Security News > 2022 > January > Norton 360 wants to pay you a pittance to mine Ethereum cryptocurrency
Cybersecurity software company NortonLifeLock is coming under fire for its decision late last year to begin installing Ethereum mining software on its Norton 360 customers' PCs without their permission or knowledge.
Norton Crypto, the new Norton 360 mining component, isn't enabled without the user opting in, but that hasn't stopped users from taking to Norton's Crypto forum to register their discontent, and they aren't all upset about the sneaky installation.
According to the Norton Crypto FAQ, its software is opt-in can be disabled in the Norton Crypto dashboard and pays out rewards split between a pool of all its crypto-mining Norton 360 users.
Probably the most notable thing that detractors have hit on is the 15% "Mining fee" that Norton scrapes off the top, which means you're immediately losing 15% of the Ethereum you mine.
Then there's the problem of energy consumption: Is the additional electricity expenditures incurred by so small a contribution to the Norton mining pool enough to come out ahead once you get your share of the earnings? Like Bitcoin, Ethereum energy consumption is ridiculous: A single Ethereum blockchain transaction eats up more than 100,000 Visa card transactions, or roughly the amount of energy the average U.S. home uses in a week.
Norton 360 customers: Do you plan to use Norton Crypto, or have you already? Sound off below to help your fellow readers understand more about it.