In this age where we have seen a gold rush in mining the various cryptocurrencies for profit, there has been a trend to jack unsuspecting users laptops for crypto mining.
This has led to some developers coming up with tools you can use on your Chrome browser to prevent such practices. Other companies like Opera are doing something different, which is integrate the cryptomining protection right within their browsers.
Early this month, they introduced an anti-cryptomining tool in Opera 50, which is interesting since it is native. Now, they have rolled out that feature to their other assets: Opera Mini and Opera for Android.
“When you browse the web, there are no visual clues that your device is exposed to mining,” VP Product Marketing at Opera told the Next Web via email.
To activate this feature in Opera Mini and on Opera for Android, head over to settings and switch on the browser’s built in adblocker.
Opera also has a website where you can check whether your browser is affected by cryptojacking. You can use it to check whether Opera’s inbuilt anti- cryptomining tool works or if your current browser is safe.
This move is great for all those users out there who use Opera Mini and Opera for Android who may have no idea that their devices are being used to mine cryptocurrencies. Effects of cryptocurrency mining includes sluggishness, overheating and reduced battery life from the high CPU load.
On Chrome, which is the most popular browser right now, you’ll have to download these extensions to keep those shady websites in check, so it is great that Opera gives you this native tool for browsers across different platforms.
