I have been noticing high C/GPU usage in my Chrome(Win10) recently. The Chrome built in task manager showed high CPU in the Browser task even with no tabs using notable CPU. I am running UBlock but still suspected some coin mining adware or scripts were getting in.
From a reddit and superuser thread I saw a recommendation to add another block filter for this, and so far it seems to be keeping things quiet (disclaimer: I haven’t tested for very long yet). If this is the actual solution, then this new arms race needs to get pushed into mainstream filters to prevent sneaky crypto mining from stealing cycles from millions of computers to line their pockets.
fyi, that list looks to have at least substantial overlap with the “uBlock filters – Resource abuse” 3rd-party filter option already present in uBlock Origin.
If you are at all like me, you are a tab junkie and probably have one or two tabs on sites that are dynamic enough it throws the memory and CPU use into overtime, just from Chrome.
If that’s the case, or even if not, I highly recommend this as well:
It is a fantastic extension that will put tabs to sleep if not in use. You can easily put sites or tabs in bypass if needed. Clicking on a tab that is suspended shows something like this:
And you can left click anywhere on that page to have it load. It even saves your place on most sites if you’re say, half through reading an online article.
Your memory and CPU use will go WAY down upon using this.
If it had not been greedy I may not have noticed for a longer while, but when all your GPUs are pegged and your fans crank up to max speed for cooling while you are doing nothing, it is not subtle. But for everyone who notices and can block it, how many just complain their computer is slow and broken again?
Yeah, I have developed a bad habit of keeping tabs open for a long time as something like a to-do list. I can spare the memory and small amt of CPU, but this looks like a good extension to try, (I closed a handful of tabs when testing for the security problem, so down to only 44 open now ;)
Never caught a script/ad/websocket in the act, or even pinpointed the tab doing it. If it doesn’t recur in a week I will feel ok attributing it to the blockchain adhacking cryptognomes of Prague.
