Day: May 14, 2018

These days, we should all be taking our privacy more seriously. The age of near-instant connection and convenience has made it easy to leave one’s personal or sensitive data open to attack vectors. This is one of the reasons why I suggest either purchasing a VPN subscription or making your own (if you have the know-how and necessary tools). A VPN service I’ve switched to recently is VPN.AC. I’ve been using it for about 9 months now.

Security: 5/5

One of the most obvious criteria on which to judge a VPN is the level of its security and the integrity of its ecosystem. VPN.ac was suggested to me by a colleague whom I trust for all things infosec. I was immediately impressed by the choices it provides in actual protocols themselves. Luckily, for those who are less familiar with which protocols are best for their security needs, VPN.AC does a good job at suggesting one to start off with: OpenVPN.

The company behind VPN.AC is actually a Romanian IT security firm, and they continually probe their own security infrastructure to ensure that their clients are getting the best and most secure product possible. I don’t mean to make that sound like marketing speak, but honestly, this is something that is really important to me. When malicious actors don’t sleep, neither should the team you’ve paid to protect you.

No user activity is logged or stored anywhere (Romania actually has pretty robust legislation forbidding that). The only logged items are connections to the VPN service itself for security auditing, which are stored safely and automatically erased once every 24 hours.

Speed: 5/5

This is a pretty short section, but I have never experienced bandwidth or throttling issues with this service in the time I’ve used it – outside of any shortcomings of the Wi-Fi to which I was connected. Since they’re a smaller service, they also don’t have to oversell their bandwidth, resulting in a more consistent experience for their users.

User Interface and Experience: 4/5

The UI is user friendly and easy to figure out. The client on both desktop and mobile are both easy to use and are not obnoxious to look at/use. There’s not much else to say about it, but it also didn’t blow me away.

Pricing and payment: 5/5

The price for using this service is extremely affordable. Their yearly plan is $52.20. Usually I do not like to purchase a subscription beyond this amount of time anyway, as legislation can change and policies can vary.

One of the most exciting aspects of VPN.AC is the sheer number of payment options they have, including crypto. They accept all of the major cryptocurrencies, along with my favorite, Dogecoin.

Overall, I really enjoy this service.

Bitcoin hit a three-week low over the weekend and may be looking at a deeper sell-off below $8,200, price chart analysis indicates.

Bitcoin, blockchain and cryptocurrencies are at the centre of a global tech breakaway from centralized systems to decentralized; the latest big movers to dip their toes in the future technology are Microsoft and Amazon.

Mainstream industry adoption

2018 has proven itself an extraordinarily productive year for the blockchain industry as a whole. During the massive bull run of December 2017, the world could barely take its eyes away from the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

As the dust of the market boom settled through January and February, the global discussion moved away from the literal value of the currency and instead began focusing on how blockchain tech and cryptocurrencies could be part of the modern and future world.

Some of the most definitive and progressive moves have come from major banks and financial institutions which in some regions are struggling to understand and regulate cryptocurrencies, while in other parts of the world, cryptocurrencies are being trialled for “cashless society” projects.

Two of the biggest names in the digital world, Microsoft and Amazon, have begun their foray into blockchain technology. They have entered into the space either due to their curiosities regarding the technology, or because they understand that the technology is an inevitable part of the future.

Multiple approaches from Microsoft

Microsoft has built its success on a centralized system and has not necessarily been a stranger to the blockchain. In 2014, it toyed with Bitcoin payments on the Windows and Xbox stores, but have since been exploring the more technical aspects of the technology beyond that of its monetary value.

In February 2018, Microsoft sought out to solve issues of digital personal data and identity management with blockchain technology. A month later in March, it backed the development of the world’s first blockchain based investment product with its cloud platform, Azure.

More recently, Microsoft displayed its passion for driving innovation by creating a simplified blockchain workbench application development tool on Azure that claims to speed up blockchain-based app creation.

Amazon

The leading e-commerce company has been under pressure for a while to begin accepting cryptocurrencies. Though it doesn’t yet seem ready to do so, Amazon has opened its doors for blockchain related proposals through its cloud computing platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS).

The company that revolutionized the e-commerce industry is setting itself up to be at the front of the race and is investing in blockchain through their partner ecosystem and infrastructure services.

