Alternative Block Chains : be safe!

[smoothie]

Was there one except LTC that wasn't a pure scam?

LTC was either scam or folly. Remember, undisclosed ability to mine with GPUs... No other additional features except the one surrounding the scam/folly.

As acknowledged by insane critics such as LukeJr, The only legitimate altcoin is PPCoin.

Proof or STFU. 

[bitcool]

Was there one except LTC that wasn't a pure scam?

LTC was either scam or folly. Remember, undisclosed ability to mine with GPUs... No other additional features except the one surrounding the scam/folly.

As acknowledged by insane critics such as LukeJr, The only legitimate altcoin is PPCoin.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Does it contain any abstract reasoning concerning quantity or number? No. Does it contain any experimental reasoning concerning matter of fact and existence? No. Commit it then to the flames: for it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion.  - David Hume

[cunicula]

Proof or STFU.  

Was there one except LTC that wasn't a pure scam?

LTC was either scam or folly. Remember, undisclosed ability to mine with GPUs... No other additional features except the one surrounding the scam/folly.

As acknowledged by insane critics such as LukeJr, The only legitimate altcoin is PPCoin.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Does it contain any abstract reasoning concerning quantity or number? No. Does it contain any experimental reasoning concerning matter of fact and existence? No. Commit it then to the flames: for it can contain nothing but sophistry and illusion.  - David Hume

In this case, I am opting for STFU. We will have to wait for the results of the experiments for more evidence.

[ATC777]

Why can't any number of alt chains and Bitcoin all get along? There are numerous fiat currencies in the world, from the Swiss Franc to the Singapore dollar. The way we handle them is by exchange rates (duh). Bitcoin, Litecoin and possibly hundreds or thousands of others can all live in the same world and be traded in the future. Why couldn't there be as many crypto-currencies as their are stocks traded on global exchanges? There can be, if you ask me. And as with stocks, people will have to examine the merits of each one individually and decide which ones are worth "investing" in. In fact, I think it's better this way. Newer and better types of currency can replace the old and an ultra-modern economy can flourish without the need for centralized fiat currencies.  

That being said, I'm actually speculating on exchange rates between alternate cryptos, Bitcoin and fiat currencies... I'm a FOREX trader, so I can't help myself. If I told you what I was doing you might think it a "high-stakes gamble", but I'm not risking what I can't afford to lose and the payoff could be huge. I do the same sort of thing with risky S&P 500 and VIX futures/options, so why not crypto currencies? If you know what you're doing, speculation pays...

[dishwara]

Why can't any number of alt chains and Bitcoin all get along? There are numerous fiat currencies in the world, from the Swiss Franc to the Singapore dollar. The way we handle them is by exchange rates (duh). Bitcoin, Litecoin and possibly hundreds or thousands of others can all live in the same world and be traded in the future. Why couldn't there be as many crypto-currencies as their are stocks traded on global exchanges? There can be, if you ask me. And as with stocks, people will have to examine the merits of each one individually and decide which ones are worth "investing" in. In fact, I think it's better this way. Newer and better types of currency can replace the old and an ultra-modern economy can flourish without the need for centralized fiat currencies. 

That being said, I'm actually speculating on exchange rates between alternate cryptos, Bitcoin and fiat currencies... I'm a FOREX trader, so I can't help myself. If I told you what I was doing you might think it a "high-stakes gamble", but I'm not risking what I can't afford to lose and the payoff could be huge. I do the same sort of thing with risky S&P 500 and VIX futures/options, so why not crypto currencies? If you know what you're doing, speculation pays...

The first simple problem needs to solve is Trust.
Fiat currencies backed by government of any country, which print(makes) them.
Bitcoin is not backed by anyone, except the developers, miners & this forum for some extent.
& most of the trusted members showed their true face, which was ugly.
Trust needs more time to evolve.

[franky1]

the reason FIAt currencies kind of get along (ignoring the many wards between countries) is because they have their own clearly defined consumer base of users. separated by country borders but allowed to trade across those borders.

the problem with alternative crypto currencies is that we all belong to the same.. well, virtual country. all fighting for the same population base of 150k average users. there's no clear niche markets that separate the different currencies.

this is why i think bitcoin should remain in the non regulated, anonymous, illegal trade business predominantly, thus avoid any threat that it will ever become regulated.

and allow litecoin which has not got the same anonymity desires, to become a more regulated currency to go mainstream. basically make bitcoin the amsterdam currency for all its porn/drugs and fire arms. and litecoin the virtual equivelent to GBP/USD

bitcoin is fighting itself to go mainstream yet its main users dont want the mainstream regulations that come with it.. so why change its main purpose. allow other alt currencies like litecoin to do the main stream stuff.. and then traders can use the exchanges to dip in and out of the differing territories.

