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New Plugin Allows Developers to Turn iOS Devices Into Bitcoin Mining Bots

I have no problem running SETI@home, and numerous other Distributed Computing software. That's my choice. Your choice may be different, and that's fine too. I also have no problem paying for worthwhile apps, and have paid for many of them.

However, this surreptitious approach is not on. The equation is simple - the developer, in choosing this software, is choosing to make money at the end users' expense. Electricity to recharge the battery isn't (usually) free. Replacement batteries aren't (usually) free either.

If they are honest about it (and that means in-app, not some text hidden away in the App Store that almost no-one reads), then I can live with that. If they are not, then it's tantamount to theft (albeit of loose change proportions).
 
Parasprite said:
So... is this going to precipitate a witch hunt against anything that uses Unity even though they have absolutely nothing to do with a 3rd party plugin maker?

Hold on, lemme go get the popcorn! :cool:
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It shouldn't do. Any app could be doing this. It is just that Unity developers have a plugin available that costs more than they are likely to make from using it.
 
So this will suck down battery power costing users money. Basically it transfers money from the user's pocket to the developer and to the electric company.
 
This idea is absolutely revolting.

I'm an iOS developer, and even I find this completely deplorable. You do not exploit your customers equipment like this, with or without their consent. I can't believe people are trying to justify this.

What really gets me is just how inefficient this method is of generating bitcoins. If they ever got enough users running this plugin to actually turn a profit, the amount of power that would be going down the drain to achieve this would be unimaginable. Obviously, the developers wouldn't care because they're not paying for that power- but the users are.

I can't think of any reason why Apple shouldn't ban people using this plugin on sight. It's bad marketing, it's bad for the devices, it's bad for the users, and it's bad for the environment. The fact that anyone would still go ahead with this speaks lengths about what kind of person they really are.

-SC
 
ScottishCaptain said:
This idea is absolutely revolting.

I'm an iOS developer, and even I find this completely deplorable. You do not exploit your customers equipment like this, with or without their consent. I can't believe people are trying to justify this.

What really gets me is just how inefficient this method is of generating bitcoins. If they ever got enough users running this plugin to actually turn a profit, the amount of power that would be going down the drain to achieve this would be unimaginable. Obviously, the developers wouldn't care because they're not paying for that power- but the users are.

I can't think of any reason why Apple shouldn't ban people using this plugin on sight. It's bad marketing, it's bad for the devices, it's bad for the users, and it's bad for the environment. The fact that anyone would still go ahead with this speaks lengths about what kind of person they really are.

-SC
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100% agree with you. Implementing Bitcoin generator into the iOS app for your own gain by destroying the user's battery (yes, DESTROYING THE BATTERY ITSELF, not only the battery life, this will kill the battery physically lot quicker than the estimated 2 years that was designed by Apple) is not only plain wrong, but also inmoral, and exploiting. This is one quick way to destroy all the credibility and the trust between the consumer and the developer.

In fact, this kind of app, as soon as Apple finds out, they probably will use the KILL SWITCH to remove the app from the user's device. (no refunds)
 
Volunteering yourself into what is essentially a botnet. Apple won't allow this and users shouldn't allow this either (although most won't know what is happening and blame Apple)
 
No way I'd install and use such apps. Just hate ads and anything further... even more. I trust Apple and (maybe) Google will do their job to put such 'malware' at bay.
 
Cook should build this into iOS 8. A new great way for Apple to make money. [Speaking with the voice of Ive:] Amazing. Unbelievable.
 
As a new developer ready to release there first gaming app I can see the potential in this. Instead of charging a bit more for a game which would mean the customers feel slightly miffed about spending that much, openly telling them this game is only x amount but it has bitcoin mining installed with an option to turn it off if you want would mean a wider customer base. I just hope it isn't too battery consuming otherwise my game will HAVE to come with a load screen telling them to plug in their device before playing (as it may already need)
 
RVijay007 said:
Everyone is saying that they would delete a company's app, but no company that uses this is going to advertise the fact that they are using it. You'll just download the app, it will run - given that the code likely works on a low priority background thread, you'll never notice it, and they will get what they want. I doubt you'll recognize that your battery is draining any faster than it already does, and continue to use your device as is.
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Well until the first Jailbreak user installs the app to go poking around to insert themselves in the high score slot.

