Network effect, infrastructure, merchant adoption, development (those apply to all coins versus Bitcoin)

That... and it's a copy and paste coin

Get in my van, I've got some candy!  

I made this post over on the Bitshares forum to help people out & thought I would copy it here in case anyone needed it.

[windows-BTSX] Wallet Backup Methods & Troubleshooting Procedures

Suggested Back Up Practices:

• Since BitsharesX and bitassets are still new, there seems to be a few bugs floating around. I think it is important everyone back their wallet up in multiple ways to avoid loss of funds.
• It is technically only necessary to back up the private keys of your account, but just in case an error is made during that process I recommend doing it multiple ways just to be sure, especially if you are holding a large amount of funds or cannot afford to lose your money.
• It is important to back up your wallet to another storage device such as online storage or a USB storage device in case of hardware failure, hard drive corruption, etcetra.

How TITAN Private Keys Work:

• All keys that your wallet ever generates for use with the block chain are derived in a deterministic manner from the root wallet key.
• You can regenerate all of these keys from an old back up if necessary and then scan the block chain to retrieve all past transactions.
• In other words, if your funds have gone missing or the balance is not correct due to a bug, do not worry yourself to death that you have lost your money. It still exists and is retrievable as long as proper back up measures are taken.

Automatic Back Ups:

• Every time you create a new account or update the client to a new version, your wallet is automatically backed up in the following folder: C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\BitShares X\wallets\.backups
• Note: Replace UserName with your Windows user name in the above file path. Furthermore, the AppData folder is hidden by default so you need to either type it in manually into the file browser, or change the Windows settings that will allow you to view hidden files.
• Even though your wallet automatically backs itself up manually when creating a new account or updating to a new version, it is recommended to back up the wallet folder if it has been a long time since you've done either of those things. Otherwise, you will need to download a large part of the block chain that you wouldn't of otherwise needed to download.

Three Methods Of Backing Up Your Wallet Manually:
Disclaimer: Even though I have tested everything I've outlined in this post, I am not responsible if something does not work, even if you follow the directions correctly. I have tried everything I am suggesting and it worked for me, but I cannot guarantee it will work for you. Proceed with caution and follow the steps exactly as I say. If you are extra paranoid, holding a large amount of funds, or cannot afford to lose your funds, doing all three back up methods is not a bad idea for redundancy.

1. The easiest back up method is located on the top left navigation bar of the client.
1a. Click on File -> Export Wallet
1b. Remember to write down your wallet password and store it in a safe location when backing up your wallet this way, as the wallet back up file is encrypted with this password. Furthermore, remember to store this file somewhere online or on a USB drive as well for redundancy.
1c. To restore your wallet from this back up file use the following procedures.
1d. Click on File -> Import Wallet
1e. Locate your back up file and click Open

2. Retrieving your accounts main private key is also a good way of backing up your account. All addresses & private keys TITAN generates for each specific account can be generated using this private key, so you only need to do this kind of a back up once.
2a. Go to the console tab on the left navigation bar of the client.
2b. Use the wallet_dump_private_key command with the following syntax for every account you have: wallet_dump_private_key <account name>
2c. Write down the private key on paper, print it out, or store it encrypted in a secure location. Remember if anyone gets this private key they can steal your funds, because it is not encrypted like it is in the 1st back up option so be very careful about where you put it. I suggest printing it out and storing it in a safe place, using encryption software to encrypt it using a secure password, or store it somewhere online that is password protected such as the password database storage website LastPass (remember to require a password to retrieve it.)
2d. To recover your account(s) in case of loss or hardware/software failure, use the following command in the console: wallet_import_private_key <private key copied from step 2c>
2e. Make sure the block chain is fully downloaded and then use the following command to scan the block chain. This will bring up all of your transactions and correct your balances. Go to the console tab on the left navigation bar and enter the following command: wallet_rescan_blockchain

3. The third method is backing up your wallet folder manually. This is automatically done when upgrading to a new client, or after you create a new account. This method is nice because when you use it to retrieve your account, you do not have to re-download the entire block chain as it will be saved up to the point when you made the back up. If it has been a while since you created a new account or updated the wallet client, then it is probably a good idea to do this back up periodically.
3a. Browse to the folder: C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\BitShares X\wallets
^ Note: Replace UserName with your Windows user name; AppData is a hidden folder so you need to type it in manually or turn on the viewing of hidden files and folders ^
3b. Copy the folder named 'default'
3c. Paste it anywhere you'd like as long as it's not in the same folder. I am using the My Documents but it doesn't matter. It is also a good idea to store it on a USB drive or somewhere online. It is encrypted, so you don't have to be as careful with the back up file as you did with back up method two as long as you have a secure password.
3d. Make sure to write down your wallet password, as this back up method is encrypted.
3e. If you need to recover your wallet, copy and paste the back up folder into the directory you originally copied it from in step 3a
3f. Windows will ask if you are sure you want to replace the existing folder & files, select yes.
3g. Open the BitsharesX client and your wallet should be restored. You will likely need to re-scan the block chain using the command 'wallet_rescan_blockchain' in the console tab. This will pick up any transactions you have made/received since the last time you backed up the wallet.


