After Norton, it was Avira's turn to integrate a virtual currency miner into anti-virus software

 However, Norton is not alone because soon after Avira also announced the launch of a new service, Avira Crypto. Avira is a free antivirus with 500 million users worldwide.

Avira was founded in 2016 by German owners and develops many software, but the most prominent one is Avira Free Antivirus. In November 2021, Avira was acquired by NortonLifeLock Inc., which also owns Norton 360 antivirus software.

In 2017, identity theft protection company LifeLock was acquired by Symantec Corp., which later changed its name to NortonLifeLock in 2019. LifeLock is now a service in Norton 360 while Avira offers its users. a similar service called Breach Monitor.

Like on Norton 360, the virtual currency miner comes pre-installed with Avira but users can opt in or not. Avira's description of this new tool is quite sketchy. They do not specify how much NortonLifeLock takes % of the virtual money that users mine. On Norton 360 commission NortonLifeLock wants to enjoy up to 15%.

"Avira Crypto allows you to mine Ethereum virtual currency (ETH) while your computer is idle," Avira wrote. "Because mining requires a high degree of processing, it is not suitable for users with medium and weak computers. Even with powerful hardware, virtual currency mining can be ineffective. Your best option is to join pool mining, share the pool's computing power to improve the chances of virtual currency mining. The rewards will be distributed equally to all team members."

NortonLifeLock has not yet responded to whether Avira Crypto shares the same mining code as Norton Crypto.

And last August NortonLifeLock also reached an agreement to buy Avast, another free antivirus software with about 500 million users. It is not clear whether Avast Crypto will appear in the near future or not.

Samuel Daniel

Update 10 January 2022