Upcoming Firefox Update Will Block Crypto Mining Malware
The growing menace of cryptojacking has caused several browser service providers to take action against the online crypto mining malware. Cryptojacking is a popular term used that refers to miners injecting malware in internet connected computers through mining extensions which, in turn, uses the computer power to mine digital currencies.
Three months back, tech giant Google was seen taking some strict action over eliminating the crypto-mining malware. Now another browsing service Firefox has decided to introduce a default blocker for crypto mining malware.
On Thursday, August 30, Firefox’s Vice President of product, Nick Nguyen made an official announcement saying that the upcoming version of the browser, by default, will block mining scripts. This step is taken by the open-source browser to enhance the web performance and protect its users from falling prey to online malicious activities.
Nguyen wrote: “In the near future, Firefox will—by default, protect users by blocking tracking, while offering a clear set of controls to give our users more choice over what information they share with sites.”
While talking about the scripts that exploit the computer power to mine digital currencies, Nguyen said: “Deceptive practices that invisibly collect identifiable user information or degrade user experience are becoming more common. "For example, some trackers fingerprint users — a technique that allows them to invisibly identify users by their device properties, and which users are unable to control. Other sites have deployed cryptomining scripts that silently mine cryptocurrencies on the user's device. Practices like these make the web a more hostile place to be. Future versions of Firefox will block these practices by default.”
Additionally, Firefox will also pay special attention to improving the web performance and see to it that third-party scripts are not affecting the user experience of its customers. The company is currently testing this feature on the Firefox Nightly version and users could possibly see it getting implemented in the Firefox 65.
Nguyen said: “We’ve already made this available for our Firefox Nightly users to try out, and we will be running a shield study to test the experience with some of our beta users in September. We aim to bring this protection to all users in Firefox 65, and will continue to refine our approach to provide the strongest possible protection while preserving a smooth user experience.”