Chrome's marketplace will no longer host applications designed to harvest cryptocurrency from users' computers. Google announced this week that it plans to crack down on the proliferation of malicious
Chrome's marketplace will no longer host applications designed to harvest cryptocurrency from users' computers. Google announced this week that it plans to crack down on the proliferation of malicious software targeting its browser, with all existing mining extensions set to vanish from the platform by the end of June. Blockchain-based extensions serving other functions will retain their place on the store.
Previously, the tech giant had taken a more permissive approach, permitting mining features within extensions provided they constituted the sole purpose and carried explicit user notification. However, the Chromium Blog revealed a troubling pattern: nearly 90 percent of mining extensions submitted for inclusion have either been rejected outright or subsequently removed due to policy violations.
The issue has escalated dramatically. Over recent months, malicious applications have emerged that masquerade as legitimate tools while surreptitiously executing cryptojacking operations—leveraging processing power without permission. These covert processes drain substantial CPU capacity and degrade system responsiveness and battery life significantly.
The surge in cryptocurrency interest has brought a corresponding wave of illicit mining attempts, with underground developers increasingly turning to this tactic. Google acknowledged that while extensions represent valuable infrastructure for fostering a productive developer ecosystem, they simultaneously provide cover for bad actors seeking to exploit users. The platform's strong technical capabilities, designed to enhance functionality, have become targets for those prioritizing profit over user welfare.
This move follows Google's prior commitment announced in March to prohibit digital asset advertising under revised policies launching in June.
Malicious mining campaigns have demonstrated global reach. Check Point disclosed in February that over one-fifth of organizations worldwide encountered the Coinhive variant in early 2018. The same month witnessed incursions into United Kingdom government systems and more than four thousand additional sites globally, all compromised by parasitic software harvesting computational resources for coin generation.