AWS is welcoming proposals from partners who are involved in healthcare and life sciences, supply chain management, security, compliance and are also seeking those who wish to innovate with the company.

It is allowing users to create their blockchain applications via the service with CloudFormation Templates that almost bypasses the longevity of manual blockchain network setups.

A warm embrace

In the face of relentless negativity and speculation, Microsoft and Amazon appear to be on the same track as the rest of the blockchain industry. Despite their views on cryptocurrencies, they seem to have great faith in the technology. Furthermore, their cloud computing services now being tied with ease-of-access tools means that industry innovations can emerge at an even higher rate with Microsoft and Amazon backing them.

Follow BitcoinNews.com on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bitcoinnewscom

Telegram Alerts from BitcoinNews.com at https://t.me/bconews

The post Microsoft and Amazon Embrace Blockchain appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

It has been almost two days without a Bytecoin price pump, but that situation is being rectified as we speak. This seemingly popular altcoin is getting a lot of interest from speculators as of late, even though it remains unclear why that is the case. Thanks to another 26.31% price increase, its value has now shot up to $0.011 once again.

The Bytecoin Price pump Cycle Continues

It is not the first time this month the Bytecoin price becomes massively inflated for no good reason. About a week ago, the price surged from $0.006 to $0.017 despite no real big news being announced or no new use cases coming to the table. Similar to most altcoins, there are very few reasons to own Bytecoin other than speculative reasons and hope things will get better eventually.

Even so, that is not keeping speculators from driving up the Bytecoin price at this stage. With another 26.31% pump in the past 24 hours, this particular altcoin is certainly heading in an interesting direction. Although it only barely holds on to the $0.011 mark right now, it is certainly possible that will not be the highest level for today. The cryptocurrency industry is trying to recover from a rough weekend, but it will not be easy to do so.

As one would come to expect, the Bytecoin price benefits from a strong gain over Bitcoin as well. The BCN/BTC ration has increased by 28.35% in the past 24 hours, which is a pretty interesting development. As long as Bitcoin remains stuck in sideways trading, it is up to the altcoins to drive the total cryptocurrency market cap back toward $400bn. The role of Bytecoin in this specific process has yet to be determined, although this current price trend hints at positive things for the industry as a whole.

With $159.466m in 24-hour trading volume, Bytecoin isn’t doing anything impressive. It is solid volume to keep the current momentum going, nut compared to real top cryptocurrencies, it isn’t anything out of the ordinary. CoinMarketCap still claims BCN suffers from potential wallet issues, although it seems most of those problems have been resolved in the process.

Anyone who guessed how Binance would be the leading trading platform for Bytecoin during this new pump is absolutely correct. Its BTC pair generates 78.32% of all trades, further confirming no one else really cares about BCN. Poloniex is in second place, followed by HitBTC. All three exchanges trade BCN against Bitcoin, but the latter two do so in far less spectacular fashion.

How the Bytecoin price will evolve, is always difficult to predict. It is a market which makes little to no sense right now, but it is certainly possible future gains are a part of the game. If that is indeed the trend, the Bytecoin price can hit $0.015 later today, although it remains to be seen when the bagholders will begin cashing out. Now is a good time to start taking profits, as this momentum will not be sustained much longer.

From bitcoin futures’ impact on spot prices to the rise in hash rate and drop in fees, our latest research report sheds light on a tumultuous Q1.

GIFcoin, short form for Gambling Investment Fund, is backed by an already functioning, profitable business VitalBet.com. The fund recently surpassed its set soft CAP of 5000 ETH after it entered the 5^th stage of the ongoing ICO. VitalBet is a fully operational regulated online gambling portal, featuring popular casino, live casino, eSports, and virtual sports game offerings.

The recent milestone, achieved on April 25, 2018 comes amid a bearish crypto-market. It signifies that the project is on the right track with its product development and offering, while maintaining transparency throughout. The GIFcoin team has been actively sharing live updates with the community which is essential to build trust among the cryptocurrency community members.

The ongoing crowdsale, in its 5^th stage, is offering an exclusive bonus of 15% to the participants.

