It turns out that miners who want to crack Nvidia's RTX 30 series graphics card hash limits have miscalculated. The hash unlock tool that has been making a lot of noise before will not only not remove the hash rate limiter of the RTX 30 series graphics card, but will install malware on the computer.
As we reported yesterday, Nvidia RTX v2 Unlocker, published by Sergey, claims to be able to modify the Nvidia RTX 30 series BIOS and drivers so that the hash rate is no longer reduced when mining is detected. According to its Github page, the tool is not yet fully available and is scheduled to be released on Feb. 26, with an early access version currently available.
But if a user downloads and runs the LHRUnlocker Install.msi, it actually simply can't do what it claims to be able to do, and instead infects the computer with powershell.exe, a Windows service with malware.
The impact of the malware is unknown. Presumably this could include everything from recording keywork input to trying to set up botnets to mine all the data.
Some users reported their problems on Sergey's GitHub page, but didn't get a response. Currently, the page has been taken down.
The tool's exposure as malware means that Nvidia's LHR hash rate limiter remains effective. While the legal (i.e., Nvidia-not-limiting graphics card driver) approach has managed to bypass the limiter to some extent, LHR cards still can't reach the hash rate corresponding to normal graphics cards.
This tool is also a reminder that cryptocurrencies are still in the wild Western era, without corresponding law and order, full of deception and plunder.