If you asked me to explain in two words why not use proprietary software, I would say Norton Antivirus. Infamous for owning demonic possession-style hard drives, another company product adds a new scandal for including mining software that is difficult to uninstall.
Norton 360 is a suite of tools for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android intended for protection against malicious software. Other products include a password manager, VPN, password manager, antivirus, and intrusion alert. And something else that is not understood what it does there, the mining software
Norton mining software
In June of last year, the former Symantec, now known as NortonLifeLock announced the inclusion of an Ethereum cryptocurrency mining tool in its security suite Norton 360. The logical question is, what does cryptocurrency mining have to do with computer security?
The answer, in my opinion, is meaningless. They say they did this because they don't want users to download third-party mining software that may contain malware. By that criteria they should include a word processor, image editing software and a couple of games. The application, known as Norton Crypto, can only be used on very powerful graphics cards. As an interesting fact, it must be clarified that the Ethereum community is working on a mining system that does not require so much hardware.
Beyond the good intentions declared by the company, there is the reality of 15% of the coins generated being kept by NortonLifeLock in addition to unspecified transaction fees. Some say that users could end up losing money considering the associated electricity costs.
Security researcher Chris Vickery made his opinion clear:
Norton is increasing energy consumption around the world, costing its customers more in electricity usage than the customer earns in mining, but allowing Norton to make a ton of profit."
It's disgusting, disgusting and brand suicide.
Although Norton says that the application is not activated by default and can be deactivated at any time, users reported that it is installed without questions or prior notice. They also commented difficulties for elimination.