The Recipe to Impressive Token Sale

The cryptocurrency industry has been under tremendous stress since the beginning of 2018. The bullish market that continued through the last quarter of 2017 suddenly inverted, causing massive fluctuations in cryptocurrency values. The situation has been dire, especially during the months of February and March. The uncertainties associated with the bearish market, combined with low cryptocurrency prices, almost eliminated the possibility of profitable investments until the GIFcoin token sale came along. Unlike other ICOs, the GIF price is set against ETH instead of fiat equivalent, which provided an opportunity for many to invest their crypto holdings in a project with a potential for long-term returns.

Uniqueness of GIFcoin and VitalBet Rebranding

It has become a common practice for projects to run token sale campaigns armed with no more than a website and a whitepaper describing the idea. Compared to such projects, GIFcoin is among the very few which have an existing profitable business operation to initiate an ICO.

VitalBet, the online gambling platform behind GIFcoin, has years of operational history, which, combined with unprecedented transparency and the future market potential in the gambling industry, has made investing in the crowdsale an attractive proposition.

The team behind VitalBet and GIFcoin are already working on their project roadmap, much before the ICO has come to an end. Recently, the project completed one of its roadmap goals by releasing a major update on its VitalBet platform, which is now rebranded to Buff88. The newly-released version of the platform comes with a slick design and top-notch user experience as promised in the roadmap.

Buff88 is created by focusing on the mindset of gamers. It includes an easy-to-use layout and betting options that are designed to entice both experienced as well as rookie players. With an attractive logo, and a catchy brand name, the platform allows players to place bets on over 25+ eSports.  Another roadmap milestone achieved by the platform includes the inclusion of support for multiple cryptocurrencies. Players can deposit funds through BTC, ETH, LTC and 50 other altcoins.

GIF Token

GIF Token is a unit of investment in the Gambling Investment Fund. Those purchasing the tokens during the crowdsale gain an opportunity to earn passive income over the years to come. With a potential long-term, sustainable growth in sight, the platform is aiming to attain the hard cap of 24,000 ETH with the support of interested participants.  Unlike other cryptocurrencies, the value of GIF tokens is connected to high growth-rate online gambling market, which makes its appreciation in value a certainty.

With the token sale proceeding in full-swing, potential investors, cryptocurrency enthusiast and ardent gamblers have a limited period opportunity to become part of VitalBet’s monumental growth story.

To know more about the platform, and participate in the GIFcoin crowdsale, please visit https://www.gifcoin.io.

The post Gifcoin Crowdsale Surpasses Soft Cap, Updates Roadmap and Rebrands VitalBet to buff88 appeared first on NewsBTC.

US retail giant Walmart has filed a patent with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to secure technology tools for receiving packages from autonomous ground vehicles (AGVs) in the future, reports a leading crypto news site.

According to the patent, automated vehicles could one day deliver packages for Walmart using blockchain technology. The patent is concerned primarily with receipt of goods at the point of delivery allowing automated vehicles to have safe access for the AVG’s on arrival.

Walmart (WMT) filed for two more blockchain technology patents in April, one for secure payments and another for digital shopping systems. In March, Walmart filed for a “Smart Package” blockchain patent allowing tracking of contents and environmental conditions from point of origin to delivery. That patent states that Walmart technology will record the “key addresses” along the chain and will be used with robotic delivery methods like autonomous vehicles and drones.

Blockchain promises a solution to address many of the complexities of the supply chain industry. Payment between suppliers, vendors, and customers often take days to get processed. Freight passes through multiple destinations before delivery and the traceability of the despatched goods during transport often lacks transparency.

Although much of the patent doesn’t refer specifically to the technology itself, WMT does refer to a blockchain solution enabling for “authentication-based access and encryption” allowing for delivery to restricted areas. The patent application states:

“When a customer interacts with a product, the customer is permitted to do so via a private or public authentication key. In response, new blocks may be added to subsequent root blocks, which will contain information relating to the date and time a product delivered by the AGV was accessed, as well as the authentication key that accessed the product.”

The futuristic patent sees a time when delivery systems are fully automated, cutting cost to customers and delivering a more accurate and efficient service using blockchain. Walmart envisages a significant reduction in running costs due to the vehicles not requiring a driver.

Walmart itself currently shares a blockchain platform with Nestle, Dole Food, Tyson Foods, Kroger and JD.com. This latest application sees the company looking into the distant future with blockchain supporting its innovations.

