Day: August 11, 2017

Underfunded ICOs can still be successful and make investors rich, slowly. The key is finding a promising project with skilled, committed developers.

Locky ransomware has proven to be a persistent form of malware continuing to make headlines regularly. We have now seen yet another major distribution campaign for Locky targeting computer users all over the world. It remains to be seen whether this will be a permanent trend or just a brief attack. The latest variant of this notorious malware to be unleashed upon the world is known as Locky Diablo6.

Locky’s Back With Some New Tools

There are more versions of Locky ransomware than Linux distributions these days. It seems things will not be slowing down in the Locky department any time soon. Instead, we now have a new variant making the rounds, known as Diablo6. The malware variant is currently distributed as part of a malspam campaign targeting computer users around the world. No one will be safe from this new version of Locky. It remains to be seen just how successful the new campaign turns out to be.

The ransomware will encrypt files on infected computers and append the .diablo6 file extension. Emails distributing this malware variant have a subject line which mentions a random number and an attached Word document. It seems like a lot of people may fall for this approach in the long run, as the body of the message simply states that files are attached. People expecting an email containing attachments would certainly be likely to opening these files.

Once the victim downloads the email attachments, they will be greeted with a VBS Downloader script. Said script will then attempt to download the Locky Diablo6 payload from one of many file servers. The developers have put in a fair amount of effort to ensure victims successfully download the malware and have their files encrypted. Indeed, that is how most types of ransomware operate.

This latest Locky will automatically remove its executable file once the encryption process is completed. Additionally, it will display a ransom message which explains how users must proceed. They will need to install the Tor browser in order to access a payment page. Considering how most types of ransomware removed this built-in functionality in recent months, it makes the Diablo6 variant quite intriguing.

Victims of the Locky Diablo6 variant will be required to pay a sum of 0.49 Bitcoin to get their files back. At current prices, that is well over US$1,500 worth of Bitcoin, which is pretty significant. It does not appear that there will be a free decryption tool available anytime soon, which could make Locky Diablo6 one of the more lucrative ransomware types we have seen throughout 2017. Decrypting this ransomware will take security researchers a lot of time.

This new malware variant has the potential to wreak substantial havoc in the coming weeks and months. A dedicated full-blown distribution campaign for Locky Diablo6 would cause many problems for computer users the world over.

Effective immediatly, Bitfinex will no longer verify U.S. customers or allow U.S. customers to trade ERC20 tokens. The exchange will be discontinuing all services to U.S. customers over the next 90 days.

As Africa-related ICOs are booming, SuperDAO touches on why they could be important to one of the continent’s largest markets

Ethereum continues to prove its mettle in an overcrowded cryptocurrency market. Its smart contract technology is among the fastest adopted technologies this year. The newborn tech companies are heavily relying on smart contracts to setup decentralized systems that facilitate, verify and enforce their negotiations or contracts. This has expanded the Ethereum ecosystem at a much … Continue reading BlockCAT Make Smart Contracts Accessible to Everyday Users

The post BlockCAT Make Smart Contracts Accessible to Everyday Users appeared first on NEWSBTC.

Litecoin has proven to be one of the more stable cryptocurrencies in existence today. Even though the currency saw its value increase nearly tenfold in the past year, it has not yet seen a major correction. LTC development is moving forward, and the Litecoin Community Alliance was formed not too long ago. Let’s take a look at what the latter is exactly.

The Litecoin Community Alliance is Recruiting

Promoting Litecoin will require a lot of effort. Merchants and retailers are not too keen on using Bitcoin, let alone venturing into the world of altcoins these days. The companies which do already accept Bitcoin may be more amenable to dealing with LTC payments in the future. As it happens, there are plenty of ways to integrate LTC payments without too many problems. Some cryptocurrency payment processors even support both currencies, making things easier.

The Litecoin Community Alliance was formed to harness the power of the LTC community in developing the business of Litecoin. For the time being, this initiative is still in its very early stages. Without people doing some work, the initiative will not go far. Everyone working for the Litecoin Community Alliance will do it on a pro bono basis and will not receive a financial compensation for their efforts.

Finding volunteers to fill the ranks may prove to be a challenge. The Litecoin community is growing every single month, but there are a lot of people keeping an eye on things just for monetary gains rather than long-term support. However, the people who want to see the LTC price go up can benefit from getting involved with the Litecoin Community Alliance as well. Boosting LTC adoption will eventually make the price go up faster compared to doing nothing and watching charts all day.

The alliance is currently looking to fill a plethora of positions. There are various branches focusing on marketing, public relations, revenue, operations, community outreach, and vision coordination. The structure for this project is pretty professional. All things considered, between 50 and 75 people will be recruited to get things going over the next few months. Anyone who is interested in filling any of these positions can get in touch through Slack or fill in the associated spreadsheet, as outlined in a recent Reddit post.

The Litecoin Community Alliance is not replacing the Litecoin Foundation by any means. Both organizations will follow similar paths in many respects, but it is good to see the community getting more engaged in the future of Litecoin. So far, a dozen positions have been filled already, indicating that the community seems to be taking a liking to this concept. Media coordinators are in high demand right now, and no one has successfully volunteered for this position just yet.

