Leading anti-malware software provider Malwarebytes has announced its decision to accept bitcoin payments.
The company has been fascinated with bitcoin ever since its inception, and has followed the currency’s evolution closely.
“As a leader in security, we are excited to accept a crypto currency that provides a level of anonymity to our security-conscious customers,” said Marcin Kleczynski, CEO of Malwarebytes.
“Protecting customer privacy is part of our DNA, and taking payment in bitcoins is a logical extension of that ethos. We think the story behind Bitcoin is an exciting one as well, and we’re thrilled to support the bitcoin community. Malwarebytes is a forward-leaning company, and this is a natural fit.”
Malwarebytes has been an advocate of online privacy rights for years, and has integrated powerful anti-spyware detection in its software suites.
This approach seems to be paying off, as the company is one of the most popular anti-malware solutions on the market. Hence, its decision to accept bitcoin payments can be viewed as an extension of its rigorous privacy policies.
Going live
Malwarebytes teamed up with Coinbase to process the transactions for the service, which is already live on the Malwarebytes website.
However, for the time being, the offer is limited to the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Pro suite (priced at $24.95 worth of BTC). Future products that can be purchased with the cryptocurrency will have a bitcoin logo displayed on the page.
Although privacy and bitcoin go hand in hand, the same is true of malware, to a certain extent. Many malware makers are ‘using’ bitcoin, too.
The currency’s relative anonymity allows them to cash out easily before they get caught, to transfer funds or pay fellow malware makers for various services rendered in the darker corners of the Internet.
Bitcoin-mining malware
Some malware makers have even devised bitcoin-mining malware that relies on huge botnets to mine coins, but so far these attempts have had very limited success.
Yahoo was recently involved in a security breach that could have exposed up to two million European computers with mining malware. However, in reality the number of devices infected appears to be much lower.
Similarly, in late 2013, Microsoft moved to dismantle the Sefnit botnet which hijacked vulnerable versions of the Tor browser.
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