Firefox created blocker for Mining Malware Scripts

The Mozilla Foundation has released new features for its Firefox browser to help improve Web performance and protect its users with a standard blocker for encrypting malware.    Vice President of Product Nick Nguyen announced on Thursday, August 30, 2018 that future versions of the open source browser will by default block encrypted mining malware scripts.

"In the near future, Firefox will protect users by blocking crawling, offering a clear set of controls to give users more choices about the information they share with sites," he wrote in the blog post.

Shedding more light on scripts that exploit an individual's computing ability to mine crypto-coins, he wrote:  

"Misleading practices that collect information from invisibly identifiable users or degrade the user experience are becoming more common."

Nguyen also spoke about 'fingerprint trackers', a technique used to identify users by the properties of their devices, as well as sites that secretly block cryptominal scripts that users are unaware of - practices that the Mozilla Foundation believes make the web a more hostile place to be.

In a broader bid to prevent third-party tracking scripts from affecting user experience, future versions of Firefox will pay more attention to improving page performance. This new feature is being tested in the Firefox Nightly version and its success is expected to be consolidated in the Firefox 65 version.

"We've already made this available for our Firefox Nightly users to try out, and we're conducting a shell study to test the experience with some of our beta users in September. Our goal is to take this protection to all Firefox 65 users and continue to refine our approach to provide the strongest protection possible, while preserving a smooth user experience, "he noted on the blog.  

Mozilla has followed the Google and Opera line by introducing measures that offer protection against encryption mines to its users.

Cryptominer protection has already boosted the desktop version of Opera. While Google has yet to release any official statement regarding the banning of scripts found on the site, it is believed that the company has already banned cryptographic applications from its Play Store.