The bitcoin virus is a malicious program that can use a victim’s C.P.U power to illegally mine cryptocurrency. Instead of hackers purchasing mining rigs or a mining computer, they steal computing resources from a victim’s device. Using a malware/virus to mine crypto via another device illegally is called crypto-jacking. The hackers illegally access different devices through this virus to compete against intelligent crypto mining operations without the overhead costs.
Hackers normally implant the bitcoin virus inside most computing machines via a trojan horse- a malware that is downloaded into a computer as a legitimate program. The trojan horse opens a backdoor and clears the path for the bitcoin virus to begin its operation for coin mining once activated. Most crypto-jacking victims do not notice, as this malware hides from the user’s interface, by design. And according to experts, this virus hides by trying to work only when a device is not in use. Moreover, a trojan horse attack could be devastating as it could create a backdoor for other viruses apart from the bitcoin virus.
Effects of a Bitcoin Virus Attack
The bitcoin virus can be so aggressive that it will take a toll on computing resources. It does diminish the overall computing performance by slowing down other processes. Secondly, it drains your battery rapidly. Also, it leads to increased electrical bills, shortens a device’s life, and eventually leads to its destruction. And, in turn, affects a user’s productivity.
Depending on how conspicuous an attack is, one may notice a few red flags. If your computer uses its cooling fan more than it should, you can suspect such an attack. In the Task Manager, users can detect a questionable running process such as XMrigin in the background.
However, you may not see any activity in the Task Manager, if the GPU is used instead of the CPU. Therefore one should try to monitor P.C. speed and freezing frames due to the GPU.
Crypto hackers can also prompt a user to click on a malicious link on an email to load the virus into the computer. Additionally, a hacker can use drive-by crypto mining to infect a computer. Drive-by crypto mining can even affect an android device.
Monero, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Electroneum are other types of crypto that can be crypto-jacked. The most common one being Bitcoin. This bitcoin virus come under various names, including:
- CoinMiner
- BitCoinMiner
- Riskware miner
- BitMine
- CoinMiner among others
But it is also important to note that most crypto-jacking schemes do not target Bitcoin. Because of the huge processing power required that most desktop computers do not have. It is the smaller cryptocurrencies like Monero whose users are victims.
Nevertheless, to be on the safe side and prevent a bitcoin virus attack. Users should keep their systems updated. And protect their devices with reputable antiviruses while avoiding downloads from untrusted sources.
Conclusion
Users should not ignore any changes on their computing devices as hackers are coming up with newer ways of obtaining computing power illegally. Therefore, do not enter the online crypto space without the necessary security because in the end, you may realize that your device may be working to feed another entity.