[smoothie]

the reason FIAt currencies kind of get along (ignoring the many wards between countries) is because they have their own clearly defined consumer base of users. separated by country borders but allowed to trade across those borders.

the problem with alternative crypto currencies is that we all belong to the same.. well, virtual country. all fighting for the same population base of 150k average users. there's no clear niche markets that separate the different currencies.

this is why i think bitcoin should remain in the non regulated, anonymous, illegal trade business predominantly, thus avoid any threat that it will ever become regulated.

and allow litecoin which has not got the same anonymity desires, to become a more regulated currency to go mainstream. basically make bitcoin the amsterdam currency for all its porn/drugs and fire arms. and litecoin the virtual equivelent to GBP/USD

bitcoin is fighting itself to go mainstream yet its main users dont want the mainstream regulations that come with it.. so why change its main purpose. allow other alt currencies like litecoin to do the main stream stuff.. and then traders can use the exchanges to dip in and out of the differing territories.

Major bitcoin investors/early adopters dont want the status quoto change, hence all the hating on alt chains.

[nyusternie]

this is why i think bitcoin should remain in the non regulated, anonymous, illegal trade business predominantly, thus avoid any threat that it will ever become regulated.

and allow litecoin which has not got the same anonymity desires, to become a more regulated currency to go mainstream. basically make bitcoin the amsterdam currency for all its porn/drugs and fire arms. and litecoin the virtual equivelent to GBP/USD

why doesn't litecoin have the same anonymity desires? they "seem" almost identical

i can only expect that once the regulations kick in, they will affect ALL coins. currently AML seems to be the only regulation that really gets enforced. but more will follow

Major bitcoin investors/early adopters dont want the status quoto change, hence all the hating on alt chains.

from a technical view, these alt coins provide a great way to real-world test new technologies (in a way testnet cannot). successes can then be implemented back into btc. seems like a win-win

[nanopene]

Why can't any number of alt chains and Bitcoin all get along? There are numerous fiat currencies in the world, from the Swiss Franc to the Singapore dollar. The way we handle them is by exchange rates (duh). Bitcoin, Litecoin and possibly hundreds or thousands of others can all live in the same world and be traded in the future. Why couldn't there be as many crypto-currencies as their are stocks traded on global exchanges? There can be, if you ask me. And as with stocks, people will have to examine the merits of each one individually and decide which ones are worth "investing" in. In fact, I think it's better this way. Newer and better types of currency can replace the old and an ultra-modern economy can flourish without the need for centralized fiat currencies.  

That being said, I'm actually speculating on exchange rates between alternate cryptos, Bitcoin and fiat currencies... I'm a FOREX trader, so I can't help myself. If I told you what I was doing you might think it a "high-stakes gamble", but I'm not risking what I can't afford to lose and the payoff could be huge. I do the same sort of thing with risky S&P 500 and VIX futures/options, so why not crypto currencies? If you know what you're doing, speculation pays...

Because we have one planet, so far.

The multitude of currencies is because of the multitude of countries that force them to issue their own national currency, but that has been changing with the evolution of free trade areas and further evolution in the creation of monetary unions, which further reduced the number of currencies in circulation: namely the Euro, which ended up replacing 17 currencies in Europe. Central and West Africa have Economic and Monetary Union, which comprises 14 countries in Africa using CFA francs. The North American Union, proposing a new currency the Amero for Canada, US and Mexico (not implemented yet), and soon the Sucre currency for the Alba, replacing 8 currencies.
It is an evolutionary trend, the better the interrelationships, more common markets, more economic unions and more monetary unions, implies less national currencies we'll have in the future. In short, this world is becoming globalized.

Bitcoin doesn't belong to any country nor region, it is global by default.
It is unnecessary to have many digital currencies when they don't have a clear differentiating purpose.
Let me remind you the purpose of money: a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value.

If you are cheering the creation of alternative cryptocurrencies solely for speculation, then such currency is sterile from the get go.
That's when we'll have our first tulipmania and we will ALL suffer, even the BTC will take a hit damaging the reputation that has been building painstakingly.

[enquirer]

Thank you Gavin.

