500M Avira Antivirus Users Introduced to Cryptomining
Summary: Avira antivirus, which built a base of 500 million users largely by offering a free product, was acquired in January 2021 by NortonLifeLock and is now introducing customers to a service called Avira Crypto that uses idle computer time to mine Ethereum. Like Norton 360, Avira ships with a cryptominer already installed, though customers must opt in, and other antivirus products flagged Avira's installer as potentially unsafe for including a cryptominer as far back as September 9, 2021. NortonLifeLock later told KrebsOnSecurity it has approximately 80 million customers globally and said the 500 million figure was incorrect, after which it removed that number from its web properties.
Bottom line: NortonLifeLock keeps 15 percent of any cryptocurrency mined through Norton Crypto, and users cannot cash out until they earn enough ETH to cover the transfer fees - a detail the article says many users do not understand.
Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗
- Topics
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