Norton 360One of the most popular antivirus products on the market today, it has installed cryptocurrency mining programs on its customers’ computers. Norton’s parent company said the cloud-based service that activates the program and allows customers to profit from the program — the company keeps 15% of any currency mined — is “opt-in,” meaning users must agree to enable it it. But many Norton users complained that the mining program was difficult to remove, and the reaction from old customers ranged from unease and doubt to “Man, where is my cryptocurrency?”
Norton 360 is owned by Tempe, Arizona NortonLifeLock Company. Identity Theft Company of the Year 2017 life lock acquired Symantec Corporation, renamed NortonLifeLock in 2019 (LifeLock is now included in Norton 360 services).
according to FAQs posted on its website, “Norton encryption” put my Ethereum (ETH) cryptocurrency while the customer’s computer is idle. The FAQ also says that Norton Crypto will only run on systems that meet certain hardware and software requirements (such as an NVIDIA graphics card with at least 6 GB of memory).
“Norton creates a secure digital Ethereum wallet for each user,” reads the FAQ. “The wallet’s keys are encrypted and stored securely in the cloud. Only you can access the wallet.”
NortonLifeLock began offering mining services in July 2021, but the program gained wider attention on January 4. Boeing Boeing co-editing Corey Doctorow tweet NortonCrypto will run by default for Norton 360 users.
NortonLifeLock states that Norton Crypto is an optional feature only and should not be enabled without the user’s permission.
“If a user has Norton Crypto turned on but no longer wishes to use the feature, it can be disabled by temporarily turning off Tamper Protection (which allows the user to modify the Norton installation) and removing NCrypt.exe from your computer,” NortonLifeLock said in a written statement Say.However, many users Difficulty removing miners has been reported.
From reading user posts on the Norton Crypto community forums, some longtime Norton customers seem alarmed by the prospect of their antivirus products installing coin mining software, whether or not the mining service is turned off by default.
“How on earth could anyone at Norton think adding crypto mining to security products would be a good thing?” read Post from December 28th Titled “Absolute Fury”.
“Norton should have detected and neutralized crypto mining hijacks, not installed their own,” the post reads. “People need a product to fire. What’s the next ‘good idea’? Norton botnet?’ I was about to reinstall Norton 360 as well, but it really took me away from trusting Norton and their direction.”
Whether Norton Crypto users can expect to make a lot of profits from participating in the program, at least in the short term, is an open question. Mining cryptocurrency basically involves using your computer’s spare resources to help verify financial transactions of other crypto users. Crypto mining causes a person’s computer to consume more electricity, which increases a person’s overall electricity cost.
“Norton has nearly amplified energy consumption around the world, their customers are spending more on electricity usage than their customers are mining, but Norton can make a lot of money,” tweet security researcher Chris Vickery. “It’s disgusting, disgusting and brand suicide.”
Then there is the issue of receiving money. Norton Crypto allows users to withdraw their earnings into accounts on the cryptocurrency platform CoinBase, but as Norton Crypto’s FAQ rightly points out, transferring ETH entails coin mining fees and transaction costs.
“The token mining fee is currently 15% of the cryptocurrency allocated to miners,” the FAQ explains. “The transfer of cryptocurrency may result in payment of transaction fees (also known as “gas” fees) to users of the cryptocurrency blockchain network that processes the transactions. Additionally, if you choose to exchange cryptocurrency for another currency, you may need to Pay fees to exchanges that facilitate transactions. Transaction fees fluctuate based on cryptocurrency market conditions and other factors. These fees are not set by Norton.”
This may explain why so many Norton Crypto users have taken to the community’s online forums to complain that they are having trouble withdrawing their earnings. These gas fees are the same regardless of how much cryptocurrency is being transferred, so the system will only block withdrawals if the requested amount cannot cover the transfer fees.
I guess what bothers me most about Norton Crypto is that it introduces millions of potentially less-savvy internet users into the world of cryptocurrencies, which presents a unique set of security and privacy challenges that require users to “upgrade” their personal Pretty important way to practice security.
Several of my older family members and closest friends are longtime Norton users, and they renew their subscriptions year after year (though I remind them that it’s much cheaper to buy again every year as a new user). None of them are particularly interested or expert in securing their computers and digital lives, and the thought of them opening a CoinBase account and navigating the space is terrifying.
Big Yellow isn’t the only brand capitalizing on investor enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies and looking to appeal to a wider (or maybe just older) audience: the venerable electronics retailer shack radioRelaunched in 2020 as an online-focused brand, it now says it plans to plan the future as a cryptocurrency exchange.
“RadioShack’s thesis is basically that, as a very old brand, it’s ready to sell cryptocurrencies to old CEOs,” Write Addie Robertson for edge.
“too much [cryptocurrency companies] Focused on speculation, not enough to make ‘old-school’ customers comfortable,” the company’s website says, claiming that the average age of “decision-making” company CEOs is 68. “The older generation simply doesn’t believe in the novelty ideas of young Bitcoiners . “
