'Pirate Bay' uses guest CPUs to mine virtual currencies

'The Pirate Bay' logo, torrents site.(Photo: Reproduction / ThePirateBay)

"The Pirate Bay," a site that stores pirated movies, music and series, has begun to use the processing power of visitors to mine new virtual coins. According to those responsible for the page, the intent is to seek this test a new source of revenue beyond the display of ads.

"We really want to get rid of ads. But we also need enough money to keep the site running, "the Pirate Bay team said in a statement on Saturday.

The experiment began on Saturday. Some pages of the site had a Javascript code that made the visiting web surfer's CPU used to mine Monero, a type of cryptographic currency - the most famous of which is bitcoin.

Mining is an essential process for transacting such virtual currencies. In it, the processing power of a machine is used to solve mathematical calculations necessary for the process to be completed. In order for miners to continue to cede their computers, the "crypto-currency" system frees new coins from time to time. It's behind this reward that "The Pirate Bay" stands.

The mining code is not present on every site, only on a few pages. Some users complained that they noticed an overhead in the use of their CPUs.

You can block the operation of this code by changing your browser settings or installing plug-ins that block scripts. Pirate Bay himself points out this possibility, assuming that an ad blocker is able to prevent the new system from working.