[binaryarcher]

Hi all,

I've recently noticed that runemate is consistently using roughly 30% of my GPU at all times. Even when OSRS is closed.

I believe that Runemate is using our machines to mine crypto.

Is there anyway to disable this?

If not I'll have to go to another botting system. It affects the performance of my other tasks when botting OSRS.

 

[cuppajava]

I've replied to similar threads to this before, but I can't find them now to copy paste my response

The short version is that runemate does not and would not mine crypto. Runemate's monetization is not a mystery, they charge for premium bots, supporter etc, and ads. Mining crypto would generate such negligible profit compared to these, and it would be extremely annoying to users. It just isn't worth it.

 

[driftson]

yes

 

[american express]

If you're going to make these claims, at least post some proof.

As others have stated, RuneMate wouldn't ruin its reputation by doing something like "secretly" running a cryptocurrency miner in the background. RuneMate has legitimate income generation methods (Support/Sponsor packages, Premium Bot Credits), so why would they jeopardise this for what would most likely be a much smaller income stream (cryptocurrency mining)?

It's not unusual to see RuneMate using your GPU, and for this to be high (particularly if you have a low end GPU). I have a 3080 and depending on the bot used and how complex its GUI is, I often see anywhere from 0 - 20% GPU usage, which fluctuates over time. As soon as I stop the bot, the GPU usage drops down and stays at 0%.

 

[darkstrict]

i dont think runemate would mine crypto

 

[unionjack]

Even if it did, it would still be the better alternative. 30% gpu is fuck all.

 

[binaryarcher]

Sorry for the late reply. Don’t have notifications on.

So I have a 3090. Mining is very profitable, but also takes a lot of power. I’m basically paying double for any script I use due to the cost of electricity. Whilst running runemate, windows task manager reports it’s GPU usage as 30-60%! On a 3090!?

Unless these scripts are using very inefficient inference on the screen this doesn’t add up.

What GPU usage are you lot seeing when running runemate?
 

If you're going to make these claims, at least post some proof.

As others have stated, RuneMate wouldn't ruin its reputation by doing something like "secretly" running a cryptocurrency miner in the background. RuneMate has legitimate income generation methods (Support/Sponsor packages, Premium Bot Credits), so why would they jeopardise this for what would most likely be a much smaller income stream (cryptocurrency mining)?

It's not unusual to see RuneMate using your GPU, and for this to be high (particularly if you have a low end GPU). I have a 3080 and depending on the bot used and how complex its GUI is, I often see anywhere from 0 - 20% GPU usage, which fluctuates over time. As soon as I stop the bot, the GPU usage drops down and stays at 0%.

It wouldn’t exactly be a secret. They are well within their rights to do this. If they can, why wouldn’t they?

 

[cuppajava]

Unless these scripts bots are using very inefficient inference on the screen this doesn’t add up.

Lots of bots are inefficient, or very complicated, or both. Runemate also has a fairly complicated UI compared to a lot of paint-based bot clients.

It wouldn’t exactly be a secret. They are well within their rights to do this. If they can, why wouldn’t they?

Because it's incredibly unprofitable compared to the actual business model. By the same logic, every other piece of software ever made is "well within their rights" to add a cryptominer as well. There's clearly a reason there's not just a cryptominer slapped into every piece of software. And to clarify, I wouldn't say this is "well within their rights". Running a crypto miner on unrelated commercial software is morally and legally questionable. Which is why legit software doesn't do it.

Seriously, I can't wrap my head around the fact that you think runemate would ruin their software's performance & ruin customer opinion to make like, a fraction of a cent. If they wanted to make a fraction of a cent more they could just raise their prices... a fraction of a cent.

 

[rawb1992]

The only runemate mines is coal, iron, and gold baby.

 

[binaryarcher]

I disagree with the statements around mining not being worthwhile. Botnets for mining are a thing, and depending on the end machine, it could pull in more money than is spent by customers for the botting service (easily $10+ per 24hrs). It's also not illegal to do it, but yes it could tarnish an apps reputation. Hence why it's important to get to the bottom of this issue.

That said, I appreciate you all coming to aid to discuss this matter. One thing I didn't quite understand is why this GPU usage happens when the app is idling, even before selecting a bot. It'd be understandable if it was just a paint bot doing something intensive, but this is not the case.

