human errors, technical faults, or fiduciary fraud.Since these cryptocurrencies aren’t regulated by any financial association, there is no security for the money, and there is nothing you can do if you lose your money.

3.Limited Scaling

The design of the cryptocurrency system limits the speed and number of transactions that can be processed. This means it is unlikely that will be replacing the traditional credit card transactions any time soon.

4.Lack of Applications

While it’s really surprising to see cryptocurrency’s use for illegal transactions, it’s critical for us to know how useful cryptocurrency really is. It may be troubling for the traditional currencies and online payment systems.

5.Increased Regulation

While only basic guidelines are currently being given, law enforcement agencies are already labeling cryptocurrency as a huge money laundering scheme’ and are passing some strict regulations that would decrease the currency’s value.

6.Uncertainty

Just like any new technology, there is a lot of uncertainty around cryptocurrency. And since banks and government organizations are totally against such currency, people also fear using it. Then there is the fear of the whole system exploding and people losing all their money.

courtesy: https://blog.fastestvpn.com/pros-and-cons-of-cryptocurrency/

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