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Crypto Mining is a controversial topic for its legality and usage and has become a hot topic across the globe ever since the birth of Crypto Currencies (such as Bitcoin). Some countries have gone to the extent of labeling Crypto currencies and Crypto Mining as illegal. While Crypto Mining may or may not be legal, infecting your PC or phone to mine Bitcoin without your consent is definitely illegal.
For what we know, Crypto Mining need a lots of hardware and resources to run. You would need exceptional hardware configuration on PC to run and keep it running 24×7 to mine good amount of Bitcoins.
Where do Crypto Miners find resources to run
The simple answer is – You! Not everyone has the resources to mine Bitcoins, or any other cryptocurrencies out there, themselves. So the easiest target for some greedy webmasters or web developers it to use your computer or phone as crypto mining source for them.
Some malicious website have gone to the extent of implementing hidden Crypto Miners on their websites or software. So whenever you visit a malicious website, it simply uses your PC or phone as a piece of hardware to start Crypto Mining for them. So they are using your computer, Android phone, or iOS device to mine cryptocurrencies without your knowledge. This is straight up unethical and illegal.
However, illegal Crypto Mining is not just limited to websites. The software you download for your PC or even some apps on your Android or iOS devices may consists of Crypto Miners; that you may not know about. So our best advice is to not download software or apps from non-trusted sources.
Now, we are not here to talk about things you already know like don’t install apps from untrusted sources, or don’t visit piracy sites… yada yada. If your device is already infected, this tutorial will help you get over it. This guide will also help you Block any or most of the crypto miners and safely browse the internet.
How to Block Browser-Based Crypto Miners on your Computers and Phones?
Just like any Ad, Crypto Miners can also be blocked by simply adding filters to your AdBlocker. All you need to do is add the following list of crypto mining websites to your Ad-Blocking software on computer or phones.
If you have an Ad-Blocker extension installed on your PC Browser, simply add the following list to it.
- Download Crypto Mining BlackList (Filters)
Note: This list does not consists of all the Crypto Miners in the world. There may be a few miners left in the list. So if you find such mining websites, you can easily add them to the Blacklist.
How to setup?
- Simply click the above link to add the Blacklist of your AdBlocker.
- First make sure that you have an AdBlocker installed on your desktop or mobile browsers that uses some sort of filter list:
How to block Crypto Miners on iOS or MacOS?
1Blocker is a very popular VPN based Ad-Blocker for iOS and MacOS. You can also use the 1blocker package if you use it on iOS or Mac. Simply open the file in 1Blocker on iOS or MacOS to import it.
- nocoin 1blocker pkg
Alternatively, you can simply update the Hosts file to block it systemwide.
Host Based Blockers: Remove Crypto Mining from Android, Windows, Linux, MacOS
You can simply update the hosts.txt file to Block Crypto Miners from Windows, Linux, MacOS, iOS, and Android phones system wide. So any apps, software, browsers, websites, will all be protected from Crypto Mining.
All you need to do is simply add the following list to already existing hosts file or simply replace the hosts.txt. The first approach is better.
- Download Hosts.txt File to Block Crypto Miners
Update Hosts file to block Crypto Miners on PC
You can simply copy and paste the contents of above file into your hosts file. Generally, the locations of your the hosts.txt file on your system is as follows:
- Linux: /etc/hosts
- MacOS: /etc/hosts
- Windows: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts
- Android: /etc/hosts (/system/etc/hosts)
Block Crypto Mining on Android Phones
Method 1: Most of the AdBlockers on Android phones are host based AdBlockers. Just like the hosts.txt file on PC, Android also has hosts file. So in order to access this hosts.txt file, you will need a rooted Android device.
- Download Hosts File to block Crypt Miners