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Troubleshooting Procedures

First make sure you are using the current version of the client, if you are then continue to the following troubleshooting procedures.

If you are missing funds, or your balance is zero when it should not be -> Go to Step 1
If you cannot connect to any peers, it says 'Not Connected' at the bottom, or if you can connect but can not sync -> Go to Step 2

1. If you made a transaction (or order in the market) and your funds are missing, first try to rescan the block chain using the following command: wallet_rescan_blockchain
1a. If that doesn't work continue to step 2

2. Backup your wallet using ALL of the 3 back up methods listed above and close the BitsharesX client.
2a. Browse to C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\BitShares X\wallets\.backups\
2b. Copy & paste the 'default' into the following directory: C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\BitShares X\wallets\
^ Note: replace UserName with your Windows user name; AppData is a hidden folder so you need to type it in manually or turn on the viewing of hidden files and folders ^
2c. Windows will ask if you are sure you want to replace the existing folder & files, select yes.
2d. Open the BitsharesX client and your wallet should be restored. You will likely need to re-scan the block chain using 'wallet_rescan_blockchain' to pick up any transactions you have made/received since the last time your wallet was automatically backed up.
2e. If that doesn't work, continue to step 3

3. Backup your wallet using ALL of the 3 methods listed above (if you already did this in step 2, then it is not necessary) and exit out of the BitsharesX client.
3a. Delete this folder: C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\BitShares X\wallets\default
^ Note: replace UserName with your Windows user name; AppData is a hidden folder so you need to type it in manually or turn on the viewing of hidden files and folders ^
3b. Open the BitsharesX client, create a new wallet password, and wait for the block chain to finish downloading. Instead of creating a new account, just go to console to do the following.
2c. Import your private key to your account(s) using the 'wallet_import_private_key' command in the console with the private key you copied from back up method 2 on step 2c using the following syntax: wallet_import_private_key <private key>
2d. Re-scan the block chain to retrieve all of your transactions and to show your proper balance using the following command in console: wallet_rescan_blockchain

If you are still missing funds or your balance is still zero, do not worry. Your private keys for all addresses generated with TITAN are determined in a deterministic way. As long as you have the private keys for them (backup method 2), then you will be able to retrieve your funds eventually. There are a lot of bugs being found and fixed as you read this, as the software and asset exchange is still brand new. Please be patient as bugs are fixed and do not worry about your funds as long as you have followed proper back up procedures. Even if you didn't you can likely retrieve your wallet from the automatic back up feature, so there is no need to stress about it.

They can realistically 51% attack Bitcoin with less than 51% of bitcoin's processing power... all they pretty much have to do is take control of one of the larger pools. Page 10 shows how easy it would be to do a double spend with a certain percentage of the network hash rate on a transaction with a certain number of confirmations: https://bitcoil.co.il/Doublespend.pdf

With 30% of the network, you have a 60% chance to successfully double spend a transaction with 1 confirmation.

With 42% of the network, you have a 58.4% chance to successfully double spend a transaction with 6 confirmations (when a Bitcoin transaction is considered secure).

It is much more likely than anyone around here would like to admit. If one of the larger pools are compromised the attackers could double spend the pools' withdrawals with decent success.

Bitcoin is much easier to understand for you because you have been in the process of understanding it for years now. It is a complicated subject and bitassets are similarly hard to understand.

If someone doesn't understand how it works, then that's OK... You don't need to understand, just understand that it works. Do most people know on a technical level how debit cards work? Gift cards? Bitcoin exchanges? Airplanes? Cars? Medicine? Surgery? Computers? TVs? No... Yet, people still buy and use these things on a massive scale without even thinking twice about it, because they are told it is safe and everything works properly. Any new technology will be met with skepticism, but once it is a proven technology people won't even think twice about using bitassets. They are after all less than a week old. Furthermore, very few people know exactly how Bitcoin works.. I'm talking down to a source code level. Sure, people can learn and understand general concepts.. but even then you are just taking other people's word for it that it works as described.

