How to prohibit the use of mining on the local network. Hidden mining: find and destroy. Organization of your own access network

Much has already been said about what hidden mining is. But scammers do not stand still. And they are constantly improving their technologies. One of the most recent cases in Argentina is particularly telling. What happened to the customers of the world famous Starbucks says it can happen anywhere. And it is quite difficult to defend against this.

Hidden mining with public networks

That scammers have learned to use strangers on computers and mobile devices ah for hidden mining has been known for a long time. People have even found ways to defend against such an invasion. Today there are a huge number of programs that help identify criminals and block their influence on a personal device. Therefore, lovers of quick money at someone else's expense went further.

Hidden mining has been transformed into semi-legal using public Wi-Fi networks. And from this, as practice shows, neither antiviruses nor special utilities... By connecting to the free distribution of the Internet, the user himself actually allows fraudsters to use his device to extract cryptocurrency. Naturally, this is not directly reported to anyone.

How scammers organize the process of hidden mining through shared networks

The Starbucks case has prompted Argentine mobile operators and software developers to look deeper into the scam tactics. And here we discovered two ways in which criminals can use other people's devices for hidden mining in public places. The first is to convert the traffic that is distributed by free Wi-Fi in coffee shops, pizzerias or the subway. The second is the organization of its own access network.

Organization of your own access network

In practice, the latter is extremely rare, since it is easier for a person who has the resources to create free Wi-Fi in public places to organize. But if the trend with the rise in the price of video cards continues, this method of hidden mining may be widely used. In addition, from the point of view of energy efficiency, using someone else's devices is more profitable than operating your own farm.

Traffic conversion

If we talk about the first method, to implement hidden mining, the algorithm of actions in this case is as follows.

First, the attacker places his own machine between Wi-Fi router and the user's device. It is very easy to arrange if the device of the fraudster knows how to work for distribution.

A stealthy mining criminals first intercept the traffic, and then, sending bogus ARP connection protocols, starts distributing it to users. It is noteworthy that in this case, visitors to the establishment will see that they are connecting to an authorized network.

The attacker first configures the http service on his computer, and then, when intercepting traffic, inserts fragments with its code into the data stream. The hidden mining worm is a simple command that is accessed via Javascript.

The most difficult thing in this case for criminals is to create a program that would automate everything. Otherwise, you will have to add each IP address manually. The configured hidden mining script itself obtains IP addresses, configures forwarding and tables, executes ARPspoof, and starts an HTTP server to serve the crypto repairman.

Consider how to mine bitcoins on your home computer and whether it can be done.

All the advantages and disadvantages, as well as more profitable alternatives for mining coins.

Content:

Mining (from Mining - mining) is the only way to get crypto money. Its essence lies in the fact that a computer or a network of computers perform mathematical calculations. The result of the calculations is finding new blocks of the cryptocurrency network (blockchain) chain. for each block found, a reward is paid in the form of coins.

If you are still a novice user in the field of crypto, but want to start mining and making money on it, you need to study the current realities of this lesson. Computational complexity does not allow us to speak of adequate profitability when working with low-performance equipment, for example, a home PC.

The concept of home mining was popular in the early 2010s.

Today, stationary or cloud-based ones are being created, in which dozens or even hundreds of video cards are involved at the same time. However, this will not prevent you from starting mining coins on your PC. You should immediately prepare for the fact that the earnings will be very small, but with constant mining, it can amount to several hundred dollars a year (subject to the active growth of the market value of Bitcoin).

How to start mining on your home PC

If you are one of those who have heard a huge number of times about cryptocurrency mining, but did not dare to create your own mining system, first you need to decide how you will work and what currency will be the main one.

Choose one of the cryptocurrencies ... Further in the article, we will consider the mining of Bitcoin - the most popular cryptocurrency in the world, the capitalization of which is more than $ 171 billion;
Open a wallet for the corresponding currency ... As a rule, the official website of the crypto-coin creator has all the information for registering a wallet;
Choose which service will be used for mining ... This stage should be well thought out, since with the increase in demand for cryptocurrency, the number of fraudulent services that use your PC's resource for mining has also increased, but the money earned is not sent to your wallet. However, there are tons of reliable and proven platforms out there. It is important to choose the pool with the highest performance;
Download and install the app ... After registering in the pool, you will be prompted to download a desktop mining program. Each service has its own program. Typically, there are always basic computer requirements to consider;
Start mining and earn Bitcoins. When the minimum withdrawal amount is reached (each service has its own threshold), you can withdraw coins by sending them to a pre-created wallet.