Then the gig is up.
 
Unwanted Crap

diddl14 said:
Yeah, your customers will love you when your app sucks up the battery power. Go for it!
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Definitely right, apps that have this imbedded will be avoided. Sounds a lot like malware to me.
 
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Scorpion008 said:
Screw that ****! I love my battery life and no greedy dev is taking it away from me!
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Seriously I better be getting paid off some dev thinks this is going on my phone.

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Bskippy said:
As a new developer ready to release there first gaming app I can see the potential in this. Instead of charging a bit more for a game which would mean the customers feel slightly miffed about spending that much, openly telling them this game is only x amount but it has bitcoin mining installed with an option to turn it off if you want would mean a wider customer base. I just hope it isn't too battery consuming otherwise my game will HAVE to come with a load screen telling them to plug in their device before playing (as it may already need)
Click to expand...

What's the point of off a mobile phone if it needs to be plugged in? Shouldn't you be developing for Xbox or something?
 
winston1236 said:
Seriously I better be getting paid off some dev thinks this is going on my phone.
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You *would* be getting paid. The developer would be paying you by way of the application/game that you downloaded, installed, and use, without ever having paid them any up-front money.

The MacRumors forum never ceases to amaze and disappoint me with the number of people who have no concept of freedom and trade, and who call upon a forceful government entity (in this case, Apple, who runs the app store) to block all uses of this method, even if the developer is up front about it.

As a few others have already said, so long as the developer is up front about it, no crime is being committed.
 
Bskippy said:
As a new developer ready to release there first gaming app I can see the potential in this. Instead of charging a bit more for a game which would mean the customers feel slightly miffed about spending that much, openly telling them this game is only x amount but it has bitcoin mining installed with an option to turn it off if you want would mean a wider customer base. I just hope it isn't too battery consuming otherwise my game will HAVE to come with a load screen telling them to plug in their device before playing (as it may already need)
Click to expand...

I would suggest you try make a good game. So that tons of people would want to play it. And ask a $ for it.
That would get a potential revenue of tons of $.

That sounds better than couple of 100 $ you would gain when tons of people would install the same game and play it for hours a day.
 
The ZeroAccess botnet was using malware-infected PCs for bitcoin mining.

According to symantec, they were using $561,000 of their victims electricity per day to generate $2,000 worth of bitcoins per day.

When that's the sort of computing power and return out there these days, will this iPhone virus actually get any bit coins?
 
Michael Goff said:
So we DO know how much battery these things take?
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Specifically? No. More than zero? Yes, a lot more.

I'm assuming it isn't just filling the CPU out to 100% like most encryption cracking software, since it mentions it's fairly respectful of your own apps CPU time. I'd love to see someone run it through Instruments in Xcode, specifically the energy tool.

But either way, brute-forcing encryption isn't exactly computationally cheap.

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Oracle1729 said:
The ZeroAccess botnet was using malware-infected PCs for bitcoin mining.

According to symantec, they were using $561,000 of their victims electricity per day to generate $2,000 worth of bitcoins per day.

When that's the sort of computing power and return out there these days, will this iPhone virus actually get any bit coins?
Click to expand...

That's fascinating, thanks for posting it.

It's not their money, so why should they care... :mad:
 
andycr said:
Specifically? No. More than zero? Yes, a lot more.

I'm assuming it isn't just filling the CPU out to 100% like most encryption cracking software, since it mentions it's fairly respectful of your own apps CPU time. I'd love to see someone run it through Instruments in Xcode, specifically the energy tool.

But either way, brute-forcing encryption isn't exactly computationally cheap.

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That's fascinating, thanks for posting it.

It's not their money, so why should they care... :mad:
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I'm just saying we should see what this is actually about before we throw stones.
 
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