An easier way to explain it to people is that bitassets are market pegged assets... A crypto currency pegged to the value of the US dollar, Bitcoin, Gold, or Silver. That's all they really need to know. Then if someone wants to learn how it works they can dive into the technicalities of it, but it is not necessary to understand exactly how it works to utilize its capabilities. Using bitassets is just as easy as making a trade on an exchange... anyone can do that. There is no need for everyone to understand exactly how it works.

Ironically the OP has been repeatedly bumping Bitshares threads for weeks and saying how horrible it is, but it is just creating more hype.  

From the man himself:


No balances have been lost, there are just some bugs which are in the process of being fixed. Bitassets just went live on Monday, there was bound to be some hiccups. Give them a week or two to get things ironed out.

By the way... The OP of this thread has been hating on Bitshares for weeks now. He repeatedly posts and starts threads about how bad Bitshares is... I think he is scared of it. Same goes with Smoothie and Spoetnik... They are just trying to defend their alternative investments, and have been talking crap about Bitshares for weeks. Do yourself a favor and learn about BitsharesX before knocking it. I know TaunSew, Smoothie, and Spoetnik aren't interested in learning, only being ignorant and/or spreading FUD, but for everyone else....

It is a large improvement over Bitcoin/Litecoin at its core, AND it has an awesome new decentralized market place to trade what's called bitassets. 15 second transaction time, forced "Bitcoin's best practices" for anonymity which forced you to use a new address for every transaction, the got rid of old nonsensical addresses and you can create your own user account to send/receive funds with, an improved PoS implementation... it is not a pump and dump coin like the people trying to prop up their own investments would like you to believe.

More about bitassets.... Bitassets are like a crypto currency, but they are pegged to the value of another commodity/fiat through an entirely decentralized method. There is bitUSD which always closely resembles the value of the US dollar. Soon the other markets will launch which will allow the trading of Bitcoins, Chinese yen, Gold, Silver, Etcetra. It is the first crypto currency to be able to peg itself to the value of an outside commodity/fiat in a decentralized way.

I hate to look like such a fan boy, and I usually try to stay impartial, but all this FUD is annoying. The Bitshares guys mostly don't post on these forums because of how they were treated when they first announced the Bitshares concept over a year ago, so I am here sticking up for them.

/rant

Just a correction most likely. 0.4.9 was released last night and some people are having issues, it only applies to the .exe binary though, all other versions are fine. Nothing major.. I think people are having trouble connecting to peers.

There have been a lot of issues/bugs that have popped up since the bitUSD market went live. TITAN generates all addresses deterministically, so even if there are issues no funds will be lost as long as you back up the private keys. All issues will be fixed eventually.. They've been rolling out about an update a day since Monday.

It was due for a correction, it went up too high too fast. This is not a pump and dump coin though, I have faith it will rebound even higher than before.

No.. what version are you on?

Understatement

I stand corrected.

When I get time I'll read up on it.

No... see bolded


I agree it would be very expensive and it unlikely, but it is still a possibility. Just as a 51% attack on Bitcoin is unlikely and would be very expensive, but it is possible.

I have heard Nxt is improving their PoS implementation, if it works as advertised it should make it much more expensive and pretty much impossible. I am reserving judgement until it is released though, as they are keeping it on the hush hush and not many details are available.

I got voted in, but am just barely in the #91 spot so I could use some more votes.

No worries about not being able to vote for me.. it's all good.

I am glad you found this informative, I try to remain as unbiased as possible.

The only way I can see for the FBI to shut down the Nxt market place would be to buy 51% of the money supply and kill people's trust in Nxt by attacking it. I hope for Nxt's sake they don't do this.. that would be a sad day.

lol

Some people see this as a bad thing.. I don't really care about it though. The government lost the war on drugs a long time ago, but they are in denial. Live and let live in my opinion.. that is what we have been moving towards for a while now in terms of GLBT rights, religion, abortion, and race. It is bound to happen eventually with drugs.. you can already see marijuana being slowly decriminalized (it is already legalized in some places.) Harder drugs may not be legalized in our lifetime, but I am sure that marijuana will be. The government needs to focus on substance abuse treatment rather than throwing people in jail.

Short of killing Nxt itself or going around and putting all the Nxt'ers in jail, there is not much they can do about it. They will likely just go after the vendors, like they do versus silk road and silk road 2.0

+ 5%

Come-from-above, just a couple days ago you were singing BitshareX's praises.

Did you just sell your stake or something? I hope you miss out on the rocket ship ride.

I don't think Bitshares will be taking out Bitcoin anytime soon, but Litecoin damn sure better look.