Bitcoin, as popular as it's become, isn't too easy to come by: if you're going to try to collect a good amount, you need to undertake a process called "mining," which involves using multiple computers running a mining program to gather your coins—which can take days, or even weeks, to get a significant amount.
Turns out, some Android app makers found a sneaky way to get users to do that mining for them.
The website Trend Micro found two legit Google Play apps, which have over a million downloads between them, that have tricked users into mining cryptocurrency without their knowledge. The two apps in question, Songs and Prized, turned on their secret mining code while users were charging their devices, as to not spark their attention that something secret was running. While using the devices won't gather the abusers a ton of currency, using every device in their network has already earned them thousands of Dogecoin.
"Users with phones and tablets that are suddenly charging slowly, running hot, or quickly running out of batteries may want to consider if they have been exposed to this or similar threats," said Trend Micro.
[via The Inquirer]
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