While many internet users are aware that they need to protect themselves from malware, many are not aware of a new type of cyber attack known as \'cryptojacking\'.

Cryptojacking involves infecting a computer with a virus which then hijacks the machines CPU and uses it to power cryptocurrency mining operations. The protocol of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin requires users to crack increasingly complicated mathematical problems to generate a new coin.

People who dedicate themselves to unlocking new bitcoins are known as miners. The amount of computing power needed to mine a bitcoin is now so enormous that it can only really be done using specialist mining servers. That is unless you find a way of using hundreds of thousands of other people\'s computers to do the work for you.

Cryptojacking can cause a highjacked computer to run slower than it should, with some users finding that 85% of their CPU processing power was being used to mine coins without their knowledge. The code which hijacks a computer is typically embedded in a pop-up ad which appears when you visit a website. The only way to protect yourself is to run ad blocking software which detects cryptojacking.