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posted by Fnord666 on Sunday October 15 2017, @12:04PM   Printer-friendly
from the class-action-lawsuit dept.

On Friday, the fact-checking website PolitiFact was found to hog its visitors' CPU cycles by using maliciously added JavaScript to mine the cryptocurrency Monero:

A fact-checking website was hacked to mine cryptocurrency over the internet browsers of its unsuspecting visitors. The Pulitzer Prize-winning website, PolitiFact, is devoted to sorting out the truth in US politics. But on Friday, it was found secretly hogging the computer resources of those who visited the site.

Independent security researcher Troy Mursch tweeted about the issue after noticing signs of a cryptocurrency miner in the website's code.

[...] Mursch said the code comes from a company called Coinhive, which developed a controversial cryptocurrency miner to help businesses find a new way to generate online revenue.

However, the Coinhive miner tends to be used in sketchy websites that pirate content or offer porn, according to AdGuard, an ad-blocking service. These sites often struggle to make money from online advertising, so they have to experiment with new ways to make money. AdGuard found 220 websites using a cryptocurrency mining code in a study it released on Thursday.

Does this count as good or bad press for a small-time cryptocurrency?

Also at TechCrunch, The Register, and Cryptovest. Coinhive blog statement from September regarding malicious use.

Previously: Showtime Streaming Service Included JavaScript to Mine Cryptocurrency Using Web Browsers


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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by bornagainpenguin on Sunday October 15 2017, @04:18PM (1 child)

    by bornagainpenguin (3538) on Sunday October 15 2017, @04:18PM (#582657)

    PolitiFact, is devoted to sorting out the truth in US politics.

    It's an amazing coincidence how often that truth tends to resemble Democrat platform talking points. Even to the point of splitting hairs...Amazing!

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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by Arik on Sunday October 15 2017, @05:41PM

    by Arik (4543) on Sunday October 15 2017, @05:41PM (#582675) Journal
    It's not actually that amazing. Just start with a staff of enthusiastic DNC supporters and tell them to do good work.

    Everyone has a bias, and not all bias is conscious.

    So far as I'm concerned it's actually encouraging to see the left-wing media acknowledge that facts are important. Many of them seem to be 'over that.'

    --
    If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?