It should be remembered that without good hardware characteristics of the processor and video card, mining will be impossible or the number of coins will be minimal (if at all). If you have a good enough home PC, you can start mining.

Services that provide users with the ability to mine from only one computer, at the software level, combine the capacities connected to the network into a pool - a group of devices.

This combination is necessary so that at the stage of mathematical calculations you do not compete with powerful stationary or cloud farms.

If the pool of devices performed a successful calculation and a reward was obtained, it is divided among all members of the group according to capacity.

Less powerful PCs get less money. In any case, participating in a pool is practically the only way to make money.

If you do not understand much about the principle of mining coins and do not want to deal with a lot of concepts, work with automatic miners that you can simply run in the background.

List of reliable applications for automatic mining of cryptocurrency on a home computer:

Kryptex - here, after each successful calculation of coins, users have two options for working - send the amount to their crypto-wallet or exchange the mined money at the current rate and then transfer it to their account electronic money( , etc).

Go to the online calculator page and select the currency you want to mine. Then in a new window, enter the previously calculated hash rate and click on Calculate.

This will let you know if mining will pay off. Also, the calculator window displays data on how much energy will be consumed with constant mining.

Is it profitable to mine on a home PC

With the rise in popularity of Bitcoin mining it on home computers has become unprofitable.

If you are hoping to get an income of several hundred dollars already at the initial stage, we advise you to take a closer look at concepts such as cloud mining or to.

The work of a miner on a regular PC will bring up to hundreds of dollars in income per month. We recommend using this method only if you have a PC with a good level of performance and while working with it, you do not use even half of the video card's resource. For example, you have a powerful gaming PC at your disposal, but you rarely run games on it and constantly use only the browser and simple programs... In this case, the periodic work of the miner will not harm the system. Also, you should not mine bitcoins on your home PC around the clock. Limit yourself to 6-8 hours a day.

Mining types

As mentioned above, mining is the only way to get cryptocurrencies, but there is different ways mining:

- the most effective and profitable way of mining, but it requires investment. You will have to buy several and set them up at the same time. This method requires a separate room and will entail impressive light bills;
Are groups of computers that may be located in different parts of the world, but at the time of computing and mining cryptocurrency, they will work together. The home computer is connected to the pool thanks to the mining program. You can independently configure the operation of several of your PCs through the pool;
– the easiest way to get coins without killing your computer. The essence of this mining method is that a third-party program uses the resource of your video card to calculate mathematical operations. The computer can be or be used by the utility as the only link in the mining network;
CPU - Today, the method of mining coins using the computing power of processors has become a relic of the past. It is much more profitable to work with video cards, since they are able to mine coins faster, and in the event of a breakdown, the computer does not stop working - all computing operations are switched to the video card, which is built into the central processor;
ASIC-miner- microprocessor equipment created exclusively for the extraction of BTC and coins mined on the same algorithm. ASICs provide maximum computing power and are reliable enough for long-term operation. The disadvantage is the high cost and the inability to use this equipment anywhere except for the mining of specific cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrency mining software

All mining programs work according to the same principle. Only the conditions of the mining site can differ.

Before installing the application, read the working conditions on the developer's website.

List of the most popular programs for mining Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies:

CGMiner;
Bfgminer;
SGminer;
Ccminer;
Claymore miner.

Should you mine on a laptop?

This question sounds very often, therefore it is necessary to answer it within the framework of the review. You should not mine Bitcoin on laptops.

Firstly, the power of even the most powerful model is not enough to mine coins, the cost of which will cover the purchase price of a laptop.

Secondly, the laptop's cooling system is not ready for constant maximum GPU loads.

And finally, replacing a burnt-out video card in a laptop is possible only with the replacement of the main board, which is tantamount to purchasing a new one.