The only things I might add is that "use a different password" isn't limited to exchanges, but applies to forums, emails, and even pools , and that some antivirus heuristics seem to hate anything that has mining code in it and isn't explicitly whitelisted.

Having different and strong password on each site can be achieved by only one method: using a master password like lastpass. And master password is a huge security risk. To access a low-security site you need to put at risk all of your data. If a keylogger gets your master password, all your bases immediately belong to the hacker. Yes, there is 2factor auth, but I bet 99% of master password users dont have it.

[shamaniotastook]

Thank you Gavin.

The only things I might add is that "use a different password" isn't limited to exchanges, but applies to forums, emails, and even pools , and that some antivirus heuristics seem to hate anything that has mining code in it and isn't explicitly whitelisted.

Having different and strong password on each site can be achieved by only one method: using a master password like lastpass. And master password is a huge security risk. To access a low-security site you need to put at risk all of your data. If a keylogger gets your master password, all your bases immediately belong to the hacker. Yes, there is 2factor auth, but I bet 99% of master password users dont have it.

OAuth +1

[Dabs]

Having two different passwords for each alt-coin or website isn't that hard. You could do all the generating on an offline computer (where you probably have your offline transaction signing bitcoin client, like Armory).

All new passwords for new websites, get to be typed by hand. 12 to 16 characters ought to be enough for a start, then when you get more serious about it, you can extend your password or passphrase length.

I consider my office desk and my home table secure enough that I can write down whatever password I needed on paper. Offline. Or, as Bruce Schneier says, stick it in your real life wallet.

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2005/06/write_down_your.html

[ProfMac]

vmware is so hard to use

Virtualbox is pretty easy and works great. Its also free.

I use virtualbox

[jmfg187]

I personally use LastPass but my password for LastPass is a 20 character random pass with symbols included so I highly doubt it will be getting cracked very easily.

[kano]

I personally use LastPass but my password for LastPass is a 20 character random pass with symbols included so I highly doubt it will be getting cracked very easily.

Unless someone finds where you wrote it down

Or ... http://xkcd.com/538/

... or you forget it coz it is 'random' ... if it is random, then your memory is clearly good enough to not bother using any storage for passwords

[jmfg187]

I did have to keep it on a notepad for the first few days but after that I memorized it and it is only in my head.

[BitshireHashaway]

Great advice, thank you, I was looking at getting into some newer cryptocurrencies and wanted to make sure that I would stay safe and couldn't get Trojans or other viruses from it.

[digicoins]

Thanks for the heads up!

[BlockChains]

Guys, there is no point in GPU-mining in VMs!

Alternative chains with GPU-based miners are compatible with standard (trusted) miners that don't need to be virtualized. This means you only need to run the (untrusted) alternative chain app in a VM, and expose its RPC port to the network where the physical miners are running...

Could you please expand on this bit more? (I'm pretty new to VirtualBox) I set up VirtualBox with Windows 7 in a host OS that's Windows 8. The windows 8 machine is my miner and I can't figure out how to get the config to point my solomine to my CHNcoin wallet on the Guest OS.  When I go to ipconfig on the VirtualBox it has an ipv6 address and an ipv4 address that is 10.x.x.x (there are numbers where the x's are). So in my conf file when I run my CHN coin wallet as server do I use the rpcallowip as the 10.x.x.x address and then set my cgminer to point to that as my url?  Will I have to configure anything else in VirtualBox to let the miner through to the ports?

[BlockChains]

If anybody is reading this and also wants to solo mine with virtual box for safety I used this and it worked.

Many alt-coin/modded/patched clients are very interesting but less than fully trustworthy,
and VirtualBox has no good GPU support.

So, for solo mining the miner should run on the physical host machine and connect to the client
in the virtual machine, via "virtual box port forwarding".
Expert level manuals are easy to find, but is there a simple step-by-step howto for beginners?


Very short version would be like:

-Miner: connect to localhost 127.0.0.1 and to some unused port xxxx.

-VBox network settings (for this virtual machine): networking mode: NAT (default)
                                            port forwarding: host IP <empty>
                                                                    host port <the unused port xxxx>
                                                                    guest IP <empty>
                                                                    guest port <the actual rpc port>

-in config file for client in guest machine: rpcallowip=*

This should do it. Guest firewall (in its default state, tested on Linux mint and Win7) is mostly harmless.

The asterisk in rpcallowip is literal. In the conf file put that exactly with the asterisk.