• News

Norton Crypto is set to further burden PCs by mining Ethereum through them

Norton's new cryptocurrency mining service will become available as part of Norton 360 subscriptions.

TJ Denzer

January 5, 2022 9:35 AM

3

As more companies look for an angle into the popular trend of cryptocurrencies and NFTs, so too has longtime anti-virus company NortonLifeLock. The company has just announced Norton Crypto, a service that will mine Ethereum from participating users’ PCs, and it will be available to anyone with a Norton 360 subscription that meets the minimum PC requirements.

The NortonLifeLock company announced Norton Crypto with a FAQ page to go with it. Available if you have a PC that meets the program’s minimum requirements via a Norton 360 subscription, Norton Crypto is a service that will mine Ethereum through a user’s PC and then supposedly store in a Coinbase wallet account created by using the service. Despite being part of the Norton 360 service, Norton Crypto does not take responsibility for the costs of coin mining fees and transfer costs. Moreover, while Norton will not limit how many PCs can use Norton Crypto, the company will manage settings thresholds on the program. A user-end adjustable setting may be implemented in the future.

Norton Crypto is a strange thing to see indeed. We’ve seen plenty of companies such as Tesla and AMC tap into the business and transaction side of cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and game publisher/developers like Square Enix and Electronic Arts have teased intention to incorporate NFTs into future gaming projects. However, as mostly an anti-virus company Norton is a strange entrant to the trend. Moreover, Norton has been known to cause a number of performance issues in PCs over the years as the software has been bogged down in further services and add-ons, as well as virus makers figuring out how to bypass it.

Nonetheless, it sounds as though Norton Crypto is here and, if for some reason you want to mine cryptocurrency though an anti-virus service, there’s your option.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.