As for proof. You can very easily test this yourself with Runemate (running nothing) and task manager.

I see that we have Runemate's staff on this thread. Considering the number of posts like this spreading rumour about mining on this service I would suggest that Runemate provides an answer for the unusually high GPU usage of the app even when it's not botting. Perhaps it's just a bug/inefficient code, or a GPU hungry ad.

The attitude that I'm sensing in this thread is not going to make others think that it's not mining, if anything it's the other way around...

 

[savior]

What GPU usage are you lot seeing when running runemate?

0%-1% but maybe thats because they disable mining for bot authors and supporters/sponsors

 

[american express]

I disagree with the statements around mining not being worthwhile. Botnets for mining are a thing, and depending on the end machine, it could pull in more money than is spent by customers for the botting service (easily $10+ per 24hrs). It's also not illegal to do it, but yes it could tarnish an apps reputation. Hence why it's important to get to the bottom of this issue.

That said, I appreciate you all coming to aid to discuss this matter. One thing I didn't quite understand is why this GPU usage happens when the app is idling, even before selecting a bot. It'd be understandable if it was just a paint bot doing something intensive, but this is not the case.

As for proof. You can very easily test this yourself with Runemate (running nothing) and task manager.

I see that we have Runemate's staff on this thread. Considering the number of posts like this spreading rumour about mining on this service I would suggest that Runemate provides an answer for the unusually high GPU usage of the app even when it's not botting. Perhaps it's just a bug/inefficient code, or a GPU hungry ad.

The attitude that I'm sensing in this thread is not going to make others think that it's not mining, if anything it's the other way around...

You're the only person who is concerned. There is no "issue". You are overthinking things and are wrong.

End of story.

 

[savior]

As for proof. You can very easily test this yourself with Runemate (running nothing) and task manager.

As for actual proof you could disassemble the RuneMate binaries to check for a miner. Or alternatively, which is probably easier, sniff the network communication of the program for anything even remotely related to mining.
Other than that, the high GPU usage could be even just a bug in JavaFX's hardware acceleration, after all the java version runemate uses is getting kind of old too.

 

[binaryarcher]

Runemate clearly needs to work on customer relations. Threads like this not handled properly are going to hurt your customer retention!

Thanks Savior for the advice, and for taking this seriously, unlike the RuneMate staff. I'll take a look at the network traffic, though I'm not sure what protocols mining typically use, and whether it would be easily identifiable. Interestingly, along with the GPU usage, there is also constant network usage even when idle.

See my screenshot attached. Interestingly this only happens after login, and not before. But in the example, you can see that I'm not running a bot.

And yes, I agree. It could just be a bug in JavaFX or something.

 

[arbiter]

Runemate clearly needs to work on customer relations. Threads like this not handled properly are going to hurt your customer retention!

Thanks Savior for the advice, and for taking this seriously, unlike the RuneMate staff. I'll take a look at the network traffic, though I'm not sure what protocols mining typically use, and whether it would be easily identifiable. Interestingly, along with the GPU usage, there is also constant network usage even when idle.

See my screenshot attached. Interestingly this only happens after login, and not before. But in the example, you can see that I'm not running a bot.

And yes, I agree. It could just be a bug in JavaFX or something.

You posted an unsubstantiated accusation on a public forum and humans unaffiliated with RuneMate took the liberty of making you aware of that, as would happen on any other public forum, e.g. Twitter, Reddit. The only response you got from a Staff member was professional, direct, and informative:

If you're going to make these claims, at least post some proof.

As others have stated, RuneMate wouldn't ruin its reputation by doing something like "secretly" running a cryptocurrency miner in the background. RuneMate has legitimate income generation methods (Support/Sponsor packages, Premium Bot Credits), so why would they jeopardise this for what would most likely be a much smaller income stream (cryptocurrency mining)?

It's not unusual to see RuneMate using your GPU, and for this to be high (particularly if you have a low end GPU). I have a 3080 and depending on the bot used and how complex its GUI is, I often see anywhere from 0 - 20% GPU usage, which fluctuates over time. As soon as I stop the bot, the GPU usage drops down and stays at 0%.

I recommend you follow this advice, both in this case and in life moving forward. I will again echo @American Express's comment before ending this circuitous topic.