What is the difference between mining on a PC and a farm - how is it more profitable?

Normal PC mining can only use one video card. If you use a video card farm, earnings will increase proportionally.

For beginners, it is more profitable to use a regular PC for mining, since you do not need to invest any money in creating a system.

If you are determined to earn a decent amount and invest money in the business, buy several video cards and. As world practice shows, it pays off within 6-9 months after the start of work.

conclusions

You can create your own at home.

Today, it is realistic to develop a farm for mining cryptocurrency, which will pay off in about 5-6 months and begin to bring a stable income

Thematic videos:

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have been around for several years now. You can think of it as another pyramid scheme or a fatal threat to the established banking system, but one way or another, this is money that can also be earned sitting in the office. We are talking about mining, the perceived profit from which pushes people to use computers in their workplaces to obtain electronic tokens. And this means there are serious risks for each specific company.

Examples are the sea. So, recently in Russia a group of scientists was detained who tried to mine bitcoin on the country's largest supercomputer. In the US, Tesla was compromised, whose AWS cloud storage was also used to receive cryptocurrency tokens. And the supercomputer of the US National Science Foundation was not just tried, but already used for mining.

The emergence of new types computer viruses also not long in coming. Recently, there was a widespread discussion in the press of a story when special script for mining, it was covertly downloaded onto the computers of visitors to selected websites, including, for example, the sites of the national health insurance system in the United States and the education loan company in the United Kingdom. Separately, users' computers generated quite a few tokens, but the hackers hoped that it would be joint work tens of thousands of infected computers.

What is mining?

To understand the problem raised, you need to have at least a general idea of what cryptocurrency mining is and how it works. People who want to make a fortune on cryptocurrencies should have the following resources:

powerful computer;

access to the Internet;

access to a source of inexpensive or free electricity.

The method of obtaining bitcoin is quite simple: the power of the user's computer is used to generate blocks of transactions, which undergo a special confirmation procedure and are included in the blockchain on which the cryptocurrency is based ("proof of work").

Together, these blocks form both the cryptocurrency itself and the infrastructure for maintaining an international decentralized secure exchange and payment system, the functioning of which does not require classical banking mechanisms and which does not provide for large fees for cross-border currency transactions.

However, the participants in the process are faced with such tasks that can only be solved with the help of powerful computers, and that is why only arrays of the latest graphic cards are used to work in this area.

Electricity price

How more powerful computer, the more electricity it consumes. You can, of course, continue to mine on the old PC in your bedroom, but then, most likely, you will pay more for the electricity consumed than you will earn on cryptocurrency.

“The Bitcoin economy is such that most miners need access to a reliable source of cheap electricity for no more than 2-3 cents per kilowatt hour. Therefore, they often move closer to the hydroelectric power station, it is cheaper there, "Sam Harnett of the Rocky Mountain Institute explained in an interview with The Washington Post.

The world's largest mining farms are built in close proximity to solar and hydroelectric power plants in China. A Russian billionaire recently bought two power plants to power his own mining farms. In Iceland, where about 80% of all electricity consumed is generated by hydroelectric power plants, power grid operators note an explosive growth in demand for capacity from mining farms and openly talk about an impending power shortage in the local market.

It is the problem of accessing cheap electricity that pushes hackers to create malicious software that would use the computer power of website visitors. This also explains the desire of company employees to secretly use work computers for mining, since in this case they do not pay out of their own pockets for either electricity or PC maintenance.

What are the risks?

There are several reasons why companies should be concerned about protecting work computers from being used for cryptocurrency mining.

Computers with installed cryptocurrency mining software run slower, which negatively affects the speed of business processes within the company.

The company incurs unreasonable losses by paying ever-increasing electricity bills.

The increased load associated with the computation of new blockchain blocks leads to a reduction in the life of processors, power supplies and batteries, which directly leads to additional costs for maintenance or replacement of failed computer equipment.

Mining software can make a corporate network vulnerable to attack and unauthorized entry from the outside. According to Kaspersky Lab, the number of such attacks increased from 205,000 in 2013 to 1.65 million in 2017.

