Opera 50 nixes JavaScript cryptocurrency mining

Opera has announced that its latest development build of Opera 50 now includes a feature which will stop websites’ attempts to use your computer to mine cryptocurrencies as they find new ways to find revenues. The method of generating extra revenue by sites has been encouraged due to ads being blocked. Interestingly enough, Opera is contributing to the ad-blocking phenomenon by bundling an ad-blocker with its browser, you’ll even need it enabled to use the anti-miner.
In a blog post, Opera said:

“Bitcoins are really hot right now, but did you know that they might actually be making your computer hotter? Your CPU suddenly working at 100 percent capacity, the fan is going crazy for seemingly no reason and your battery quickly depleting might all be signs that someone is using your computer to mine for cryptocurrency … After we recently updated the rules for our built-in ad-blocker mechanism, we eliminated cryptocurrency mining scripts that overuse your device’s computing ability. Simple enable Opera’s ad-blocker to prevent cryptocurrency mining sites from doing their dirty work on your computer.”

The new feature is aptly named ‘NoCoin’ and the setting to toggle the feature on and off can be found under Settings (Preferences on macOS) > Basic > Block ads and under the Recommended lists of ad filters. Once enabled, pages with embedded mining scripts will be blocked in a similar way to the mechanism used to block ads, which is currently with pre-defined lists.
Discreet cryptocurrency mining has angered many people because it’s usually unclear that mining is going on; when it is, your CPU use darts to maximum usages thus drawing more energy and contributes to higher energy prices for yourself. Although the bill increase you’ll see will be negligible if you’re not constantly browsing the site. The method has come as a response to the uptake of ad-blocking software which is stopping many websites from covering operating costs and forcing them to close down.

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