Chrome extension for cryptocurrency wallet, MetaMask, excessively consumes SSD storage at an extraordinary pace - issue confirmed, as the bug causes daily writes of hundreds of gigabytes of data into user's solid-state drives.
MetaMask SSD Data Writing Bug Causes Concern for Users
A bug in the MetaMask browser extension for Chromium-based browsers, such as Chrome, Edge, and Opera, has been causing excessive data writes to users' solid-state drives (SSDs) since at least May. This continuous data writing, which occurs at a rate of approximately 5 MB/s, can severely impact SSD lifespan and lead to premature failure due to excessive wear.
The bug originates from the extension's handling of large state files, causing it to write data excessively and too frequently to disk. This abnormal write volume is far beyond normal expected behavior for browser wallets that do write state information regularly. The writes occur at a rate of approximately 5 MB/s, even when the extension is inactive and focused on Local Extension Settings files like "011717.log" and "011719.ldb."
The impact of this bug can be significant. Risk of SSD hardware failure from accelerated wearout, system slowdowns and degraded performance due to high disk activity, potential loss of data or hardware reliability problems for users maintaining large crypto wallet states in MetaMask, and SSDs typically lasting 5-10 years, but such excessive writes could reduce that lifespan to months due to hitting internal write cycle limits much faster.
MetaMask developer ConsenSys has acknowledged the bug and attributes it to unusually high disk activity from a small subset of users with large state files. They are working on reducing the size of each data record and lowering the frequency of writes. A fix has already been rolled out to reduce disk usage when the extension is closed, significantly mitigating the worst part of the issue. Further optimizations to reduce disk writes during active extension use are planned.
Until a full fix is released, the only sure workaround is to uninstall the MetaMask browser extension to stop the excessive writes. No exact public timeline for the full fix yet, but patches are expected imminently, as stated by ConsenSys.
It's important to note that this issue predominantly impacts users with unusually large state, according to a spokesperson for Consensys. Backblaze, a cloud backup company, reported in 2022 that the SSDs in its data centers had become more reliable than the HDDs. However, needlessly writing terabytes worth of data over a few months still isn't wise, even for the increasingly resilient SSDs.
In summary, MetaMask had a bug causing abnormal SSD writes that risk hardware damage, with developer acknowledgment and partial fixes underway. Users should disable the MetaMask browser extension to prevent damage until a full fix is available.
Technology, particularly data-and-cloud computing, played a significant role in the recent MetaMask bug where excessive data writes to users' solid-state drives (SSDs) were observed. This issue was caused by the extension's handling of large state files, a common aspect of technology's data management systems.
