The site tells TorrentFreak that it was testing the feature for about 24 hours as a new way of generating revenue, and that it could eventually be enough to replace ads. In short, don't be surprised if this becomes a mainstay of the site going forward. Users have found that they can block the miner through their browser settings or add-ons like ad blockers, so it's not inescapable.

Without warnings, however, many inexperienced visitors won't even realize what's happening, let alone figure out how to stop it. And that's the real concern. While there isn't much sympathy to be had for pirate site hosts eager for revenue, the unsuspecting visitors are another story -- they didn't ask to bog down their systems.