Botnet creators and operators and unscrupulous workers are often considered corporate servers how good opportunity earn from "free" electricity. Botnets are already available on the market for $ 30 / month, and prices for programs for creating a hidden mining farm based on a corporate network start at $ 29.

According to Digital Shadows' estimates, the Monero cryptocurrency mining botnet operating 2,000 infected computers can bring in up to $ 500 daily. Latest programs for illegal mining, they already know how to disguise themselves, bypass anti-virus protection on users' computers or disable it altogether.

CrowdStrike warns that botnets (such as Satori and Smominru) have already appeared, focused exclusively on creating networks for mining, and, for example, the WannaMine virus is trying to infect corporate networks.

Nic Biassini, Network Threat Specialist at Cisco Talos, believes it's time for companies to actively defend themselves. As he told Dark Reading, "This is a huge wave that is hitting more and more corporate networks, every day and literally."

What to do?

There is a very effective set of rules: companies must constantly improve security mechanisms, timely update anti-virus software and don't forget about the dangers of traditional hacking tools such as phishing emails and dubious programs and applications from little-known developers.

It is also worth installing specialized equipment and software filters in the company to prevent hacking and unauthorized use of corporate networks, and programs that will allow timely detection of computers with increased processor load or with increased Internet traffic - all these are clear signs of mining. There are ready-made solutions for this, such as the SD-WAN network utility, which allows you to selectively block ports used for mining transactions. Plus, you need to keep a close eye on changes in your electricity bills.

Finally, network administrators need to carefully monitor which programs and program codes installed and used on work computers, constantly scan them for malware and vulnerabilities to external attacks.

For mobile devices, there is the Mobile Threat Defense system, which is designed to protect this particular class of devices.

Jon Evans

Jon Evans is a highly experienced technology journalist and editor. He has been writing for a living since 1994. These days you might read his daily regular Computerworld AppleHolic and opinion columns. Jon is also technology editor for men "s interest magazine, Caliber Quarterly, and news editor for MacFormat magazine, which is the biggest UK Mac title. He" s really interested in the impact of technology on the creative spark at the heart of the human experience. In 2010 he won an American Society of Business Publication Editors (Azbee) Award for his work at Computerworld.

The mining process consists in the extraction of cryptocurrency using PC or ASIC devices using various specialized programs. The program, following its algorithm, performs mathematical calculations to find hash blocks. The speed of the process depends on the power of the equipment used. For 1 found block (data array), a certain number of coins of the cryptocurrency that you mine is charged. Performance is measured in hashes / second. The more powerful your computer (processor, video card), the faster the process of finding blocks and the higher the profitability. By spending computing power in order to find new blocks, miners thus create new units of currency. Those. everyone participates in the creation and expansion of the blockchain network of a particular coin.

Cryptocurrency mining (forks, altcoins) consists of several stages, which we will analyze in detail within the framework of this material.

Choosing a video card and processor
Choosing a profitable fork
Pool selection or solo mode setting
Setting up the miner program and launching
Exchange of mined coins for money

Cryptocurrency algorithms

Cryptocurrency mining can be done using video cards, processors and ASIC devices. The most productive are ASICs. This is a highly specialized electronic technical device designed only for the extraction of bitcoin or altcoins. The cost of those is from $ 500, which is not affordable for everyone. So mining of cryptocurrencies by ordinary users occurs on a home PC, which will be discussed below.

So, to date, most forks are mining on algorithms: sha-256, script, x11, CryptoNight, Dagger hashimoto, Equihash. Let's take a look at them:

SHA-256 is a cryptographic hash function, a pioneer among crypto algorithms. It was developed by the US National Security Agency. Bitcoin is based on it. The most expensive coin, but getting it on a PC is no longer cost-effective due to the high energy consumption and the level of complexity. It is mined by asic devices.

Scrypt is a popular mining algorithm for Radeon video cards starting with HD 5-x series. Most of the crypto coins were previously mined on it. It is characterized by the highest energy consumption during the process. The speed is affected by the frequency and amount of video memory. The first scrypt coin, Litecoin, has good value, liquidity and capitalization. However, mining on a computer is no longer cost-effective.

