News
Norton Is Bundling Cryptomining Software With Its Antivirus
While the feature is turned off by default and can be enabled only on computers that meet certain hardware requirements, it’s not exactly easy to remove it entirely.
Many users install an antivirus to protect themselves from cryptomining malware, such as KryptoCibule, which silently hijacks system resources and uses them to mine various cryptocurrencies.
The users of Norton 360 don’t have to wait for cryptominers to infect their computers because the company behind the popular antivirus software has generously included one with the application.
Called Norton Crypto, the cryptomining tool has been available in Norton 360 since June 2021, allowing users to painlessly mine Ether, the native cryptocurrency of Ethereum.
“As the crypto economy continues to become a more important part of our customer’s lives, we want to empower them to mine cryptocurrency with Norton, a brand they trust” explained Vincent Pilette, CEO of NortonLifeLock, the company that owns the Norton product line. “Norton Crypto is yet another innovative example of how we are expanding our Cyber Safety platform to protect our customer’s ever-evolving digital lives”.
However, not all users of Norton 360 welcome this innovation, and some have already canceled their subscriptions to put some weight behind their disapproval of the new feature. One common complaint users have is that the presence of a cryptominer could make them juicy targets in the eyes of cybercriminals, who have been actively going after cryptocurrency owners ever since Bitcoin became a well-known name.
Also Read: Young Arabs Are Embracing The Fintech Revolution
While the feature is turned off by default and can be enabled only on computers that meet certain hardware requirements (the presence of a capable NVIDIA graphics card is one of them), it’s not exactly easy to remove it entirely. To do that, it’s necessary to temporarily disable the tamper protection feature Norton 360 uses to prevent malware from disabling it.
What’s more, Norton Crypto is a blatant cash grab because it charges a fee of 15% in addition to the cost of Ethereum’s transaction fees. To put the number into perspective, most other Ethereum mining pools, which anyone can join without much effort, charge just 1 or 2%.
Clearly, someone at NortonLifeLock has decided to pursue what they must believe is a terrific opportunity to join the cryptomining mania, and they’re willing to see how their user base will react.
News
At I/O 2026, Sundar Pichai Concedes AI Must Deliver Real Value
Gemini 3.5, a personal agent called Spark, agentic shopping, and Android XR eyewear are all aimed at making AI feel useful, not just impressive.
Google’s annual I/O developer conference (I/O 2026) has recently become a status update on the same question: can the company turn its AI spending into products people use every day? This year, chief executive Sundar Pichai described Google as being in a phase of hyper progress, while conceding this is the part of the cycle where people want to see real value in the products they use on a day-to-day basis.
The strategy on display was to push agents — AI systems that act on a user’s behalf — into nearly every Google product at once. Search now has an “intelligent search box” that returns generated explainer videos alongside links. Gmail, Docs, YouTube and Maps are gaining their own agent layers, including a Docs Live feature that turns spoken instructions into drafted text with citations.
Two new models, Gemini 3.5 and a cheaper Gemini 3.5 Flash, arrived the same day. Google says 900 million people now use Gemini, and that more than 50 billion images have been generated with it. The pricing tier names are likely to confuse buyers: a new AI Ultra plan launches at $100 a month, while the older Gemini AI Ultra drops from $250 to $200.
The flashier announcements were Gemini Omni, a video generator pitched as a more realistic answer to OpenAI’s discontinued Sora 2, and Gemini Spark, a personal agent that handles recurring tasks across a user’s Google account. A new universal shopping cart lets agents complete purchases across multiple retailers from inside Google itself, placing the company between the merchant and the buyer, and also owning the checkout.
Also Read: DJI Teases Dual-Camera Osmo Pocket 4P For 2026 Launch
Google also confirmed its Android XR eyewear, built with Samsung and frames from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Audio-only glasses ship this autumn; a display-equipped version, which would superimpose live translations into the wearer’s field of view, is still in development. Both sets translate, however only the display version shows you the result.
What Pichai did not resolve is the bargain underneath all this. An agent is only useful to the degree it knows your calendar, your inbox, your shopping history and your physical surroundings. Google has now confirmed that, in time, the same context may carry advertising.
2026 Crypto Trends: Bitcoin, ETFs & The Future Of Payments
At I/O 2026, Sundar Pichai Concedes AI Must Deliver Real Value
DJI Teases Dual-Camera Osmo Pocket 4P For 2026 Launch
Lebanon Ministers Meet Visa Over National Digital Payment Platform
