You might be surprised to know that Norton 360 antivirus came up with a program that allows customers like you to make money mining virtual currency. However, Avira antivirus, having a user base of 500 million users globally, is popular for offering free products. Avira was recently bought by the same company that owns Norton 360, and customers can now access a service called "Avira Crypto." Avira Operations GmbH & Co. KG, founded in 2006, is a German MNC software company, popular for its Avira Free Security (Avira Antivirus).
Last year, Avira was bought by Tempe, Arizona-based NortonLife Inc, the company which now owns Norton 360. In 2017, Lifelock was acquired by Symantec Corp., which was later renamed to NortonLifeLock 2019. LifeLock is now included in the Norton 360 service; Avira offers you a similar feature Breach Monitor. Similar to Norton 360, Avira will come with an installed crypto miner but you have to select the service that allows it.
Avira Crypto allows you to use your computer's idle time to mine Ethereum cryptocurrency. "Since crypto mining requires a high level of processing power, it is not suitable for users with an average computer. Even with compatible hardware, mining cryptocurrencies on your own can be less rewarding. Norton hasn't responded to any of the comments, so it's not certain if Avira uses crypto mining code similar to Norton Crypto. But there are hints that suggest it can be the same.
NortonLifeLock released Avira Crypto in October 2021, but other antivirus companies have flagged it as unsafe and malicious for including a crypto-miner as far as Sept. 9, 2021. "Some longtime Norton customers took to NortonLifeLock’s online forum to express horror at the prospect of their antivirus product installing coin-mining software, regardless of whether the mining service was turned off by default," KrebsonSecurity. Other companies have alleged that crypto offerings might end up costing customers more in electricity bills than they can ever recover from mining ETH.
