The main function of the antivirus is to protect systems from being hijacked to secretly mine cryptocurrency without you knowing. So, it is not a crazy idea (depends on the point of view) that NortonLifeLock has added a cryptocurrency mining tool to its Norton 360 security suite.We think no one thought about this movement of Norton. The new tool is called Norton Crypto, and it is being lauched just for a few number of Norton 360 users in Norton’s early adopter program, who are going to be able to mine Ethereum. But why?»As the crypto economy continues to become a more important part of our customers’ lives, we want to empower them to mine cryptocurrency with Norton, a brand they trust,» said Vincent Pilette, CEO of NortonLifeLock.» Norton Crypto is one of the best examples of adapting to the new times and trends, the capacity to grow and not to be obsolete, Norton is developing and expanding Cyber Safety to protect its customers.

The last weeks have been a bit rough for the crypto, more than usual—cryptocurrencies value have descreased a lot. More recently, however, China’s crackdown on cryptocurrency shook the market, causing great declines in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets.

Ethereum will also soon be evolving into a more power efficient mode, which would be able to effectively break graphics card mining. In addition, could also limit the usefulness of tools like Norton Crypto, regardless of value.

It seems that the new tool of Norton soon or later will be able to all Norton 360 users at some point. Noadaws, your are only able to mining Ethereum. The built-in tool allows its users to track their earnings and leave them into a Norton Crypto Wallet that is stored in the cloud.

When turned on, the tool will mine Ethereum only when a PC is idle, at least in theory. Based on the screenshot NortonLifeLock shared, exists a pause button, very useful.

We do not know if this new tool will be a popular one between its users. The profitability of mining Ethereum was cut in half earlier this year, and the drop has made it even less profitable, especially for people who use older GPUs. Then there is the question of how well the built-in tool works.

On the other side, a built-in tool should make it easier for casual users to begin in the mining world, if that is their objetcive.