Menu
EN

Security expert exposed the creator of CoinHive and encountered a strange revenge

Security expert Brian Krebs decided to figure out who is behind the famous CoinHive miner (CH) and how it appeared. It’s a fascinating story with colorful characters. But first, a brief reminder about what CoinHive is.

What is CoinHive, or "they meant well..."

CH lets integrate a Monero cryptocurrency miner into other software, any that runs JavaScript. Web pages and apps, games, browser extensions, advertising banners, and what not. The miner works at the expense of users without asking for their permission.

The users whose computer power is being utilized do not get any benefit. The creators of CH take away 30% of the Monero that got mined. 70% goes to the one whose unique identifier is embedded in the program code of the miner on a particular site or app.

CH had been announced as an ad-alternative monetization tool for website owners but was soon adopted by hackers that installed it on websites and other software they do not own. Large web properties find themselves running Monero miners every now and then. Among them MSN Japan, YouTube, LA Times…

CH was injected into advertising banners placed through Google’s DoubleClick platform. It was found in BrowseAloud, a service that reads web pages out loud for the visually impaired and is used on many British, American and Canadian government websites. In December it was embedded in all web pages served by a WiFi hotspot at a Starbucks in Buenos Aires.

So who are the people that created CH and run it now? How could they decide to evolve it?

What Krebs discovered

The miner was first launched on pr0gramm.com, a German image board (a forum for collecting and discussing pictures).

This forum was founded by Dominic Szablewski, he also developed the miner that later became CoinHive.

Szablewski sold pr0gramm.com in 2015 because of “death threats for various moderation decisions on that board”. But he was friends with the new owners, and they allowed him to test the miner.

For pr0gramm.com making money is also a challenge. It has controversial content, adult pictures, it frightens some advertisers off. Users are mostly young and tech-savvy, they install ad blockers or just avoid clicking ads. Paid membership costs 9 euros for 3 months, but paying for it may disclose a user’s identity, so it is also not very popular.

The forum was acquired by Reinhard Fuerstberger, who calls himself a “politically incorrect, Bavarian separatist” and, as Krebs puts it, ”overrun by individuals with populist far-right political leanings”.

Fuerstberger claims that he knew nothing about the miner and is appalled by the decision of his business partner who had actually let it be tested.

According to the representatives of CH, now it is under control of Badges2Go, a startup incubator that experiments with blockchain and cryptocurrency ventures.

Krebs also found that pr0gramm.com’s domain name was registered to a certain Dr. Matthias Moench. At the age of 19, he hired a killer for his wealthy parents. That’s how deeply he had been hurt by their decision to give him a used car as a birthday present, instead of a Ferrari he’d hoped for. The parents were hacked with a machete along with the family poodle.

Moench was sentenced to nine years in prison, released after serving five years, claimed that he found faith and would become a priest, and turned into a spammer. He earned 21.5 million Euros by advertising erectile dysfunction medications. In 2015 he was sentenced to 6 years for fraud and drug-related offenses, is expected to be released this year.

However, Krebs thinks that Moench has nothing to do with CH. Many years ago Moench claimed that any cybercriminal was free to use his name and other credentials for hiding their own identities. Now there is a huge amount of domains registered to Moench.

All this information helps explain the controversial nature of CoinHive. But we may hope that Badges2Go will lead its development in a more affirmative direction.

Crime and punishment

Users of pr0gramm.com got offended by the investigation and accused Krebs of revealing personal information of people not connected to CoinHive. They punished him by donating money (over $126 000) to the German Cancer Aid center and using the hashtag #KrebsIsCancer in social media. Because Krebs is "cancer" in German.

Krebs does not seem to be upset by this philanthropy attack:

Normally, when KrebsOnSecurity publishes a piece that sheds light on a corner of the Internet that would rather remain in the shadows, the response is as predictable as it is swift: Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on this site combined with threats of physical violence and harm from anonymous users on Twitter and other social networks.

While this site did receive several small DDoS attacks this week — and more than a few anonymous threats of physical violence and even death related to the CoinHive story — the response from pr0gramm members has been remarkably positive overall.

Liked this post?
18,419 18419 user reviews
Excellent!

