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Salon Asks Ad-Blocking Users to Mine Cryptocurrency

posted by janrinok on Wednesday February 14 2018, @02:33PM   Printer-friendly
from the got-to-pay-for-those-adverts-somehow dept.

takyon writes:

The news outlet Salon is allowing Adblock-using visitors to opt-in to using the JavaScript-based Coinhive tool to mine the cryptocurrency Monero:

Other sites have used cryptocurrency mining in lieu of (or in addition to) advertising. Sometimes, it's done surreptitiously without users' consent — The Pirate Bay admitted to secretly adding Coinhive integration last year, and hackers have planted mining malware on other sites. In this case, it's an opt-in program; a spokesperson tells FT that testing started on Monday.

Salon has an FAQ explaining this move.

Also at Ars Technica.

Related: Showtime Streaming Service Included JavaScript to Mine Cryptocurrency Using Web Browsers
PolitiFact Hacked to Mine Cryptocurrency Using Visitors' Web Browsers
Wi-Fi at Starbucks Buenos Aires Has Computers Mine Crypto-Currency
Bitcoin Hype Pushes Hackers to Lesser-Known Cryptocurrencies
Thousands of Websites Hijacked by Hidden Crypto-Mining Code After Popular Plugin Pwned

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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by richtopia on Wednesday February 14 2018, @04:53PM (4 children)

    by richtopia (3160) on Wednesday February 14 2018, @04:53PM (#637667) Homepage Journal

    I think it is time to start the next Paetron. People are willing to "pay" for content, but for a website the effective value of a view should be around a cent. Unfortunately any formal credit card transaction with a website is risk prone and time consuming, not to mention the credit card fees would kill small transactions. If there was a fast way to throw a couple pennies at a site when viewing I believe many people would opt into that.

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  • (Score: 2) by everdred on Wednesday February 14 2018, @06:45PM

    by everdred (110) on Wednesday February 14 2018, @06:45PM (#637747) Journal

    This kind of sounds like Flattr [wikipedia.org].

  • (Score: 2) by jdavidb on Wednesday February 14 2018, @06:47PM (2 children)

    by jdavidb (5690) on Wednesday February 14 2018, @06:47PM (#637750) Homepage Journal

    If there was a fast way to throw a couple pennies at a site when viewing I believe many people would opt into that

    It's under construction at http://yours.org/ [yours.org].

    --
    ⓋⒶ☮✝🕊 Secession is the right of all sentient beings

    • (Score: 2) by frojack on Wednesday February 14 2018, @06:59PM (1 child)

      by frojack (1554) on Wednesday February 14 2018, @06:59PM (#637771) Journal

      That's just another mining scheme.

      A true micro payment system would only need a tenth or a hundredth of a cent per visit to make money.

      --
      No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.

      • (Score: 2) by jdavidb on Thursday February 15 2018, @02:05PM

        by jdavidb (5690) on Thursday February 15 2018, @02:05PM (#638234) Homepage Journal

        That's just another mining scheme.

        What? How is that mining?

        --
        ⓋⒶ☮✝🕊 Secession is the right of all sentient beings