How To Know If My Computer Is Mining Cryptocurrencies Without Me Knowing It

Cryptocurrency mining is the process in which miners use computing power (hash), to process transactions and obtain rewards, which in this case are cryptocurrencies. However, there is still a lot of ignorance on the subject and this can lead to confusion. For this same reason, today we will explain how to know if your computer is mining cryptocurrencies without you knowing it. It’s super easy!

Don’t worry, you don’t need to be a computer expert or anything like that to check if your computer is mining Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency. And if what you want is to start doing this activity, better take a look at this article that explains everything you need to know to mine cryptocurrencies.

So You Can Know If Your Computer Is Mining Cryptocurrencies

Unfortunately, there is a very common problem with cryptocurrency mining and that is that you could be used (without your knowledge) to do this activity on the Internet with your computer. This started with some websites that used your CPU to mine Monero, but there are more and more cases with different cryptocurrencies.

These types of threats are not only found on web pages, but also in Chrome extensions, Android apps, and even Wi-Fi networks. Because of this, you must know what to do when you feel that your computer’s power is being used to mine without your permission. Do you feel like this is happening to you? Then we recommend you use one of these two solutions:

Use An Antivirus To Detect If Your Computer Is Mining

One of the best ways to know if cryptocurrencies are being mined with your computer is through an antivirus. Windows Defender can help you with most problems, but the truth is that there are more powerful alternatives that may be more useful in this specific case.

For example, it is a good idea to use a powerful and free antivirus such as Avast, which in 2017 blocked more than 34 million attacks to mine Monero. But whatever antivirus software you have, any of them will allow you to perform an effective scan. If the antivirus is properly updated, then it will detect that your computer is being used to mine and will be able to remove it without much trouble.

Use External Tools To Detect If Your Computer Is Mining

Several free tools can help you determine if your computer is being used for mining in different ways. In this article, we will present you with two of the most useful, choose the one that suits you best and that’s it.

• NoMiner: NoMiner is a tool that immediately alerts you when you enter a website that wants to take advantage of you to mine. This has a Chrome extension that you can use to find out if your computer is mining cryptocurrencies.
• minerBlock – minerBlock is another Chrome extension that can help you find out if your computer is mining cryptocurrencies. It is a tool that blocks scripts and uses a database in which they have a constantly updated blacklist.

Check The Task Manager

In case you didn’t know, the process of mining cryptocurrencies looks for ways to make the most of the potential of any computer. This causes your computer to heat, the fans to suddenly beep, or the operating system to slow down.

Do you feel like this has happened to you before? Well, the best thing you can do is open Task Manager in Windows. In this way, you will be able to look at the processes that are occupying the highest percentage of CPU. Normally, a process does not exceed 10% (when it exceeds 20% it is due to heavy software, a video game, or the system itself updating). So if you see absurd numbers like 70-90 and even 100% it is because they are using your computer to mine cryptocurrencies.

As you have surely seen, knowing if your computer is mining cryptocurrencies is quite easy when you know exactly what to do. However, perhaps the quickest and easiest way to detect if your computer is being mined is to check the Task Manager carefully. And you, what do you think is the most effective way?