AdGuard for Windows

AdGuard for Windows is more than an ad blocker. It is a multipurpose tool that blocks ads, controls access to dangerous sites, speeds up page loading, and protects children from inappropriate content.
By downloading the program you accept the terms of the License agreement
Read more
18,419 18419 user reviews
Excellent!

AdGuard for Mac

AdGuard for Mac is a unique ad blocker designed with macOS in mind. In addition to protecting you from annoying ads in browsers and apps, it shields you from tracking, phishing, and fraud.
By downloading the program you accept the terms of the License agreement
Read more
18,419 18419 user reviews
Excellent!

AdGuard for Android

AdGuard for Android is a perfect solution for Android devices. Unlike most other ad blockers, AdGuard doesn't require root access and provides a wide range of app management options.
By downloading the program you accept the terms of the License agreement
Read more
18,419 18419 user reviews
Excellent!

AdGuard for iOS

The best iOS ad blocker for iPhone and iPad. AdGuard eliminates all kinds of ads in Safari, protects your privacy, and speeds up page loading. AdGuard for iOS ad-blocking technology ensures the highest quality filtering and allows you to use multiple filters at the same time
By downloading the program you accept the terms of the License agreement
Read more
18,419 18419 user reviews
Excellent!

AdGuard VPN

74 locations worldwide

Access to any content

Strong encryption

No-logging policy

Fastest connection

24/7 support

Try for free
By downloading the program you accept the terms of the License agreement
Read more
18,419 18419 user reviews
Excellent!

AdGuard Content Blocker

AdGuard Content Blocker will eliminate all kinds of ads in mobile browsers that support content blocker technology — namely, Samsung Internet and Yandex.Browser. While being more limited than AdGuard for Android, it is free, easy to install and still provides high ad blocking quality.
By downloading the program you accept the terms of the License agreement
Read more
18,419 18419 user reviews
Excellent!

AdGuard Browser Extension

AdGuard is the fastest and most lightweight ad blocking extension that effectively blocks all types of ads on all web pages! Choose AdGuard for the browser you use and get ad-free, fast and safe browsing.
18,419 18419 user reviews
Excellent!

AdGuard Assistant

A companion browser extension for AdGuard desktop apps. It offers an in-browser access to such features as custom element blocking, allowlisting a website or sending a report.
18,419 18419 user reviews
Excellent!

AdGuard DNS

AdGuard DNS is a foolproof way to block Internet ads that does not require installing any applications. It is easy to use, absolutely free, easily set up on any device, and provides you with minimal necessary functions to block ads, counters, malicious websites, and adult content.
18,419 18419 user reviews
Excellent!

AdGuard Home

AdGuard Home is a network-wide software for blocking ads & tracking. After you set it up, it’ll cover ALL your home devices, and you don’t need any client-side software for that. With the rise of Internet-Of-Things and connected devices, it becomes more and more important to be able to control your whole network.
18,419 18419 user reviews
Excellent!

AdGuard Pro for iOS

AdGuard Pro has much to offer on top of the excellent iOS ad blocking in Safari already known to the users of the regular version. By providing access to custom DNS settings, the app allows you to block ads, protect your kids from adult content online, and safeguard your personal data from theft.
By downloading the program you accept the terms of the License agreement
Read more
18,419 18419 user reviews
Excellent!

AdGuard for Safari

Ad blocking extensions for Safari are having hard time since Apple started to force everyone to use the new SDK. AdGuard extension is supposed to bring back the high quality ad blocking back to Safari.
18,419 18419 user reviews
Excellent!

AdGuard Temp Mail

A free temporary email address generator that keeps you anonymous and protects your privacy. No spam in your main inbox!
18,419 18419 user reviews
Excellent!

AdGuard for Android TV

AdGuard for Android TV is the only app that blocks ads, guards your privacy, and acts as a firewall for your Smart TV. Get warnings about web threats, use secure DNS, and benefit from encrypted traffic. Relax and dive into your favorite shows with top-notch security and zero ads!
Downloading AdGuard To install AdGuard, click the file indicated by the arrow Select "Open" and click "OK", then wait for the file to be downloaded. In the opened window, drag the AdGuard icon to the "Applications" folder. Thank you for choosing AdGuard! Select "Open" and click "OK", then wait for the file to be downloaded. In the opened window, click "Install". Thank you for choosing AdGuard!
Install AdGuard on your mobile device