Antivirus Norton360/Avira gathering CryptoCoins in Background

[PR3MIUM]

Antivirus like Norton360 and Avira are now gathering CryptoCoins in the Background

Source:

Avira is adding a crypto miner to its products as well - gHacks Tech News

Security company Avira started to integrate a cryptographic currency miner into some of its security products.

www.ghacks.net

Norton is installing a Cryptocurrency miner called Norton Crypto (NCrypt.exe) | Hacker News

news.ycombinator.com

 

[L&LD]

Yes, the anti-virus is the virus.

 

[cptnoblivious]

Worth pointing out that both Norton and Avira are owned by the same parent company. And I _think_ they also just purchased Avast.

Choose your AV protection wisely

Sometimes even when you are paying you are the product.

 

[PR3MIUM]

would not say that others are better,
Bitdefender and simillar are even tracking your Position if not turned off in the
Options when logged into there Hompage and you have disabled it.

 

[Clark Griswald]

Choose your AV protection wisely

I'm old enough to remember getting virus definitions off the message boards.
I can recall using McAfee antivirus. I wonder what ever happened to that guy?

 

[RacerX330]

I'm old enough to remember getting virus definitions off the message boards.
I can recall using McAfee antivirus. I wonder what ever happened to that guy?

John McAfee died earlier this year, June I think

 

[AndreiV]

NORTON LIFELOCK


AVAST


AVIRA

 

[avtella]

I'm old enough to remember getting virus definitions off the message boards.
I can recall using McAfee antivirus. I wonder what ever happened to that guy?

He was on the run for murder at one point, believe it or not. I think he died in jail?

As for LifeLock (Pre Norton acquisition) anyone remember the arrogant CEO who advertised his SSN on billboards and trucks as a show of his confidence… Got his identity stolen over a dozen times lol

LifeLock CEO's Identity Stolen 13 Times

Apparently, when you publish your Social Security number prominently on your website and billboards, people take it as an invitation to steal your identity. LifeLock CEO Todd Davis, whose number is displayed in the company’s ubiquitous advertisements, has by now learned that lesson. He’s been a...

www.wired.com

I’ve always hated Norton AV and this crypto nonsense only reinforced my view lol.

 

[RMerlin]

It`s even worse than it may appear at first glance. Symantec keeps a hefty portion of the earned cryptos (something like 15%? Can`t remember for sure the exact number), which means they are effectively making money out of all of their customer's power and CPU usage...

 

[Crimliar]

I'm old enough to remember getting virus definitions off the message boards.
I can recall using McAfee antivirus. I wonder what ever happened to that guy?

If you want a laugh have a listen to: http://citationpod.com/episode/john-mcafee/

 

[PR3MIUM]

some more AV are hopping onto the train these days.

 

[Maverick009]

I know I am late to this, but a few Antivirus companies have gotten on this bandwagon trend lately. It is correct, Norton takes a 15% cut of any mining currency conversion. However, mining is not enabled by default, and actually requires the user to agree and participate in it as optional. I will say this though, from all the reading up on it, once you agree, it can be a pain to remove and get out of the crypto agreement....On a personal note, I see no reason an AV company needs to be involved in crypto. Their job is to protect against viruses, spyware, malware, etc. Not make extra money from your system and take more resources.

I do not exactly have a problem with Norton 360 software in general, but the engine in the last 3yrs as fallen a little behind, and they have gotten pricier. My guess is LifeLock merger/buy out may be the real culprit, and now it is about more then simple protection, instead turning to other ways to increase shareholder value with crypto mining, with their customers own PCs as the guinea pigs. ...ok end rant.

If looking for decent Antivirus software, Windows Defender built into Windows 10/11 does quite a good job and was top rated in AV Labs tests and it is free. McAfee has gotten better, and still focuses heavily on security protection with no extra catch. I have been using them now for about a year moving away from Norton. Their AV engine is a tad old, but no major performance penalty and works pretty well, plus you can find a good price for their 10-unlimited device support subscription price (I paid about $30 for 15 months). The only complaint I have with them, is you need to remember to uninstall their AV software before you wipe and restore a system. If you forget or the system completely crashed to a point you need to start from ground zero, you may need to Contact McAfee by chat or phone to have the device removed from your subscription, as they no longer allow you to just remove an old device manually yourself. Other than that small detail, it has been rock solid and less intrusive enough.