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Satya Swaroop Dash
Computer Science
18 Sep 2017
Should Websites Be Allowed To Put Cryptocurrency Miner Script?
This weekend we came across a new way of earning revenue for websites. The Pirate Bay has put up a JavaScript on their website that allows them to use the visitor’s CPU to mine cryptocurrency. When we visited the website of the creators of the JavaScript, Coinhive, we discovered that the Coinhive JavaScript Miner can be used on any website to mine Monero cryptocurrency. Since the script does not have any UI it can be hidden from the end user. They (CoinHive) advise website administrators to warn their users if they are using the script because customer faith matters.
Here is where The Pirate Bay went wrong; they did not warn their visitors that they were using their CPU for mining cryptocurrency. The Pirate Bay did however set a dangerous precedent, what if other websites follow it? Revenue for a website is hard to come by, as most internet users opt for an ad-blocking plug-in or extension on their browsers. If you do happen to click on a banner advertisement it will eventually show you a warning, “Is everything okay, why are you here?” (borrowed joke from Last Week Tonight).
So here is our question, Should websites be allowed to use a visitor’s CPU to generate revenue? Give us your opinions below.
Here is where The Pirate Bay went wrong; they did not warn their visitors that they were using their CPU for mining cryptocurrency. The Pirate Bay did however set a dangerous precedent, what if other websites follow it? Revenue for a website is hard to come by, as most internet users opt for an ad-blocking plug-in or extension on their browsers. If you do happen to click on a banner advertisement it will eventually show you a warning, “Is everything okay, why are you here?” (borrowed joke from Last Week Tonight).
So here is our question, Should websites be allowed to use a visitor’s CPU to generate revenue? Give us your opinions below.
Ramani Aswath
Chemical
18 Sep 2017
Any use of a third party's resource without permission is unethical.
So is use of pirating content.
Tit for tat, it looks like.
So is use of pirating content.
Tit for tat, it looks like.
Kaustubh Katdare
Electrical
18 Sep 2017
When the user is browsing in a pirate world, they've to accept the reality of it. The visitor knows that they are doing unethical stuff and that's the exact thing what the pirate bay is doing as well.Satya Swaroop DashHere is where The Pirate Bay went wrong; they did not warn their visitors that they were using their CPU for mining cryptocurrency
We've already moved on to the world of JavaScript; which has become an incredibly powerful scripting language of the modern Internet. Privacy and user consent are a thing of the past. We'll have to learn to deal with it.
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