Scrypt-n - cryptocurrency mining on video cards Radeon cards HD series 5-x and more. Differs in greater resistance to ACIS devices. The speed of the process is two times lower than in the script, but the payment for the found block of coins is on average higher. Energy consumption is 10-15% lower than in scrypt. V this moment scrypt-n is out of the market.

Algorithms X11, X13, X15- Cryptocurrency mining is suitable for owners of nvidia and radeon video cards. Also mined on powerful top-end Intel processors core-i7, i5, amd Fx-8. The most profitable algorithm in relation to consumed electricity / production rate. The speed is 3-4 times higher than scrypt, 30-40% lower energy consumption. Most popular coin: Dash (Darkcoin), Startcoin, Urocoin

CryptoNight is an algorithm that uses a lot of RAM, virtual and video memory, is not affected by asic devices. Less energy consumption than scrypt. Most popular and worthwhile coin: Monero. For owners of video cards radeon rx series - the best option.

Dagger hashimoto (Ethash) is essentially an algorithmic superstructure over SHA-256 with great functionality. There are no detailed data on it on the Internet. It is important for us that hashimoto has been created on the ethash dagger algorithm - the most popular “strong” coin at the moment. Critical to the video memory of a video card (at least 2gb), mined on top-end nvidia and radeon.

Equihash is an algorithm for transactions via the https protocol, which ensures complete security and anonymity of transfers. A profitable expensive coin is Zcash, which will rise in value in 2108. More suitable for mining with cards from nvidia geforce.

Step 1. Mining cryptocurrencies on a video card

The best choice of a video card for mining cryptocurrency is the top-end Radeon models, the rx series cards give the best price / performance ratio. The 7-x series cards will be cheaper, but their power consumption is generally slightly higher due to the 40mm chipset. Production on nvidia graphics cards ge-force is also possible starting from GTX 960. The most productive mining video cards are NVIDIA GE-FORCE GTX 1060/1070/1080, RADEON RX 470/480/570/580.

The choice of a video card for mining depends on the power indicators (kh / s or mh / s), power consumption (W / h) and price. When mining on any video card at full capacity, a lot of electricity is consumed, which must be taken into account when calculating the net profit. The vast majority of forks are not profitable to mine due to the fact that the payment for electricity exceeds the reward. There is online calculator mining of many altcoins. In its fields, enter the power of your system, the value of the power consumed by it, the price per kW / hour in your region and you will get detailed information about net profit.

Step 2. Mining cryptocurrency. What to mine?

Perhaps the hardest part is choosing a fork. Due to the fact that cryptocurrency rates are constantly changing, profitability and profitability also change greatly over time. Mining cryptocurrency justifies itself when choosing the most valuable altcoins with low mining difficulty and high cost. The value of forks is calculated in relation to the bitcoin currency, so you need to monitor the price of the cue ball as well. Exchange the mined currency for bitcoin, dollars or rubles. Repeat the exchange cycle periodically, tracking the best altcoin / bitcoin and BTC / $ rates. Do not keep existing coins for a long time, monetize on a cycle. The most profitable coins now are Ethereum, Monero, Zcash.

Step 3. Choosing a mining pool. P2pool. Mpos. Solo

Let's start with the fact that cryptocurrency mining can be carried out on your computer in local network or via an internet server.

You can get crypto coins:

In solo mode
By joining the pools.
By connecting to the p2pool network

Solo cryptocurrency mining is an exclusive mode involving only your computer or local network. Everything mined is credited to your digital wallet. Solo mode is suitable for mining farms with multiple GPUs. It is possible to mine with one top-end video card, but due to a lack of power, the process of finding one block of coins can take several days or months.

Pool (Pool) is a server with a representative site, connecting to which, you participate in the collective mining of altcoins. Thus, your power is added to the capacities of other miners in the same pool, forming the overall performance of the pool network. Each participant is rewarded in proportion to his contribution to the overall performance. That is, the more computing resources you have, the more share you get. Due to the high overall speed process, finding blocks and crediting funds is much faster.

