> CPU mining is so slow in comparison to ASCI mining that the attacker is probably making pennies on this
Given that a decent proportion (most?) of people downloading and running a modern PC game like Watch_Dogs will have high-end discrete graphics cards, it seems odd that the malware doesn't take advantage of GPU mining.
I think you meant to type “ASIC mining.” Which certainly is the most efficient way to mine bitcoins; but would it really be more effective in this respect?
I didn't realize there enough ASIC–chip powered devices out there running to make that a more effective method (even considering the fact that ASIC–powered devices are roughly 50x more effective).
Yeah, but you use different mining programs based on the GPU vendor, and then there's the configuration for each card that makes it efficient. Is the code smart enough to look up the GPU vendor and run CUDAminer/cgminer or a CPU miner?
Some very well known cracking/warez groups will add whatever you want to their 0-day releases if you pay them enough.
However, I wonder why the perpetrators used "winlogin.exe" as the malware executable file name instead of "winlogon.exe". If I remember correctly, Windows prevents you from killing any file named "winlogon.exe" from the Task Manager. Maybe to help prevent detection by heuristic anti-malware engines?
Comment Thirteen[1] is an interesting concept. "Mine 2 Play". What if the new micropayments for stuff online is with bitcoin-mining? You can my music tracks for $1 of mining on your computer? Sure it's actually more expensive for 85% of people to mine $1 on your PC than just pay for it... but it _feels_ free. Especially for kids who can mine on home/school computers a lot easier than asking parents for money.
That's actually quite valid. Unless it's from a certified vendor like Microsoft, Google, Apple, Or Adobe, you shouldn't blindly trust your information to closed source, proprietary software either.
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[ 78.0 ms ] story [ 314 ms ] threadI've commented on this in the past, but I saw a bitcoin miner in a supposed SimCity torrent over a year ago, so this is nothing new.
Given that a decent proportion (most?) of people downloading and running a modern PC game like Watch_Dogs will have high-end discrete graphics cards, it seems odd that the malware doesn't take advantage of GPU mining.
I didn't realize there enough ASIC–chip powered devices out there running to make that a more effective method (even considering the fact that ASIC–powered devices are roughly 50x more effective).
Assuming PC gamers have better-than-average graphics cards, the pennies here could be $500+/mo depending on how many people got fooled by this.
However, I wonder why the perpetrators used "winlogin.exe" as the malware executable file name instead of "winlogon.exe". If I remember correctly, Windows prevents you from killing any file named "winlogon.exe" from the Task Manager. Maybe to help prevent detection by heuristic anti-malware engines?
1. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=113371411&postcou...
FLACs and movies, fine. Go nuts. But never, EVER, EVER try your luck with cracked software.
It's not worth it.