Antivirus software provider Norton is facing criticism for adding a difficult-to-remove cryptocurrency mining tool, called Norton Crypto, to its Norton 360 software suite. Norton announced the integration of this program in June, promoting it as an easy way for users to utilize their computer’s idle processing power to mine Ethereum. Norton Crypto only works on machines with powerful graphics cards, such as AMD or Nvidia with at least 6GB of VRAM.
Of course, nothing is free; 15% of the earned cryptocurrency value goes to Norton, along with transaction fees, and the company also maintains full control over the customer’s digital wallet. Netizens were horrified when this feature officially appeared.
In a statement, Norton said that the tool is off by default. “Norton Crypto is merely an optional tool and is not enabled without user consent,” a company spokesperson stated. “If users have enabled Norton Crypto but no longer wish to use this feature, they can disable it through Norton 360.”
Norton’s statement only added fuel to the fire, sparking outrage among a large number of users.
“If it is optional, why is it installed by default and cannot be removed without removing the entire antivirus software?” one Twitter user asked. Meanwhile, others expressed dissatisfaction with the condescending tone of the customer service response and suggested that Norton should stand firm in its role as a cybersecurity company.
“Absolutely absurd,” journalist Cory Doctorow said. “Norton’s antivirus program stealthily installs a cryptocurrency mining tool on your computer, and then takes a commission.”
Others pointed out that users might actually lose money when using this tool, depending on the amount of electricity they have to pay for.
Security researcher Chris Vickery wrote on Twitter: “Norton is increasing global energy consumption, causing their customers to spend more on electricity than they earn from mining, yet Norton still collects significant profits.”
“Disgusting, crude, and brand-suicidal,” he added.
Although Norton claims that the Norton Crypto tool only mines with user permission, this feature is automatically installed “without asking during the product installation process,” Twitter user Maxius pointed out in a tweet in December.
“There is no way to prevent it from installing on your system or to disable it,” another user said. Users pointed out that the Norton 360 software automatically installs the mining tool on PCs via a program named NCrypt.exe, which is very difficult to uninstall.
Norton has yet to confirm whether they intend to help users uninstall Norton Crypto more easily.
Reference: PCMag
