Mining pool cheating

[stevedekorte]

1) What keeps a miner in a pool from accepting their cut of profits but submitting some % of their discovered blocks themselves instead of within the pool?

I can imagine statistical analysis would reveal it eventually but if the friction of joining a pool is low and anonymous, this doesn't help.

2) Likewise, what keeps a pool operator from not reporting all discovered blocks to all miners?

If all miners in the pool were aware of each other and reported their discovered blocks, then they could avoid this but it's not clear how they would ever be sure their list of miners was complete and there other miners made correct reports.

[ms205]

First impossible because pool not give full information to miner and it can't check result. Only pool can check share and get if it was key to resolve block.
Second way plausible but uncommon - if pool try cheating it noticeable bent statistics. Some miners like to calculate profit and immediately complain it.

[Gabi]

Nothing.

If you don't trust pools, then use p2pool, a decentralized pool, everything is managed by a software  and thus 100% safe.

[qbnphreak]

I'vew noticed some weird mining pool stats too.

Does it make ANY sense, for me to have 2000 shares but only .00000001 in that block, while in another a couple hours later, 2 shares got me .003?

Is this shenanigans, connectivity issues, or what?

[Gabi]

It makes sense, you have to check how much time it took to find this block  And the reward system of the pool etcetc

[ms205]

I'vew noticed some weird mining pool stats too.

Does it make ANY sense, for me to have 2000 shares but only .00000001 in that block, while in another a couple hours later, 2 shares got me .003?

Is this shenanigans, connectivity issues, or what?

Now exist many methods to share 25 BTC for block - may be pool using some score method of profit distribution that give an incentive to 24/7 miners and vice versa?

[stevedekorte]

First impossible because pool not give full information to miner...

Thanks ms205 - that makes sense and solves the miner cheating problem.

Is there a solution to the pool cheating problem?

[stevedekorte]

Nothing.

If you don't trust pools, then use p2pool, a decentralized pool, everything is managed by a software  and thus 100% safe.

Very cool and appropriate for btc. I'll check it out.

Here's the link for other readers:

  http://p2pool.info

[gyverlb]

Nothing.

If you don't trust pools, then use p2pool, a decentralized pool, everything is managed by a software  and thus 100% safe.

Very cool and appropriate for btc. I'll check it out.

Here's the link for other readers:

  http://p2pool.info

If you want to try it, I've made a guide (performance on p2pool is not a given, you often have to work to get it).