Security News > 2021 > June > Hands on with Norton antivirus Ethereum mining: The good and the bad
Last week, NortonLifelock announced that the Norton 360 antivirus suite would soon be able to mine Ethereum cryptocurrency while the computer is idle.
The Norton Crypto announcement was met with a wide range of responses, ranging from ridicule to exasperation, that an antivirus software would offer cryptocurrency mining.
As miners, wallets, and cryptocurrency utilities are commonly flagged as malicious by antivirus software, Norton's argument was to provide a safe alternative to Ethereum mining that does not require you to turn off antivirus software.
The nice thing about Norton Crypto is that it is effortless to use and can allow Norton 360's 50 million strong user base to get started mining Ethereum quickly.
With Norton 360 installed, getting up to speed and installing Ethereum took about 10 minutes, which consisted of joining the EAP program, restarting after installing the new version of Norton 360, and restarting Windows.
Once Ethereum transfers to a Proof-of-Stake mining process, Norton Crypto will no longer be useful, making it strange to add the feature so late in the game.