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Is your cellphone running hot?

Does your cellphone seem to be taking longer to charge?

Does it seem to run hotter than usual?

Are menus a bit sluggish? Do apps take longer to load than you remember?

Have you noticed an unexplained increase in your internet or mobile data usage?

Odds are that you've downloaded an app which is covertly mining bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies when you're not looking.

According to reports in the tech media, Trend Micro has discovered that some very popular apps (with downloads measured in millions) have been found to contain such code.

The cleverest of these apps makes sure only to run when your smartphone is being charged -- so as not to alert users to the fact that their CPU/GPU cycles are being stolen. In fact, given the very heavy loads that such processor-intensive code produces, attempting to run the code while the phone is running on its internal battery could significantly reduce a phone's operating time.

That these "mineware" apps exist raises a very interesting question:

Is it legitimate to offer a free app in return for sequestering some of the user's CPU cycles?

The answer to this is pretty obvious -- yes, of course it's legit -- but *only* if the user is made aware of the trade and downloads the app in the full knowledge that it will be consuming those CPU cycles. To do it covertly is unacceptable.

Of course the viability of mining bitcoins on a smartphone is pretty debatable anyway -- but how long before we see a much greater proliferation of mineware programs making their way into the "free software" catalog used by PC owners?

The idea of using a computer's otherwise idle CPU cycles is not new. Seti@Home and a number of other scientific projects have invited people to donate their unused computer-time to such causes by way of free downloaded screen-savers.

How long before we see a rapid rise in the number of legitimate (ie: "shared profit") programs and less legit "mineware" programs that will convert your idle process into a money-earner? (for someone).

A regular PC is a poor platform for bitcoin mining -- but a million seconded PCs is something altogether different and far more viable.

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