TECH NEWS – Several companies have gone crazy kicking 2022 off (another example would be Konami from yesterday).

It’s not best if you install antivirus software, only to see your computer’s performance tank. It can happen if you don’t use NOD32 but the subscription-based Norton 360. Sure, you might think that the component, which uses your computer to mine cryptocurrency, is easy to remove, but it isn’t. And the best part is that it’s official, and Norton takes a cut from your earnings!

Norton 360 has a new program called Norton Crypto. Here’s how the official FAQ describes it: “Norton Crypto is a feature made available in Norton 360 which you can utilize for mining cryptocurrency when your PC is idle. Currently, Norton Crypto is limited to users with devices that meet the necessary system requirements.” It adds that the process happens voluntarily… which doesn’t seem to be the case. Also, system requirements… we’re not talking about a game! Since July, the program has been available, so it looks Norton expanded its reach after half a year, as it gets installed as part of Norton 360.

“Norton is installing a Cryptocurrency miner called Norton Crypto (NCrypt.exe) on end-user systems without so much as a dialogue during the install of its security product. There is no way to prevent installing on your system or disabling it. You have to delete the NCrypt.exe in the \Program Files\Norton directory physically, and there is no guarantee it does not come back with a software update, or a 3rd party finds a way to exploit it,” a Twitter user wrote. However, it’s not enough for others, as they couldn’t delete the executable even with administrator privileges! Some users claim Norton Crypto also sits in the Windows registry…

But let’s get back to the FAQ. Norton explains how it takes a cut and what additional costs are: “Norton Crypto is included as part of Norton 360 subscriptions. However, there are coin mining fees and transaction costs to transfer Ethereum. The coin mining fee is currently 15% of the crypto allocated to the miner. Transfers of cryptocurrencies may result in transaction fees (also known as “gas” fees) paid to the users of the cryptocurrency blockchain network who process the transaction. In addition, if you choose to exchange crypto for another currency, you may be required to pay fees to an exchange facilitating the transaction. Transaction fees fluctuate due to cryptocurrency market conditions and other factors. Norton does not set these fees.”

If you could at least disable it, but it seems it’s impossible at the moment! No wonder Norton doesn’t have the best of relations with its customers…

Source: WCCFTech