Is it safe to mine cryptocurrency on a college campus? Today, universities and colleges are producing more than qualified graduates. And cryptocurrency mining is slowly becoming another major product coming from these institutions. While students love what they do in class, mining is a brilliant side hustle if you understand what it entails.
Is It Safe to Mine Cryptocurrency on a College Campus?
According to Cisco, higher ed institutions are the second largest miners of virtual currencies at 22%, which is both good and bad. But unfortunately, mining crypto is not exactly legal for students. While some schools have no specific rules forbidding the activity, in others, you can face dire consequences if the administration finds out.
Still, most students choose to pay someone to write my paper on EssayPro to focus on mining. Although it is not a university-approved side hustle, it is highly lucrative and interesting for most. You can dedicate more time to crypto if you have a professional writer handling your essays and assignments. It’s crucial to get your grades in check despite what you’re doing on the side.
We’ll examine how safe it is to mine crypto on campus and whether it’s worth the risk. But first, here’s a look into the meaning of crypto mining:
What Does Mining Cryptocurrency Entail?
Most people know about coin acquisition from stock exchanges. However, you can also mine them on your computer. Almost everyone can do it, but it helps to have technological knowledge.
Digging up the coins requires solving puzzles, validating network transactions, and adding them to ledgers. The main principle is mathematics, involving cracking codes to authorize transactions.
Now that you’re up to date on what it entails let’s look at the risks involved.
It is Against University Policies
You may decide to choose this as a side hustle because your university does not directly forbid it. However, most campuses disallow the use of university resources for personal or commercial purposes. Although it is not well articulated, you can get into serious trouble if the administration discovers what you’re doing.
Moreover, schools need you to abide by the rules regarding computer usage. However, since the internet and computers are readily available on campus, it gets tempting to disobey authority and start mining while studying. After all, you need the extra cash to take care of expenses.
You Expose School Property to Malware Threats
The internet is a dark place full of all sorts of fraud, and your knowledge of what goes on might be limited. Thus, you are vulnerable to attacks using phishing techniques.
At first, you won’t notice what’s happening because these individuals use links to trick you. These links infect computers with malicious codes, while others lead you to generate virtual cash for website owners (without your consent).
Here are ways to know if your computer has malware:
- It slows down
- You get constant unexpected pop-up advertisements
- Your system crashes
- There’s a mysterious loss of disk space
- Your browser settings change
And if you notice any of the above signs, don’t hesitate to take the right steps to prevent further damage to the school and personal computers. You’re already using school property illegally, so you should try and stay away from malware infections.
Generating Crypto Puts University and Student Data at Risk
To generate virtual coins, you’ll spend most of your time online. But, again, this exposes you to hackers and attackers who are after certain sensitive information. Most institutions try their best to secure data, especially by restricting the misuse of school computers.
Once you go against the rules and mine cryptocurrency on a college campus, you break all security barriers.
Generating online coins does the following:
- It slows down performance for legitimate users
- It leaves opportunities for attackers
- It increases the costs of computing
- It burdens IT staff (due to constant troubleshooting)
Sometimes, using a VPN might work since you’ll be anonymous. However, you can never be too sure what hackers plan to do once you’re vulnerable. Therefore, it is best to avoid using school equipment for mining.
Still, using your laptop or PC to generate coins is dangerous. Data breaches can easily spread from your computer into the school’s network. This further proves how unsafe it is to mine virtual coins on campus.
You Contribute to Increased Electricity Costs
Electricity is free in school since most institutions use your fees to sort out such expenses. As a result, it becomes easier to become a crypto guru since you’re not worried about electricity costs. After all, institutions have a constant power supply and backup sources in case of outages.
According to cybersecurity experts, generating one bitcoin costs about $4,700. The same amount is enough to cater for 10% of your annual tuition in a private institution. In addition, many universities and colleges pay hefty electricity bills unknowingly, thanks to illegal mining activities on campus.
Since you’ve seen the dangers of generating virtual coins on college campuses, is there anything you can do? Here are a few pointers:
How to Protect Yourself from Mining Dangers
If you decide that the venture is too lucrative to let go of, it’s crucial to stick to these measures to eliminate exposure to online attacks. However, remember that your school’s policies significantly determine how far you should go.
Install an Antivirus to Mine Cryptocurrency on a College Campus
This may sound like an unnecessary move, but updated antivirus programs secure your computer or laptop from malicious attacks. Moreover, you get alerts if the program suspects unwanted activities while surfing the web.
Keep Your Programs And Operating System Updated
Updating everything on your laptop or PC makes you less vulnerable to cyber attacks. Developers always strive to improve their apps, making them more secure and less vulnerable to attacks. So having the latest updates on your OS and every app means lower risk.
Always Download Software from Credible Sources to Mine Cryptocurrency on a College Campus
Trustworthy online sources are less likely to expose you to malware. Still, you cannot rule out the presence of crypto mining droppers. However, you’re less in danger because your systems are more secure.
Use a Managed Spam Filter Service
If you’re not one to clear your emails as you go, you might unintentionally open spam emails. You might think these are easy to spot, but phishers also send well-done spam emails that are unidentifiable by many.
Unfortunately, these contain links to websites with malicious codes and mining droppers. So, a spam filter service helps steer clear of such emails.
Use a VPN to Mine Cryptocurrency on a College Campus
VPNs protect personal data from hackers. Such include passwords and financial information. A virtual private network also hides your location since you’re generating virtual coins (which is illegal on campus).
The encryption on these networks blocks out all breaches and keeps your identity safe. Moreover, since you’re using the school’s public wifi to work on crypto, finding a qualified and reliable VPN service provider is advisable.
Conclusion
The crypto market is booming, making it more difficult for you to avoid mining. While many schools prohibit such activities, many students get away with it and make a lot of money while studying. The safety of mining is questionable unless you use some of the measures mentioned above to protect yourself.
However, you can land in trouble with the administration if found mining on campus. Therefore, it’s up to you to decide whether it’s worth the risk!
The post Is It Safe to Mine Cryptocurrency on a College Campus? appeared first on Visualmodo.
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