In September we wrote about 21’s Bitcoin Computer that lets you sell digital products while mining the currency, but back then, you could only buy it using a traceable credit card payment.Now the company has added a private checkout option where you can use Bitcoin to pay for the machine, costing you 1.0124 Bitcoin, the equivalent of $399.When choosing this option, the Bitcoin Computer can be shipped to anyone in the US using a PO Box and will be addressed to a ‘postal customer’ rather than using your real name.The company still needs your email address to authorize the transaction, so perhaps not as private as you’d like, but says: “when combined with the right measures on your end this process is a first step toward a more private and decentralized internet.” A post from the team on Medium says: Our long term goal is to gradually replace advertising with micropayments from mined bitcoin, to build an internet where you pay with your power rather than your privacy.

But even in the short term, you can now use digital currency to buy a Bitcoin Computer: a full fledged micropayments server from which you can in turn learn how to buy and sell digital goods for small amounts of digital cash.The device can’t currently be shipped outside the US, but the team is working on a way to facilitate this and if you select this option during purchasing, they can alert you when it becomes available.All is not well in the Bitcoin community right now, with longstanding dev Mike Hearn announcing he’s sold up and is leaving the project, saying it’s “on the brink of collapse.” ➤ Buy the Bitcoin Computer Privately with Bitcoin [21] Read next: This new app could put an end to checkouts at the supermarketThe Slovenia-based Bitcoin trading platform, Bitstamp, revealed in a Tweet that it had uncovered a Google Chrome extension that replaced all QR codes.It linked to Bitcoin addresses and then linked to the thief’s wallet.This is not the first time criminals have attempted to steal Bitcoin via Google Chrome extensions.

Malicious Extension On March 11, Bitstamp released a Tweet that said it had discovered a Google Chrome extension called ‘BitcoinWisdom Ads Remover’ that “will try to steal your Bitcoin”: Be careful!bitcoin kapitalWe have uncovered a Chrome extension called BitcoinWisdom Ads Remover that will try to steal your #bitcoin.bitcoin handel app— Bitstamp (@Bitstamp) March 11, 2016 Members of the Bitcoin community were quick to investigate the claims, with Devon Weller, a cryptocurrency web app developer saying: “Confirmed.bitcoin speculation 2014I looked at the source code.litecoin gpu mining amdIt replaces QR code images on bitcoin exchanges with its own addresses.” Reddit Investigates Further investigation by Reddit user, /u/methamphetaminic, revealed some interesting developments.bitcoin smaller units

They discovered that the browser extension had about 200 bitcoin addresses hard-coded into it, but only 3 transactions had made their way to the scammer’s wallet; payments of 0.00433517 BTC from 1FosyhE1WvDxTBjA6e4a8N6yJ5MkZgDgUZ, 0.00186735 BTC from 1ExHFeLBKxmqtfi5mEd6ov6a5vBaBuHCYH, and of 0.07805963 BTC from 1MaUiURfN7pytCTC1FnHRSZ13N6AzXVszp, all of which took place in July 2015.bitcoin pizza portalThe Redditor surmised that these were probably test payments by the scammer to ensure his payment system worked.They also suggested that, given the lack of transactions going into the scammer’s wallet, the scamming operation can’t have been all that successful or profitable.Some have suggested that the scammer probably had some personal grievance against one or more of these sites, and such wanted petty revenge.This Redditor in particular theorised that it could be “somebody who hates ads on bitcoinwisdom, [or] maybe a miner who also deals with bitstamp and btc-e in particular.” Chrome Extension Scams This is far from the first time that scammers have tried to steal users’ Bitcoin using Google Chrome extensions.

In April 2014, an extension entitled ‘Cryptsy Dogecoin Live Ticker’ released an update to its semi-popular chrome extension that had code in in that rerouted Bitcoin transactions again to the scammer’s wallet instead of the intended recipient.The extension, developed by TheTrollBox, was quickly removed from the Chrome Store by Google, along with the developer’s 21 other extensions, which were all various variations on the ‘Live Ticker’ name.Username * First Name Last Name Email * Password * Repeat Password * You registration completed successfully.Confirmation email sent to email address provided.Email * Password *Bitcoin Job: [Hiring] Simple chrome extension modifications /prj/3733/chrome-extension-modifications View Source Bitcoin Job: [Hiring] A simple Google Chrome extension.A simple Google Chrome extension to display price from our exchange, similar to BTC Ticker.Phones Laptops Cameras Tablets Headphones Smartwatches VR Headsets This is my Next

Bitcoin, Dogecoins, and other cryptocurrencies have grabbed a lot of headlines for their explosive growth (and bust, and growth, and, well…).The trick is that generating this currency—"mining" it—requires an awful lot of computing power.Instead of computers, let's use lots of smartphones!Unfortunately, security company Lookout says that the math on mobile mining just doesn't add up.Mobile Mining Number CrunchThe numbers say it all.Lookout's researchers calculated that if you're mining for 24 solid hours on a Samsung Galaxy SIII, you'd only earn .00000007 Bitcoin or $0.00004473.In order to make just one Bitcoin in a day, Lookout says you'd need 14,285,714 phones working full-tilt simultaneously.Bitcoins are hugely valuable (over $600USD per Bitcoin), and therefore require huge resources to mine.But even less valuable cryptocurrency, like Litecoin, are beyond the reach of mobile miners.If you took 3,752 SIII phones and let them work for 24 hours, you'd end up with a single Litecoin which is worth a paltry $8 USD.

Malicious Miners Despite the overwhelming odds, Lookout's principal security researcher Marc Rogers told Security Watch he has seen numerous malicious Bitcoin miners targeting mobile devices.He estimated there was a new mining variant detected every month."The kind of folks who are making mobile malware are very, very inventive," he said."Every new mining system has a new feature.They're trying every direction they can to make it profitable, and that's quite fascinating."Why then do malicious mobile miners persist?Rogers  believes that the benefits of the cryptocurrency (it's free, untraceable, and so on) are simply too tempting for malware creators.There's also a "cool factor" in trying to exploit this new technology."Early iterations of mining malware did not seem like serious attempts to be profitable, just playing with the technology and seeing what they could do with it," said Rogers."But it's pretty clear that the later versions are deliberate attempts to be profitable."Currently, Rogers says that Lookout is seeing mobile miners trying to be more discreet in order to distribute their malware to more victims and keep infected phones mining longer.

According to Lookout, instead of working your phone until smoke pours out, sophisticated malicious miners only run when connected to chargers, or when the screen is off.Of course, these kinder, gentler malicious miners can't mine nearly as much per day as more aggressive apps.There's a Better Way Of course, there are legitimate Bitcoin mining apps out there, and some developers may be tempted to include mining code in their own applications in the hope of making a little money.However, Rogers says that there is a much simpler way to turn a legitimate profit with mobile apps.Before you freak out, remember that Lookout is no friend to malicious or abusive advertising."Advertising gets a bad rap because we see ad networks that spoil your gameplay or your user experience, but there are good advertising networks out there that are responsible and careful," said Rogers."Advertising would be thousands of times more profitable for a developer than mining.There's a reason ads have powered the mobile ecosystem."