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Bitcoin Thefts Surge, DDoS Hackers Take Millions
CowboyRobot writes "In November, Denmark-based Bitcoin Internet Payment System suffered a DDoS attack. Unfortunately for users of the company's free online wallets for storing bitcoins, the DDoS attack was merely a smokescreen for a digital heist that quickly drained numerous wallets, netting the attackers a reported 1,295 bitcoins — worth nearly $1 million — and leaving wallet users with little chance that they'd ever see their money again. Given the potential spoils from a successful online heist, related attacks are becoming more common. But not all bitcoin heists have been executed via hack attacks or malware. For example, a China-based bitcoin exchange called GBL launched in May. Almost 1,000 people used the service to deposit bitcoins worth about $4.1 million. But the exchange was revealed to be an elaborate scam after whoever launched the site shut it down on October 26 and absconded with the funds. The warnings are all the same: 'Don't trust any online wallet', 'Find alternative storage solutions as soon as possible', and 'You don't have to keep your Bitcoins online with someone else. You can store your Bitcoins yourself, encrypted and offline.'"
Pretty soon they'll all be stolen, kinda like land
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Ever wonder why banks can pay less than inflation for savings accounts and still get customers? Government insurance against the bank getting robbed / going broke / just absconding with the cash lets them provide a service that's worth a small cost.
In a way, Bitcoin is a bet that the risk of the government itself being the ones to take your money exceeds the risk that individuals will do so. History shows plenty of risk both ways, but I could certainly see the value in banks offering Eurobitcoin accounts.
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
I do. Encrypt and backup your wallet.dat file. When you restore it, even if it is old, you can rescan the block chain and have all your funds. Except for transfers, why hand your entire wallet to someone? Would you do that on the subway, or in walmart?
Silence is a state of mime.
but I have worked in academic level IT & networking so I know what's going on...
Only at the level of how you store it, not in any aspects of how it works as a currency.
The problem is exchanging Bitcoin for real currency
But in theory you don't need to do that often, the idea is that it is a currency you can accept and use for payments.
It's a bit tricky for me to convert USD into some other currency also, but since I don't do so very often it doesn't matter.
As more places accept BitC for payment that concern becomes much less an issue.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
***UNLESS I CAN SEE IT PLACED IN MY $$$ BANK ACCOUNT IN REAL TIME***
Which goes to show you are missing the point of using it as a currency. A real currency is something you hold onto, not exchange at first opportunity.
You only think you need to do that because you think the exchange rate of BitC against some other currency is too high. Why? Are you SURE about that? Because lots of people were saying the same thing all along, at much lower values. What if BitC doubles in value again? Then you would have been an idiot to exchange it away.
I'm not even a huge BitC proponent, I have only a tiny amount myself. But I can see that worry about the value of BitC against other currencies seems overblown, and there is a constant track-record of underestimating BitC, with every action that is supposed to bring the hammer down on exchange rates (like the closure of Silk Road) having the opposite effect instead. And I see real merchants slowly adopting payment using this currency. If there are enough real objects I can use BitC to buy then I am insulated from swings in value, and it makes more sense to hold than to get rid of right away.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
They *might* be worth more tomorrow. There's no guarantee of that. You will, however, definitely need to eat regularly. Usually spending money is involved in that.
Look at it this way, computers get better all the time. If you wait a while, you can get better value for your money. Somehow, people still buy computers all the time.