One of the world’s popular anti-virus software makers is including crypto mining in its products in a surprise move.

Soon selected Norton 360 customers who are part of the firm’s early adopter program will be allowed to access the program and start Ethereum mining using their computers. The company further clarifies that they don’t know whether the service will support other cryptocurrencies in the future.

Cybersecurity company NortonLifeLock has announced the introduction of a new service to enable users to safely mine Ethereum crypto from their PC through the firm’s platform.

“Mining’ refers to the procedure of getting digital currency by using one’s computer. Further, ‘crypto mining’ implies getting crypto by solving cryptographic equations via the usage of computers. The procedure includes ‘validating’ data blocks. Further, it includes updating transaction records that take place in real-time on a public ‘ledger’ also known as the blockchain.

Using one’s computer for mining crypto can be a risky business. This is because it involves downloading software from untrusted or unknown sources. This is risky from a security standpoint in the form of spyware and malware. Also, these crypto-mining tools can also be deluding users by stealing some of their cryptos after it has been mined.

The company explained in a press release that Norton Crypto should mitigate these risks. Another risk that crypto miners may encounter is the chances of hardware failure. Norton says that even after successful crypto mining like Ethereum, many users store their wallet info locally. While having crypto in a local wallet is thought to be safer than hosting it online. Still many users don’t back up their wallets and thus in case of hardware failure, can lose their data. Norton proclaims that the data is safer in the customer’s Norton Crypto Wallet, which will be stored in the cloud.