HomeNewsTechnologyMalware designed to mine bitcoins surfaces in Russia

Malware designed to mine bitcoins surfaces in Russia

Fareit, a malware emerging from a Russian porn site, uses the victims' computers to mine bitcoins and can be used to conduct DDoS attacks.

April 22, 2013 / 12:45 IST
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The bitcoin bubble looks to have burst after a massive high, but the craze for the virtual currency is hurtling forward unhindered. Naturally, those with the know-how have tried all ways to get their hands on bitcoins and we have already heard reports of a Skype-based malware mining for bitcoins in Europe. Now another such malware has emerged from a Russian porn site. Named Fareit, the malware uses the victims' computers to mine bitcoins, according to cyber-security firm ThreatTrack Security. The malware has been reportedly circulating for at least six months and infects Windows computers before mining for the virtual currencyThe Fareit malware was planted on a Russian porn site. Fareit is delivered to a computer by the Blackhole exploit kit, which attacks the computer and looks for vulnerabilities upon visiting the porn site. The malware is also capable of stealing information from a computer and can co-opt the affected PC for use in distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS). Click here for full story

first published: Apr 22, 2013 12:22 pm

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