Follow BitcoinNews.com on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bitcoinnewscom

Telegram Alerts from BitcoinNews.com at https://t.me/bconews

The post Future Focus with Walmart’s Latest Blockchain Patent appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Filament announced Monday that its blockchain-native semiconductor is now available in a USB form factor.

Federated Investors vice president and portfolio manager Steve Chivarone, ranked blockchain in the top five key technologies that will drive what he called “this next industrial revolution” in an interview with CHBC on 11 May.

Chivarone went on to comment that blockchain would be an “economic growth driver” along with automation robotics, AI and the Internet of Things (IoT), according to Cointelegraph. The Pittsburg-based company VP continued:

“When you think about it from an enterprise perspective, it has the ability to replace reconciliation, which is expensive and requires back-office and time and paperwork with more instantaneous verification […] that will allow cost to be cut and that savings [sic] to be passed along.”

He suggested that banks such as Bank of America investing heavily in blockchain and companies like Nvidia and Intel producing computer chips used in mining illustrated how investors could “play” the potential of the new technology.

DLT is becoming more attractive to big companies and banking institutions with what Fortune describes as “laudable goals — speed, lower cost, security, fewer errors, and the elimination of central points of attack and failure. These models don’t necessarily involve a cryptocurrency for payments”.  Fortune argues that it is the “Bitcoin model” that could have the most impact:

“Each blockchain, like the one that uses Bitcoin, is distributed: it runs on computers by volunteers around the world; there is no central database to hack. The blockchain is public: anyone can view it at any time because it resides on the network, not within a single institution charged with auditing transactions and keeping records.”

On 8 May, two United States House Subcommittees concluded that blockchain technology could be used in diverse areas, from US Customs and Border Protection to cyber-security, despite its current lack of industry-wide standards.

Follow BitcoinNews.com on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bitcoinnewscom

Telegram Alerts from BitcoinNews.com at https://t.me/bconews

The post Blockchain to Drive Companies in Next Industrial Revolution, Says US Mutual Fund VP appeared first on BitcoinNews.com.

Cyber attacks are a very big problem in day and age. In a lot of cases, such threats are designed to steal sensitive information from companies and service providers. Australia’s Family Planning NSW recently fell victim to such an attack which saw thousands of patients almost having their sensitive details exposed. The criminals demanded a Bitcoin ransom for the sum of AU$15,000.

The Family Planning NSW Attack Explained

Family Planning NSW is one of the largest sexual health providers in Australia. They serve thousands of clients throughout the country. It also means the organization wields a lot of sensitive information, which poses a big target for hackers and other criminals. A recent cyber attack exposed a few weaknesses in the organization’s website, which left their databases vulnerable. To this day, it remains unclear if anyone effectively had their details exposed in the process.

According to company officials, the attack was never about data theft. Instead, the hackers demand a Bitcoin ransom after infiltrating the website. With numerous attacks happening around the time period, the ulterior motive remains rather unclear. In the ransom message, the attackers threatened to shut down the Family Planning NSW website altogether.

Paying AU$15,000 in ransom is a rather steep amount. There was a timer on the website which showed the amount of time left to make the payment. It is unclear if the ransom has been paid at this stage. The Family Planning NSW website has been shut down to prevent any future attacks or discrepancies. The security weakness used for the previous attack has been addressed as well.

Bitcoin Ransom Requests Remain an Issue

Over the past few years, there has been an influx of criminal activity demanding a Bitcoin ransom. This trend has become most apparent in the malware industry. Various strains of ransomware will lock users out of their computers and won’t restore access until a Bitcoin payment is made. Even so, paying the ransom is no guarantee for getting one’s files unlocked once again.

To many people, Bitcoin has sufficient anonymity features to evade law enforcement scrutiny. That is not entirely correct, as blockchain analysis can be applied to Bitcoin transactions. With this method, officials can track down Bitcoin users sooner or later. It is not a viable tool for criminals by any means. Even so, the correlation between Bitcoin and criminal activity has not slowed down in the slightest.

Attacks such as the one against Family Planning NSW show a lot of online platforms need to beef up their security. For the time being, the Australian Federal Police is still investigating the matter. No internal medical records were exposed, but several databases have been compromised in the end. It is an unfortunate incident, but until website security is improved in general, issues like these will remain a problem.

The post Australian Health Service Provider Asked to Pay $15,000 Bitcoin Ransom appeared first on NewsBTC.