bitcoin mining..what? malware yahoo ? enslaving PC's?

[sky otter]

i think i need to just go back to coloring books..i hope some of  you understand this




8 January 2014 Last updated at 12:29 ET
Yahoo malware enslaves PCs to Bitcoin mining

By Jane Wakefield
Technology reporter


Adverts on Yahoo's homepage were infected with malware designed to mine the Bitcoin virtual currency, according to security experts.

Yahoo confirmed that for a four-day period in January, malware was served in ads on its homepage.

Experts estimate that as many as two million European users could have been hit.

Security firm Light Cyber said the malware was intended to create a huge network of Bitcoin mining machines.

"The malware writers put a lot of effort into making it as efficient as possible to utilise the computing power in the best way," Light Cyber's founder Giora Engel told the BBC.

Lucrative market

Bitcoin mining malware is designed to steal computing power to make it easier for criminals to accumulate the virtual currency with little effort on their part.

"Generating bitcoins is basically guessing numbers," said Amichai Shulman, chief technology office of security firm Imperva.

"The first one to guess the right number gets 25 bitcoins and if you have a large volume of computers guessing in a co-ordinated way then you have a more efficient way of making money," he added.

Other than a computer running slower, victims will be unaware that their machine is being used in what could become known as a "bitnet".

It is a variation on the traditional botnet, networks of malware-infected computers used to churn out spam or bombard websites with requests in order to knock them offline.

Some experts estimate that such networks could be generating as much as $100,000 (£60,000) each day.

Since bitcoins have risen in value - one bitcoin is now worth £1,000 - it is becoming a lucrative market for online criminals.

"Bitcoin mining malware is the new frontier as criminal gangs look for new ways to make money," said Mr Engel.

Easy target

Yahoo acknowledged the attack in a statement earlier this week.

"From December 31 to January 3 on our European sites, we served some advertisements that did not meet our editorial guidelines - specifically, they spread malware," the statement read.

It went on to say that users in America, Asia and Latin America weren't affected but did not specify how many European users were victims.

Fox IT, the Dutch cybersecurity firm which revealed the malware attack, estimates that there were around 27,000 infections every hour the malware was live on the site.

Over the period of the attack that could mean as many as two million machines were infected.

Such attacks may be hard to avoid, said Mr Shulman.

"For an ad platform it is virtually impossible to guarantee 100% malware free ads."

"There are many independent stakeholders involved in the process of web advertising, so from time to time any ad platform is bound to deliver malware."



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yikes forgot the link

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25653664

[robomont]

Yahoo=the jew?
He who owns majority stakeholder in bitcoin sets the value?
The nsa using isreal is trying to corner the bitcoin market anonymously.using the tools already in its toolbox.
That way it can have a secret way to control bc value .then the world doesnt know that nsa is pumping and dumping like it does the other large markets.ie gold and stocks.

[Amaterasu]

What do You suppose is the motive for this choice of behavior?  Money/power over Others?

[robomont]

About a month ago or so the usa gov was talking down about them.
Then the fbi seazed a bunch of dread pirate robert drug money bit coins.then the gov talked good about them.then virgin airlines said they would accept them as payment.
Thats when my ears really perked up.then china banned them.
They are the best way to stabilize the world money markets by all other moneys backed by them.thats why the worlds govs are afraid of them.they would destroy the fed.the fed would not be able to continue to inflate the dollar as easily.
I personally like them even though i cant afford one now.another problem is i dont think there are alot.maybe two million in existence.
I dont understand mining but i saw some guy on lop talking about mining them just last week.