The popular antivirus software, Norton 360 is adding a new feature ‘Norton Crypto’ to enable its users, who have enrolled in early adopter programs, to mine Ether cryptocurrency.
Mining cryptocurrency comes with its risks as it requires third-party applications to be installed that run the risk of malware or the app running malicious code. NortonLifeLock, the company behind the popular antivirus software, claims Norton Crypto is a perfect fit to let consumers “safely and easily mine cryptocurrency”.
The Norton Crypto comes with its wallet system where users can track and transfer their earnings. The company says that these stores’ earnings are saved in the cloud which keeps them safe from hard drive failures.
Earlier, people who wanted to mine cryptocurrency had to disable their security software to do it, which made things riskier for them. This could lead to unwanted code running on a user’s system with an aim to take a piece of the earnings or planting ransomware and the idea behind adding a cryptocurrency mining tool within the antivirus program was to keep customers safe from these troubles.
Bleeping Computer, in its report, states that it is unclear if Norton Crypto runs independently for users or has a pool system that brings together all of its users’ resources. If it is the latter, Norton may charge a fee depending on the earnings.
Vincent Pilette CEO – NortonLifeLock
“As the crypto economy continues to become a more important part of our customers’ lives, we want to empower them to mine cryptocurrency with Norton, a brand they trust. Norton Crypto is yet another innovative example of how we are expanding our Cyber Safety platform to protect our customers’ ever-evolving digital lives.”
Currently, Norton Crypto lets customers mine Ether only and it does not mention any other cryptocurrency. While Norton Crypto is only available to users enrolled in early adopter programs, it is expected to be available for all Norton 360 customers in the coming weeks. Users may require certain PC hardware to use it.