In addition to the usual pools with one of the cryptocurrencies, there are multipools where you can mine several altcoins at the same time. MultiPool automatically switches between fork nodes and mines the most profitable cryptocurrency, then another one from the list of cryptocoins it supports. This approach is more profitable, but determining the best currency and switching time interval is sometimes not true.

A small disadvantage of the pools is that they take a commission of 1% from each payment to your crypto wallet. Also, there are often unscrupulous pool administrators who actually pay several times less than you mined. Most pools need to register and create a worker. The worker will serve as a login for the miner program when connecting to the pool server. All mined coins are displayed on your balance in your profile, from where you can withdraw them to your crypto wallet.

P2pool is a decentralized pool with direct connection without registration and creation of a workera. The login is the address of your crypto wallet. In this way, the mined coins are credited directly to your vault. Pool commission usually does not exceed 1%. When choosing a p2pool, pay attention to the total capacity and the contribution of the capacity of each participant. If your card's power is below the average p2pool performance, use the divisor value in your miner program.

Step 4. Miner program and configuration.

Cryptocurrency mining is launched through a miner - this is a special program for different OS... There are several types of programs with similar settings. Most Popular: cgminer, sgminer, cudaminer, claymore... For some forks, they use a specific miner that can be downloaded from the fork's website. For example, ethminer is used for ethereum. Miner connects through the address of the pool server to the computer and starts the process. The miner shell has a console form with textual information about the process speed, iron temperature, data about the currently found block and the state of the process.

Setting up the miner is very simple and is carried out in a .bat file, where the values of the video card parameters are entered, network address pool with port, algorithm name, personal login with password and other parameters. Edit the bat file in the simplest way text editor... Miner is also launched via a bat file. The configuration details and miner files usually provide a pool to work with. For example, Minergate suits me - a reliable popular multipool.

Step 5. Crypto wallets and coin exchange.

To work with any coin, you need a digital wallet, which is downloaded from the official website of the crypto coin you are interested in. The wallet address is a long string of numbers and letters generated by the wallet itself after it was first launched. It is then used for financial transactions between cryptocoins. A private key is automatically attached to each address, ensuring the security of information storage. You write it down on paper or a test file so that in case of anything you can restore the wallet with all the information.

Once installed and launched, wallet synchronizes with the network and receives information about the current state. After synchronization, the currency history and the wallet.dat wallet file with a private code appear in the personal folder of your PC with the name of the altcoin. This file and the code for it must be backed up in a separate place, so that if something happens, it can be restored in order to avoid loss of funds. In addition to an altcoin wallet, a bitcoin-wallet is required to convert to bitcoin. I recommend the bitcoin core thick wallet. It is downloaded and installed on your PC, it works properly without bugs.

All exchange operations are performed on the relevant financial exchanges or exchangers, for example: Exmo. This reliable Russian exchange has been operating since 2013. I mainly work with her as a trader.

Hidden miner for cryptocurrencies - no longer new topic, although there are almost no decent technical instructions for its detection and elimination. There is only a mass of scattered information and articles of questionable content. Why? Because everyone benefits from mining cryptocurrencies on a global scale, except, of course, the one who does not receive a penny from it and does not even suspect that he has become a part of it. Indeed, the principle of hidden mining can become something more than just mining coins in someone else's pocket.

Hidden mining concept

We are not talking about mining, for the time being hidden from housing and communal services, but about the hidden mining of coins on an ordinary computer, despite the fact that the owner of the computer himself is not dreaming about it. In other words, for mining cryptocurrency, it is possible not only to use your own computer, but also to use many other people's machines.

And it is not necessary that the load on the video card or processor should increase to 100% - these clever people are careful and will not load the machine of a member of their network in unreasonable limits. You may, in principle, not notice much of a difference if you have a powerful enough technique. This is an important condition for keeping the miner's hidden work.

For the first time, official reports about the phenomenon of hidden mining began to appear in 2011, and in 2013 there was already a massive infection of PCs in various countries via Skype. Moreover, the Trojans not only mined, but also got access to bitcoin wallets.

The most famous case is an attempt by μTorrent developers to make additional money on users by introducing the hidden EpicScale miner into the software.