Protecting Bitcoin Escrow Wallet

Over the past few years, we have seen numerous threats to the security of data stored virtually and also to data in transfer during the execution of commercial transactions. With the increasing importance of cryptocurrencies like bitcoins, here are some tips on how we can protect your virtual wallet.

Bitcoin: a safe option?

It’s fair to say that of all the protocols for virtual currency transactions, Bitcoin has been the most successful in standing out and establishing its name in popular economic jargon. Since its early days, this system has demonstrated advantages in terms of security, as well as weaknesses that have been subject to heated debate after various attacks on Bitcoin.

One of the most famous recent incidents was the attack on the bitcoin exchange script, Bitstamp. On this occasion, 19,000 BTC were stolen after the virtual wallets belonging to the exchange were compromised. The equivalent value of the resulting loss amounted to an astonishing USD 5 million.
In a previous article, we mentioned Pony Loader 2.0, a Trojan capable of locating and robbing wallets stored on an infected system. This time, the threat was not limited to the theft of bitcoins, but it also sought to take cryptocurrencies from other protocols, such as Litecoin.

Read More @ http://www.welivesecurity.com/2015/03/03/10-tips-protecting-virtual-bitcoin-wallet/

Things to know about Bitcoin Escrow Script Language

Scripting language is simple, as well as the core of bitcoin escrow script processing. If you ever wrote assembly 

code you’ll find this article very easy to understand –probably entertaining – otherwise it might well be one of the most challenging. Keep focused!

Meet machine code

A script is a computer program, and as a programmer you certainly know what a program is. A program takes an input, executes for some time, then returns an output. Programming languages are our tool to write programs that 

computers will understand, because most languages come with compilers that map human-friendly code to CPU operations, also known as opcodes.

Read More @ http://davidederosa.com/basic-blockchain-programming/bitcoin-script-language-part-one

It's Still a Pain to Buy and Sell Bitcoins

What is a bitcoin worth? It’s not meant to be a philosophical question, the kind bandied around by intrigued 
economists, crypto-advocates, and grumpy skeptics as Bitcoin continues to grow. But even the simplest question about Bitcoin's 
value—how many dollars can you exchange a bitcoin for?—doesn't have a straight forward answer.

Based on numbers from last night, if you were to buy a bitcoin from the Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, considered the OG Bitcoin exchange, a bitcoin would cost $1168. Over in Slovenia, where the 
BitStamp exchange is located, the equivalent digital coin ran $1062, over $100 cheaper. On BTC China, the largest exchange in the world by volume, the last bitcoin traded at ¥6,634, which is about $1,089. 

For what is theoretically a borderless currency, Bitcoin’s value is hugely impacted by its geographical location. That fact hints at an old problem still facing Bitcoin: while the currency itself may be decentralized, actually buying 

bitcoins largely means trading currencies through a few large exchanges.

Read More @ http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/its-still-a-pain-to-buy-and-sell-bitcoins