All things considered, the Litecoin Community Alliance could be a valuable initiative. Since no money is changing hands, the effort relies on the goodwill of all participants. Involving cryptocurrency community members in an effort to promote the use of Litecoin to both consumers and retailers will be quite interesting when looking at it as a social experiment. People’s interest in this sort of job tends to wane unless significant progress is made quickly.

Two industry insiders explain how a recent attack on the Parity wallet software has affected their Ethereum-based projects, and how their teams have responded.

Russia’s National Settlement Depository is developing a blockchain platform to provide deposit and settlement service for digital assets.

The post Ethereum Classic Forges Its Own Identity With New Mantis Client appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.

Dr. Toby Walsh, a leading Australian artificial intelligence (AI) scientist, recently warned about the future that AI will produce. He’s issued a call for discussion about the implementation of guidelines that could limit AI’s influence. In his book, It’s Alive!: Artificial Intelligence from the Logic Piano to Killer Robots, Dr. Walsh tells us how he believes the world could change in the next 30 years, according to ABC News.

10. Humans Will Not Be Allowed to Drive

According to Dr. Walsh, roads will be much safer without humans driving drunk, tired, and/or distracted. There will likely be far less congestion as network vehicles constantly service passengers. Transportation will be cheaper and, since autonomous vehicles will be all over the place, most people will not bother to buy a car or even learn how to drive.

9. You Will Have an AI Doctor

By 2050, Dr. Walsh predicts that we will all have a personal AI doctor that knows our vulnerabilities to particular diseases, as well as our gene sequence. Our “doctors” will monitor our blood pressure, sugar levels, hydration, and other factors to make sure we are always healthy. It will even call for help if we faint. AI doctors will be so important, he predicts they are going to be a trillion-dollar business.

8. Hollywood and the Gaming Industry Will Merge

The gaming industry and Hollywood will merge and, through technology, immerse us in hyper-real worlds in which anyone’s avatar can be present, including those of celebrities like Marilyn Monroe. This combined industry will cause major concerns, as there may be addicts that spend most of their time in the virtual world, as well as people who use it for distasteful and illegal activities.

7. Your Boss Will be a Bot

AIs are already starting to take some jobs, but in the future your boss will likely be a bot who has the power to hire and fire you, according to its best judgement. AI systems are expected to increasingly manage our work: they will schedule our activities, approve vacation, monitor our performance, and so on. According to Dr. Walsh, we’ll have to learn to tell computers when some of these things cannot be done, as hiring and firing someone might be over a bot’s head for the time being.

6. Smart Homes Will be Common

In 2050, we will walk into our house and ask it to turn on the lights or read us the news. Some people will resist and live a 20th century-style life, but most of us will have smart fridges, pots, bicycles, and toasters, for example. This essentially means our privacy will be a thing of the past, as AIs will always be listening. As Dr. Walsh stated, “Our privacy, diversity and democracy will be challenged.”

5. There Will be Robot Criminals

Phishing and malware attacks are peanuts compared to what we will see in the future. AI hackers are going to be a lot more effective than human hackers, and will often only be stopped by other AI programs designed to protect us. Those AIs might then be turned around to attack our systems, and this could be one of the biggest challenges we will have to face. According to Dr. Walsh, “Banks [and other companies and governments] will have no choice but to invest more and more in sophisticated AI systems to defend themselves from attack.”

4. Robots Will Beat Us at Sports

After watching every sports competition we have ever recorded, teams filled with AI agents that can calculate every play with precision in a specific sport will use that knowledge to start beating us, just like they did in chess and Go.

AI teams will be so good, even their fans will want to give humans a break, and as such most teams will continue to employ human athletes. Nevertheless, AI systems will change sports management.

3. Cars Will Not be the Only Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous vehicles will be all over the place, and as such safety and efficiency will be significantly improved in the future. Dr. Walsh believes that trains and planes carrying cargo will be the first to go autonomous, but after several safe trips, people will start trusting that AIs are ready to help them move through the skies.

2. News Will Not be Written by Humans

Most articles you read — including this one — are written by humans, but in the future things might not be that way. AI agents are currently capable of writing simple financial and sports stories, but as technology evolves, they will begin to take over the news and humans will soon be out of the business entirely. Avatars and chatbots will start presenting the news on TV, which will be tailored to an individual’s personal preferences. This might not be a good thing, as Dr. Walsh has noted: “There will be ongoing debate about the biases of algorithms, especially when humans take no part in deciding what news we see”

1. We Will Live as Chatbots After We Die

The most disturbing prediction made by Dr. Walsh: after we die, we will leave behind AI chatbots that talk like us, know our life story, and comfort our family. They will be able to read our wills and even help relieve our loved ones’ grief through humor. This will invariably spark a lively debate, as various questions will need to be answered. Who can turn off our bot after we die? Do bots have freedom of speech? Should AI be allowed to engage in political discourse?

Earlier this week, Goldman Sachs, the $90 bln investment banking firm, told its investors and clients that it is becoming more difficult for institutional investors to ignore Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market.