In October, i loss 72,000 Naira BTC via Chrome Browser Bitcoin wallet copy and paste. I recommended my followers and everyone reading the post to make the switch to mobile browser/app during wallet copy and paste. However, after careful review, I have decided to stop using destop or computer/pc in wallet copy and paste for personal or business use.
In what amounts to be an amazingly nefarious bit of malware, hackers have created an exploit that watches 2.3 million high-value crypto wallets and replaces the addresses in the Windows clipboard with an address associated with the hackers. In other words, you could paste your own wallet address – 3BYpmdzASG7S6WrpmrnzJCX3y8kduF6Kmc, for example – and the malware would subtly (or unsubtly) change it to its own private wallet. Because it happens in the clipboard most people wouldn’t notice the change between copying and pasting.
Security researchers at Bleeping Computer have found similar hijackers in the wild but this latest version is actively watching valuable wallets and trying grab bitcoin as they enter the accounts. Below is an example of the malware at work.
The malware runs a massive, 83MB DLL file that masquerades as a Direct X service. Inside the DLL is a 2.5 million line text file full of bitcoin addresses. In the above test when cutting and pasting from an HTML page into WordPad you’ll notice that the accounts are subtly modified in each case while leaving the beginning of the address unchanged.
Multiple anti-virus engines are now tagging this DLL as dangerous and you should be safe as long as you keep your virus protection up to date. But, as BleepingComputer notes, the only way to be sure your BTC is safe is to meticulously check each address you paste. They write:
As malware like this runs in the background with no indication that it is even running, is it not easy to spot that you are infected. Therefore it is important to always have a updated antivirus solution installed to protect you from these types of threats.
It is also very important that all cryptocurrency users to double-check any addresses that they are sending cryptocoins to before they actually send them. This way you can spot whether an address has been replaced with a different one than is intended.
I would recommend making the switch from Chrome to Brave, it drastically improved my browsing experience. Brave also has very active developers — security and privacy is not an issue.
While I will not lie, it did improve my browsing experience. The main issue lies with the second part of my statement: security and privacy. The developers gave us a false sense of security. They disappointed me, and every other user out there.
Several months ago and till date, People lossing money to Chrome hack in bitcoin wallet copy and overriding the pasting. Unfortunately, this incident did not get much media attention, and it’s hard to search for and discover as of today.
In summary, Google chrome browser had been hijacked with porus addons and no form of security update and check has been observed in the past months into the popular crypto-currency wallet copy and paste issues.
Meanwhile google chrome is not the only browser giving users security problem as also reported by other blog. Brave browser is another browser with security breach.
AndroidPolice points out:
The nature of these affiliate programs also allows the referrer — in this case, Brave Software — to view some amount of data about the customers who sign up with the code. Coinbase’s program provides “direct access to your campaign’s performance data,” while Trezor offers a “detailed overview of purchases.”
This means Brave Software has access to all of your information on those crypto-currency sites as well. They can see your payments/purchases, and your activity on the websites (through affiliate statistics).
Brave doesn’t seem so privacy-focused anymore, does it? They did all of this, without telling the user. This meant that they intentionally didn’t tell the user because they knew it would cause backlash and disruption. They knew one hundred percent what they were doing, and they knew it was unethical.
Alternatives
Now that Brave is out of the picture, where should you go?
Stop using Destop Chrome Browser to Copy & Paste Wallet Address
I would honestly just go back to basics. No fancy stuff, just a good reliable browser: Firefox. Firefox has plenty of customizable privacy options, without the ownership of the scary conglomerates. I naturally trust Firefox a large amount more than I trust Edge, Chrome, or Safari.
If you are looking for a better privacy browser you can check out how to maximise privacy with Firefox in various ways.
While this might not seem like a big issue to people who don’t deal with cryptocurrencies, it definitely is. It’s the fact that Brave Software has been doing all of this behind our backs, and still claiming to be a completely privacy-focused browser. It makes me think, what else could they be hiding?
If you’re not feeling skeptical yet I’d recommend you use mobile chrome, its 99% safe and no issue with the bitcoin wallet copy and paste.
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