Beware! If you see a video_xxxx.zip in your FB Messenger...
Do not Click on it!
Even if it is from your friends. This is a brand new crypto-mining virus that is spreading across the globe through the FB messenger.
source
Cryptocurrencies have become a prominent thing for the internet folks around the world. So as anything, cryptocurrencies have also got their flaws that make it possible to be exploited with it. Maybe not a flaw, because if you are on the internet you are expected to be careful with what you are clicking!
This one is pretty dangerous because you won't know how quickly this thing spreads. Once you click on it, it automatically downloads the components required from a remote server. The virus is called as Digimine
Digimine typically installs a crypto-miner, that is an altered version of a Monero miner called as XMRig, that secretly mines the Monero cryptocurrency in the background for the exploiters using the Computing power of the victim's computer.
The exploit is mainly targetted Google Chrome users and besides the miner, it also installs an extension of Chrome, which enables the hacker to access your Facebook account to spread the virus further through the messenger.
Since we cant install extensions from any other source than the Chrome Store, the hackers make use of command line to execute Chrome with the extension preloaded.
The miner is connected to the remote server, so the hacker can alter it easily for other purposes on the computer, which makes it a lot more dangerous.
Similar incidents...
Maybe you have already heard about the websites which secretly mine cryptocurrencies with the scripts that are being run on your browsers. The torrent giant Piratebay was found recently doing this. One of the popular service used by many such sites is Coinhive which just simply provide you with some scripts that enable mining through the visitor's browser.
Even though they aren't malware, still it can use up loads of your computing power, making your PC considerably slow, especially if you are having a low-end device. Some may find it okay to avoid the annoying ads since mining is a background process.
Also, Coin-hive recently requested it's 'publishers' to acknowledge the visitors about mining before they actually start mining.
How to check if your computer is being used for mining?
Check your CPU usage
It can be done by opening the Task Manager in Windows, or Activity Monitor in Mac, or System Monitor in some Linux versions. It is difficult to tell what is the normal CPU usage for the computer as it varies across applications, but If it's showing a sudden spike in CPU usage while visiting a site or there is still a very high CPU usage after all of your applications are closed, then it might be due to a miner.
How can i avoid it?
Beware, of what you click on the internet. Being careful is the first thing to avoid such scenarios. Even simply opening an email can affect your computer with a virus, so beware.
AdBlockers can sometimes help from websites that run this mining scripts.
AntiViruses can help you with prevention of unautherized background installations.
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Wow.. good warning. I remember a day when we had our own server that was sluggish and making loud noises. Turns out it was taken over by a botnet and sending out spam emails. This sounds more lucrative though.
Very good information that I had no knowledge of so I say thank you very much for alerting me to this information. Very much appreciated.
Glad I could help :)
Great info. I'm new and didn't even know they could "mine" for my crypto currency! I haven't rcvd a message on FB messenger but will keep an eye out for that! thanks for the heads up!
Glad you found it helpful.
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Zip and exe files always avoid
now that I think about it my google chrome was super slow. cpu was 80%, hardisk was 100% i had to switch to Mozilla, Thanks for the tip
That might possibly be a miner site that's affecting the CPU usage.
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