In an unexpected twist of innovation, cybercriminals have found a way to immortalize their command servers through the mystical powers of Ethereum, proving that cryptocurrency’s utility goes far beyond buying NFTs and questionable financial advice. Meet SleepyDuck, the malicious VSX extension that rises like a caffeinated phoenix whenever you least expect it.

This fiendish extension, masquerading as a helpful library, flies under the radar of unsuspecting coders, waiting for the opportune moment to quack chaos into their projects. As if version control systems weren’t already terrifying enough, now you have to worry about an extension that might start mining Ethereum while you’re trying to fix that one annoying bug you’ve been battling all week.

Of course, it’s only fitting that this nefarious tool originally appeared in the Open VSX registry, which we can only imagine stands for Very Sneaky eXtensions. Published innocently on October 31st – cue the spooky music – version 0.0.7 seemed harmless. But just like a Halloween horror flick, it was merely the setup for a jump scare when version 0.0.8 slithered into existence the very next day.

One can only guess what comes next: Perhaps the sequel will involve a Trojan horse named ‘CryptoQuack’ that leaves rubber duckies in your bathtub or your money mysteriously vanishing into blockchain obscurity. Until then, developers are advised to keep their eyes peeled and their command servers well-defended against the unstoppable force of SleepyDuck.