You're probably mining Crypto's for someone else while surfing the web (Ever done a Google search?)

in cryptocurrency •  7 years ago 

Coin Hive is a company that utilizes browser processing power to mine Cryptocurrency. (Monero, XMR)

Recently, you might have seen Pirate Bay coming under fire for using a "hidden" crypto miner. Did you know it's rumored Google uses it too? Coin Hive is a company that provides a Mining service that accesses users processing power to solve hashes.

Allow me to simply illustrate how this would work in Google's case.

Step 1: You do a Google Search.

Step 2: Google answers your search like normal.

Step 3: Hidden in the backround, Google also has your browser/computer solve some math equations.

Step 4: You go about your business looking for your search result.

Step 5: Google earns cryptos from those equations your computer solved, and you didn't even realize it.

*Editor's Note: Google's involvement is technically a rumor, since I could not find a source to back this up. There is much evidence of Pirate Bay doing this however, and the steps above would work the exact same in a Pirate Bay search.

How does solving math problems earn Cryptocurrency?


These math equations your browser solves are called "hashes" and need to be solved in order to create new cryptocurrencies. Many websites are now adding this feature to their website, because unless you specifically look for it you wouldn't realize its happening.

You can expect to be mining for someone else when visiting different webpages in the coming months. This "hidden" miner is a javascript code that can be put on pretty much any website or application. It will become more and more widespread, because it honestly is clever as clever gets.

Is this right or wrong?


I try to be objective, so below I provide ways to both resist or join if you want to.

This review was written to help you understand that you DO have a say so in this matter. We all have the choice to not use those sites and systems if we do not want to have our processing power shared.

  • Rumored Sites to use Coin Hive:
      Showtime- Declined to Comment
        Pirate Bay- Source
          Google- Rumored/No Source
            YouTube- Rumored/No Source

          • I'll ask you this: Would you rather have advertisements, or an ad free experience with something running in the backround you hardly even notice?

            If you still want to block these scripts, here is how.

            How to block Javascripts that automatically mine Cryptocurrencies


            Maybe you hate the idea and feel your processing power should not be shared.

            I feel you bro, fight the system. I felt violated at first too. You are correct, its your device, and you can do what you want.

            There is a process that you can go through to block these javascripts from automatically running in your browser.

            The YouTube video below explains this:


            Upon further thought about the subject, however, I decided that in the end I was ok with it. I'll be honest, I have not blocked these because I feel its fair for websites to get a little back from me. I've been able to learn so much for free on the web, i'm ok with a tiny bit of a toll to keep things moving. Besides, I only go to sites that provide value to ME anyways, my processing power is never spent in vain.

            How to setup your site to automatically mine Cryptocurrencies.


            https://coin-hive.com/

            I am a firm believer that the world is changing, and programs like these are going to be integral to the future. One thing can be certain, especially with King G on board, this idea is not going anywhere. You might as well jump on board yourself if you have a website or blog that you run. At the bottom of the page is a link to sign your website up.

            Some argue that it is unethical, but there needs to be income to keep a website running. Smaller websites are actually replacing advertisements with the Coin Hive service; I feel this is a much better solution than having creepy search history advertisements blaring in my face.

            If a website is too laggy, people will leave it anyways. The processing power used from your device or mobile phone is quite minimal; usually around 20%. A website using anything above 20% of your processing power could be noticeable to you, and might be the reason some sites seem much more laggy than others if it has no advertisements.

            All in all, I feel I've done a fairly decent job of explaining the basics of Coin-Hive, but there are many applications for their service that I have not even gotten into. I am not as tech savvy as some, but there are ways to develop your own faucet with your website earnings from users with this service. Ever wanted to pay your users to visit? Now you can.

            You can even set up an in-game or in-app payment system if you are a sharp enough coder. Imagine creating a game that pays players to keep coming back and refer others, and all the money comes from people playing the game because excess processing power is used to create money. No one needs to spend anything except electricity and time, when you think about it.

            I myself am just in the beginning stages of exploring this service, but I feel its going to become more and more prevelant in the coming months.

            What is your opinion of web based Cryptocurrency Miners?

            Speak your mind in the comments below!

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            I admin a site that is very popular and require ads in order to keep the site afloat. Are there any calculators or estimates on how many site visitors are required to hit $x to help the curious decide if this is doable.

            Hi. I use coin-hive's miner on my site publicly...

            I run a micro pay crypto site, so it is a good fit. You'll have to decide for yourself.

            But I calculated a while back, that it would take 1,000,000 hashes to earn about 400 some satoshis worth of XMR.
            Not good. My visitors typically pull a bit less than 10 hashes/second.

            This means it will take them 24 hours of maxed out computer time to earn 400 satoshis.

            So if you can get a ton of users, (I don't have all that many comparatively.) you might be able to earn something. But I think ads will be 10X more profitable.

            Anyhow. Setup is really easy, and you should definitely look into it.
            If you've got any questions at all, I'll try to answer them. :)
            (Disclaimer: not affiliated with coin-hive in any way)

            These next 4 months is my busy season so I hit 1.5-1.7 million visits a month....that will probably add up nicely. Site includes a community forum where people spent on average 7 minutes and 23 seconds.

            Good grief. That'll probably add up to quite a little chunk of change. :D

            yeesh, that IS a lot.

            So in about 24 hours the website has solved about 1.7 million hashes.

            Its frustrating to notice that for 1 million hashes solved, the pay out is very very small.

            .00015

            .5 XMR is the minimum withdrawal rate, I am currently at .00026

            Great info, thanks for chiming in.

            It's nice to hear an opinion from someone with more experience than myself-

            I actually installed it earlier today on one of my sites, and it's averaging about 3 hashes/second. (100-200 visits a day usually)

            Yeah... ads haven't really panned out well for me either so I figured id try something new.

            No, definitely! This stuff is all brand new, and I'm willing to bet good money there will be a currency made that is optimized for being mined in browsers. This is a really cool idea, and it won't be going anywhere.

            It's this sort of "thinking outside the box" that will make new guys into major successes.

            Nice article.
            I'm curious about where you heard that google/youtube might be using this?
            Not doubting, but I'm curious where the rumor came from.

            Thanks.

            @shaw1 this was a rumor from a youtuber, and I didn't include a link because I wasn't sure if it was valid.

            Pirate Bay does this for sure though, and it would not surprise me if Google started to soon.

            I tried to find anything to verify Google was, but could not, maybe another steemian can find a resource.

            Cool... Just thought that would be huge if it could be confirmed. Well worth a story.
            I doubt I'll find anything, but we'll see.

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