One of the most well-known web browsers around, Mozilla Firefox announced that it would by default be blocking all cryptocurrency mining malware scripts in the next version of its browser. According to the press release by Mozilla, many users are not aware of the ‘eerily-specific targeted advertising and a loss of performance on the web’ that they experience thanks to unchecked tracking malware.
Mozilla claims that the future versions of the browser will automatically be providing its users with a greater level of protection along with greater clarity of what websites have access to their information. The press release also highlighted some eye-opening information for many users:
“Deceptive practices that invisibly collect identifiable user information or degrade user experience are becoming more common. For example, some trackers fingerprint users — a technique that allows them to invisibly identify users by their device properties, and which users are unable to control.”
Mozilla quoted a study conducted by Ghostery which claims that 55.4% of the time required to load a webpage is consumed by loading third-party trackers, which poses a more significant issue for users with slower internet connections.
Mozilla referenced its decision back in 2004 to block pop-up ads in its browser, citing concerns of appeasing its users and also incentivising advertising platforms to take more of an initiative in providing users with a better experience.
Firefox will be joining the league of other popular browsers such as Opera and Chrome that are providing protection against malicious miners. Opera was ahead of the curve in providing protection to its mobile device users with systems in place defending against crypto-jacking. Opera’s desktop browser also offers built-in crypto wallet functionality whereas Google Chrome, on the other hand, has banned crypto mining extensions in its Chrome Web Store.
