by Hodler Ash 
All about Cryptojacking
Cryptojacking is also referred to as malicious cryptomining. Cryptojacking has been emerging as an online threat which hides on a mobile device or a computer and then it uses the resources of the machine to “mine” the different forms of online money which are called cryptocurrencies.
This threat has been increasing, and it can take over all kinds of devices, from mobile devices, laptops, and also network servers.
There are various malicious attacks which take place on the computing public, and the only motive is to gain profit, but unlike the other threats, this attack remains totally hidden from the user. Before understanding cryptojacking meaning, let us understand the basic meaning of Cryptocurrency.
What is Cryptocurrency ?
Cryptocurrency is decentralized online money. There is no authority which decides the regulation of Cryptocurrency in the market. The most famous Cryptocurrency is Bitcoin, and it attained a lot of attention of the people during the price rise last year.
Cryptocurrency is considered to be an excellent investment, but in reality, it is a high-risk investment.
What is Cryptojacking ?
The cryptojacking definition can be stated very easily. It is a scheme where people’s devices, like servers, smartphones, and laptops, are used to mine cryptocurrencies without their knowledge.
The hackers make use of the victims’ devices instead of building their own cryptomining computer. They steal the computing resources of other people to mine cryptocurrencies.
The people who are victims of cryptojacking have no idea about it. The software which is used for cryptojacking is hidden from the users, and they cannot find out if the hackers are taking advantage of their device or not.
If you are not able to find anything, then that doesn’t mean that the hackers are not mining cryptocurrencies in your devices.
The theft of your resources by the hacker’s results in a reduction of speed of other processes performed on the computer, increase in the electricity bills, and it also shortens the life of your device.
You will be able to find some red flags, and it will completely depend upon how subtle the attack is.
Now the question arising in your mind will be that how do we know if our device is a victim of cryptojacking. If you find that your Mac or PC is slowing down or it is using the cooling fan more than usual, then you can suspect your device to be the victim of cryptojacking.
The main motto behind cryptojacking is to steal money. The money is stolen by mining cryptocurrencies. Let us look at cryptojacking tutorial and know about the working of cryptojacking.
How does Cryptojacking work ?
Many people have a question about what is cryptojacking attack. Cryptojackers make use of several methods, and those methods are mentioned further in the article. Cryptojacking has emerged as a huge online threat to the market.
Cryptojacking is considered to be a major threat to the security of the online world. There are several methods which are used by hackers and cryptojackers to enslave your computers and mobile phones.
The most common method is the one who acts like classic malware.
In this method, you click on a malicious link that has been sent to you by mail, and then it loads the cryptomining code directly into your computer and mobile phones. Once your mobile phone or computer is infected, then the cryptojacker starts working on mining the cryptocurrencies while he stays hidden in the background.
The user has no idea that cryptomining is going on in the background. This threat resides on your PC, and it has infected your computer.
Another method of cryptojacking is referred to as drive-by cryptomining.
This method is similar to the malicious advertising exploits. In this scheme, a piece of JavaScript code is inserted into the Web page.
When the user clicks on the link and visits the web page, the process of cryptomining begins in the devices of the users. During the time of bitcoin craze, the web publishers grabbed the opportunity and made a deal with the users.
They took the permission of the visitors and used their devices for cryptomining while they provided the users with free content. For example, if you are on a gaming site, then you will play for some time and be on the website.
When you are on the site, the JavaScript code will run in the background and mine for Cryptocurrency. When you leave the site, then the mining is stopped. In this process, your devices are not much affected. But this only happens when the site is genuine, and they do as they say.
There are some sites which do not even ask for the permissions of the visitors and keep on mining for very long even after the user has left the site. This is the most common technique used by hackers. The users have no idea that the hackers were using their computer to mine Cryptocurrency when they had visited the site.
The code makes use of that much resource only so that it remains unnoticed. The user thinks that he/she has closed all the browser windows, but a hidden window stays open. This open window is a pop-under which is hidden under the taskbar, or it is hidden behind the clock.
This method can also affect your android device, and it attacks the android device in the same manner as it does with the desktops.
These attacks can even take place with the help of Trojan that has been hidden in a downloaded application. There is even a possibility to redirect the phones of the users to a targeted location which will leave a pop-under.
Some people say that the cryptojacking scripts do no damage to the victims’ data or computers. But the consequences have to be suffered by the CPU when the resources are stolen for cryptomining. The performance of the computer is hindered, and it’s processing gets slower. The other consequences that are faced by the victim of cryptojacking is an increase in electricity bills, missed opportunities, and also IT labor costs.
