I see now that you are using Electrum. They appear to use md5 checksum, not sha1. So you would replace "-sha1" with "-md5".

If fciv is in C:\Windows, you can run it from anywhere. In that case,
fciv [____.exe] -sha1 --> Will run fciv on the file in question (____.exe = full file path)

If not,
cmd /K "cd /d c:\WINDOWS\" --> Will create a cmd window at the C:\Windows directory (replace c:\windows with the folder housing gpg4win-2.2.1)

fciv gpg4win-2.2.1.exe -sha1

Sorry in advance for the book. As I thought about it, it felt easier just to go through the motions of thinking about why this is important and how it works.

OK, on PGP. Yes, it is complicated, but I doubt it is beyond your skill set. Simply a new process to learn. Before thinking about encryption, it would be good practice now to consider learning how to ensure that what you think you are downloading is what you are actually downloading. This is especially important when dealing with software that could potentially target your wallet(s).

This is a taste of what it means to verify the integrity of and to authenticate certificates for files downloaded. In turn, that will necessitate creating a PGP keypair, and may prime you for working with PGP keys to encrypt your files.

So, a Windows user would go to http://gpg4win.org/ and download the full version. You can google the site for its web reputation. You can verify the integrity of the download using Microsoft's fciv utility found here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/841290

When you unzip fciv, drop fciv.exe into C:\Windows. That way you can pull up Command Prompt (Accessories) and run fciv.exe from any location. So to verify the integrity of your gpg4win download, pull up Command Prompt, and enter "fciv [____.exe] -sha1" where [] = the exact file location of the gpg4win binary. This should produce a sha1 checksum that you can compare with the checksum found here: http://gpg4win.org/package-integrity.html

If your binary downloaded properly, these sums should match. That is about the extent of due diligence you can do prior to using encryption/decryption. Now that you have verified the integrity of the download, install gpg4win and run Kleopatra. You can now authenticate the download from gpg4win. You would create a new certificate, select PGP keypair, and input your desired user information and password. Once the certificate has been created, back it up and keep your information safe. You can now use this certificate to certify the earlier download.

You do this by downloading (and subsequently verifying) the release signature of the download, found next to the file you downloaded, here: http://gpg4win.org/package-integrity.html Download the corresponding .sig file into the same folder as the original download.

As stated, the signatures have been created with the following OpenPGP certificate:
Intevation File Distribution Key (Key ID: EC70B1B8) -- if you go to that source, you can scroll down to "Intevation-Distribution-Key" and download it (it is an .asc file). Then you "import certificate" and select that file. Verify that the fingeprints match, then you can certify it with your own key.

Now, you can go to File | Decrypt/Verify. Select the .sig file that you downloaded (you'll see that it corresponds to the .exe file in the same folder) and verify. You should now be able to validate the certificate -- giving you confidence that you have the original and unmodified file and not some malicious replacement.

......So now you know how to verify the integrity of your downloads and create a PGP certificate to authenticate those downloads.

Now, encrypting files with PGP is very easy and only one step away. But before encrypting anything -- make sure that your keypair is backed up and your password is SAFE and will not be lost. (It would be tragic to encrypt the directory housing your wallet without realizing the importance your PGP password in decrypting it later on.) Also, when encrypting, remember to encrypt to your own certificate  -- otherwise your private key is useless to decrypt it.

Here is a straight-forward tutorial on signing and encrypting files in Kleopatra: http://www.gpg4win.org/doc/en/gpg4win-compendium_24.html

Again, I know it is a lot to take in. But if you are going to be holding an amount of money significant to you on your machine, another layer of encryption can provide great peace of mind.
You can set up cold storage on a USB drive, sure. With QT, for instance, just back up the wallet.dat file on the USB -- preferably, the wallet should be generated initially offline, the wallet should be encrypted before stored, and all files on the drive encrypted.

Yes, I would recommend playing around with this a bit. Don't risk much when playing around with cold storage for the first time -- make sure that you are confident in your ability to retrieve your coins from storage before sending much.

Once you have transacted back and forth a few times and feel more confident, I would start over with a newly generated cold storage wallet that has never made outputs before.

Blockchain.info is good for getting your feet wet. Don't fund too much in there, though. It is definitely inherently less secure than a desktop wallet.

I think the post earlier was suggesting that you assign a passphrase to your desktop wallet (like Bitcoin QT), if you have one. Encrypting your wallet is the first step.

At this point, I would say that wallet security is definitely still beyond the average person. Hopefully, sooner than later, options will emerge that make securing your coins less technical.

