Simon Willison (@[email protected])
fedi.simonwillison.net
It turns out Google Chrome ships a default, hidden extension that allows code on `*.google.com` access to private APIs, including your current CPU usage You can test it out by pasting the following into your Chrome DevTools console on any Google page: chrome.runtime.sendMessage( "nkeimhogjdpnpccoofpliimaahmaaome", { method: "cpu.getInfo" }, (response) => { console.log(JSON.stringify(response, null, 2)); }, ); More notes here: https://simonwillison.net/2024/Jul/9/hangout_servicesthunkjs/
      • Hirom@beehaw.org
        4·
        4 months ago

        Neither. I use a chromium package from my linux distribution.

        It has many patches on top of the upstream chromium. That probably explain why that unwanted feature isn’t there.

        This issue appear on Google Chrome for Windows on my other machine. Just uninstalled it, never used it anyway.

    • BlueÆther@no.lastname.nz
      14·
      4 months ago

      yeah:

      {
  "value": {
    "archName": "arm64",
    "features": [],
    "modelName": "Apple M2",
    "numOfProcessors": 8,
    "processors": [
      {
        "usage": {
          "idle": 10841460,
          "kernel": 611796,
          "total": 13342920,
          "user": 1889664
        }
      },...
    • zqwzzle@lemmy.caEnglish
      25·
      4 months ago

      The shitty reboot of Office Space where some low level Google employee realizes they can stick a crypto miner in every browser and generate a couple cents from everyone’s browser.

    • AlexWIWA@lemmy.mlEnglish
      44·
      4 months ago

      I’m willing to be we’ll see something to train language models on the user’s hardware soon enough. Folding at home, but instead of helping science, Google steals your electricity.

      • vvv@programming.dev
        14·
        4 months ago

        I really think that’s the secret end game behind all the AI stuff in both Windows and MacOS. MS account required to use it. (anyone know if you need to be signed in to apple ID for apple ai?) “on device” inference that sometimes will reach out to the cloud. when it feels like it. maybe sometimes the cloud will reach out to you and ask your cpu to help out with training.

        that, and better local content analysis. “no we aren’t sending everything the microphone picks up to our servers, of course not. just the transcript that your local stt model made of it, you won’t even notice the bandwidth!)”

    • Pechente@feddit.orgEnglish
      57·
      4 months ago

      Probably already installed. That would at least explain the high resource usage of chrome

  • abbadon420@lemm.ee
    13·
    4 months ago

    Here’s the plan. You write an extension for chrome that makes chrome think all traffic from [cryptominingcentral.com] is actually from *.google.com. Make folks install the plugin via the tried and tested methods like phishing. … profit

    • authorinthedark@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      13·
      4 months ago

      couldn’t you do that anyway if you can get people to install an extension? taking advantage of this for crypto mining purposes feels like extra steps