New Update Avira is adding a crypto miner to its products as well

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Et Tu, Avira? Ashwin reported last week that Norton was adding a new component, called Norton Crypto, to its security products. Norton Crypto is a crypto currency miner that will run when the system is detected as idle. It appears that Avira is doing the same.

Avira Crypto is a crypto mining component that is integrated into (some?) Avira products.

Originally announced in October 2021, Avira Crypto was launched to help consumers "mine cryptocurrency more safely and easily, directly through the Avira platform".

Avira goes on to explain the ease of use of the integrated Crypto component in a blog post on the official Avira blog in October 2021.

"With Avira Crypto, coinminers can now turn idle time on their PCs into an opportunity to earn digital currency. It is designed to be simple to use, secure and reliable, enabling customers to mine for cryptocurrency with just a few clicks and avoid the general barriers that might otherwise prevent their entry into the cryptocurrency ecosystem."

The company created a FAQ on its support site that provides a few additional details on the integration. According to the FAQ, Avira Crypto is mining Ethereum on systems and comes with a personal wallet.

Avira does not reveal how much, if any, of the mined currency it is taking for itself. Norton revealed last week that it is taking 15% of the earned currency from Norton Crypto users.

Participation in Avira Crypto and Norton Crypto is voluntary. Security expert Brian Krebs notes that the voluntary nature "ultimately hinges on how these crypto programs are pitched and whether users really understand what they’re doing when they enable them".

Whether mining is profitable depends on a number of factors, including the cost of electricity but also wear and tear of the hardware.

Both companies have been critized for the integration of crypto mining components. Previously, security products blocked malicious attempts to run crypto miners on customer PCs. The integration may add a bit of revenue for the companies, but it may also impact the reputation of both companies.

Closing Words

I installed the latest version of Avira Free on a system and it did not include Avira Crypto. Maybe it is being rolled out currently or it is limited to customers from specific regions at the time of writing.

Now You: what is your take on this? Think Avast is next?

Avira is adding a crypto miner to its products as well - gHacks Tech News

Security company Avira started to integrate a cryptographic currency miner into some of its security products.

www.ghacks.net

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

From Krebs on Security:

Others have charged that the crypto offering will end up costing customers more in electricity bills than they can ever hope to gain from letting their antivirus mine ETH. What’s more, there are hefty fees involved in moving any ETH mined by Norton or Avira Crypto to an account that the user can cash out, and many users apparently don’t understand they can’t cash out until they at least earn enough ETH to cover the fees.

In August 2021, NortonLifeLock said it had reached an agreement to acquire Avast, another longtime free antivirus product that also claims to have around 500 million users. It remains to be seen whether Avast Crypto will be the next brilliant offering from NortonLifeLock.

As mentioned in this week’s story on Norton Crypto, I get that participation in these cryptomining schemes is voluntary, but much of that ultimately hinges on how these crypto programs are pitched and whether users really understand what they’re doing when they enable them. But what bugs me most is they will be introducing hundreds of millions of perhaps less savvy Internet users to the world of cryptocurrency, which comes with its own set of unique security and privacy challenges that require users to “level up” their personal security practices in fairly significant ways.

500M Avira Antivirus Users Introduced to Cryptomining – Krebs on Security

 

[Shadowra]

No.... Avira
I hope we can deactivate it because my "Av prefer" who is Nortonized, it would be a shame....

 

[Moonhorse]

Could aswell just add it only to free version, as you mine they take cut anyways...why not to give whole cake for them and pay with that for full suite

Im not sure is it right or not to use miner on security software, maybe its just coming trend we have to accept soon

 

[Kongo]

Adding unnecessary stuff that everyone hates instead of integrating Aviras cloud etc into Norton. Great choice!

 

[Pat MacKnife]

No.... Avira
I hope we can deactivate it because my "Av prefer" who is Nortonized, it would be a shame....

It will be posible to opt-out , they will ask for permission .... see faq avira.

The company created a FAQ on its support site that provides a few additional details on the integration. According to the FAQ, Avira Crypto is mining Ethereum on systems and comes with a personal wallet.

 

[Harputlu]

you buy an antivirus program to catch crypto programs. and the result : avira crypto , norton crypto . in the future, maybe avast and bullguard crypto

 

[show-Zi]

Avira Free (sneakly paid version)

I have found a solution to prevent mining.
It says to use the idle time of the pc. In other words, it can be avoided by keeping the PC busy without letting it idle......

 

[ForgottenSeer 69673]

Kim Komando says don't do it. f you are looking for a great antivirus that won’t install a crypto-miner, we recommend our sponsor, TotalAV. LOL

Don't do it - This antivirus software installs crypto-miner (and takes a cut)

Norton's antivirus installs a crypto-miner onto your device and takes a cut of the earnings. Here's a better choice for antivirus protection.

www.komando.com

 

[RoboMan]

Why?

Why?

Why?

Spoiler: Why?

Why?

 

[oldschool]

Why?

Why?

Spoiler: Why?

Why?

Yes. Why?

Users are supposed to pay for this?

 

[Azure]

Avira Free (sneakly paid version)

I have found a solution to prevent mining.
It says to use the idle time of the pc. In other words, it can be avoided by keeping the PC busy without letting it idle......

Or simply do not enable it

 

[show-Zi]

Kim Komando says don't do it. f you are looking for a great antivirus that won’t install a crypto-miner, we recommend our sponsor, TotalAV. LOL

What if you are looking for a good anti-virus that can easily cancel automatic renewal of your subscription?

 

[Venustus]

Norton having a field day with this "feature"

 

[blacksheep]

Who is next?

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Who is next?

Avast/AVG or BullGuard, all owned by Norton now

 

[Kongo]

 

[Shadowra]

At the limit of a malware...
Avira the option can be deactivated, but Norton I think not

 

[Kongo]

At the limit of a malware...
Avira the option can be deactivated, but Norton I think not

After all I totally agree with him on this one. It's just a greedy move by Norton and shouldn't be supported at all. I won't touch it anymore in the near future.

 

[oldschool]

Avast/AVG or BullGuard, all owned by Norton now

BD and Kaspersky are the big winners if this happens, and M$ will just mosey along doing its thing as usual.