Check out this link for some information: http://bitcoin.org/en/secure-your-wallet

The best way to secure your coins is to keep them offline. So, ideally you would have an offline machine or storage medium (flash drive, or paper, for instance) that cannot be reached through the internet.

When I decided to get serious about security, I bought a cheap Ubuntu notebook to keep strictly offline. I verified the PGP signature of my wallet download and transferred the install to the notebook. Offline, it can still generate a wallet and address -- I use this address on my online machine to send coins to cold storage.

If you keep coins on an online machine, make sure you encrypt your wallet with a strong password, set firewall to deny incoming connections, and ensure that your antivirus software is adequate/operational and fully updated. And don't keep your passwords saved on your machine. (All of this is still true with an offline machine)

You may look into running Linux/Ubuntu as a LiveCD on your Windows machine (disable networking/unplug all cables upon mounting), so you can simulate an offline machine without affecting your Windows OS.
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/How_to_set_up_a_secure_offline_savings_wallet

Also, take a look into PGP/other encryption. I prefer to keep the directory that houses my wallets/backups encrypted as an extra layer of security. It's complicated, though, and may take some time to get the hang of using it. You can encrypt single files using terminal commands (http://askubuntu.com/questions/98443/encrypting-files-and-folder-through-terminal) or look into something like TrueCrypt.

Damn it. I made this sound even more complicated. The fact is, it may take some time and frustration to understand everything. I still feel lost, myself, much of the time.

CPU only, likely, from the sound of your setup. May kill your laptop for little to no gain.

Hehe, good answer.

Maybe. I'm not concerned. My risk tolerance is low. I feel much safer with bitcoin. I am very far in profit, can't possibly lose money at this point, and am confident that bitcoin will succeed. I am happy to ride the waves on LTC, but I have no interest in forming long term buy targets.

Merged mining allows a miner to mine for more than one blockchain at a time, adding to the hash rates of both coins. As a result, merged mined coins can be mined at very little cost to miners, making it more likely that the merge mined chain remains secure.
http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/273/how-does-merged-mining-work

Lost forever, lower total coin supply.

.....Supply and demand, and all that junk. 

LTC is too speculative for me to put much in for the long term. I have enjoyed swing trading LTC/BTC recently, though.

Glad to hear you were able to resolve this.

If you provide the information I asked for, we may be able to narrow this down, but simply re-stating this isn't going to get us anywhere.

1) Post the BTC address the coins should have been deposited in.
2) Post the tx ID provided to you by Vircurex. I assume this tx ID matches what you see on the blockchain?

If the transaction is confirmed on the blockchain and you are certain the address in that transaction is owned by you, the problem is not with Vircurex. It is with your wallet.

I checked them out at some point but liquidity was very much inadequate. What is volume like now? How does it compare?

If one of the more prominent coins, BTC-E. Otherwise, you may be stuck with Cryptsy or something.

I use BTC-E all the time to deposit coins/sell/buy back/withdraw coins. They are generally prompt with deposits and withdrawals of coins -- the issues generally surround fiat deposits being credited.

Sometimes I have experienced a lag.... my deposit will get frozen on 1 confirmation (or will never show up as pending in my account) and then post to my account like, I don't know, maybe 5 or 6 confirmations late.

Electrum depends on a centralized service. Users must trust a third party. It is inherently less secure and private for the user. Still much better than hosted wallets like Coinbase.

Don't trust third parties like Coinbase to hold your coins. You simply cannot verify the security conditions under which your funds are held.

Get a desktop wallet, learn how to encrypt properly, consider cold storage, etc. Secure your own funds. Otherwise, you are just waiting around for Coinbase to screw you.

Use them to buy/sell if you need to. That's it.

I don't understand. Vircurex provided you with the TX ID, and it is valid with 160 confirmations?

Can you show the TX on the blockchain and state the address you believe the coins should be deposited in? What kind of wallet are you using?

It sounds like a) you provided an incorrect address to Vircurex, b) they sent to an incorrect address (unlikely), or c) your wallet is not syncing properly.

Vircurex is not good about responding to emails. When I have emailed in the past, they resolve my issues without contacting me.

http://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet
Electrum is probably easiest. I prefer Bitcoin QT.

For ease of use, consider getting a wallet at https://blockchain.info/wallet but remember that it is less secure than a desktop wallet, is more prone to exploits due to use of javascript, etc. But it is very easy to set up. Don't keep much funds on an online wallet, though. And stay away from 3rd party hosted wallets like Coinbase -- you don't control your bitcoins with them.