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Cloud Computing Testbed Chameleon Renewed for Second Phase – HPCwire

September 6, 2017 | Author: admin

Sept. 5 Cloud computing lies behind many of todays most popular technologies, from streaming video and music to e-mail and chat services to storing and sharing family photos. Since 2015, theChameleontestbed has helped researchers push the potential of cloud computing even further, finding novel scientific applications and improving security and privacy.

A new grant from the National Science Foundation will extend Chameleons mission for another three years, allowing the project led by University of Chicago with partners at theTexas Advanced Computing Center(TACC), Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), and Northwestern University to enter its next phase of cloud computing innovation. Upgrades to hardware and services as well as new features will help scientists rigorously test new cloud computing platforms and networking protocols.

The $10 million renewal will be officially announced at the inauguralChameleon User Meeting, taking place September 13-14 at Argonne National Laboratory.

In phase one we built a testbed, but in phase two were going to transform this testbed into a scientific instrument, saidKate Keahey, Argonne computer scientist, Computation Institute fellow, and Chameleon project PI. Were going to extend the capabilities that allow users to keep a record of their experiments in Chameleon and provide new services that allow them to build more repeatable experiments.

The new features build upon the projects original philosophies of flexibility and transparency, which provided users with a large-scale, ~600-node cloud infrastructure with bare metal reconfiguration privileges. This unique level of access allows researchers to go beyond limited development on existing commercial or scientific clouds, offering a customizable platform to create and test entirely new cloud computing architectures.

In its first phase, this powerful resource supported advanced work in computer science areas such as cybersecurity, OS design and power management. With Chameleon, scientists could realisticallysimulate cyberattacksupon cloud computing systems to improve their defenses, train students tosearch high-resolution telescope imagesfor undiscovered exoplanets, and develop machine learning algorithms that automatically determinethe most energy-efficient task assignment schemesfor large data centers.

Many of these projects benefited from Chameleon features that allow them to extract detailed, precise data about system performance and status during usage. To further support the conduct of reproducible science, the Chameleon team will make it even easier for scientists to gather and use this information.

Everything in the testbed is a recorded event, but right now the information about those events is in various different places, Keahey said. Were going to make it very easy for users to have a record of everything that was happening on the testbed resources that they used, and well also provide services to replay those experiments.

Additional phase two landmarks include new hardware, including additional racks at UChicago and TACC, infusion of highly-contested resources such as GPUs, and Corsa network switches. The new Corsa switches enable experimentation with software-defined networking (SDN) within a Chameleon site as well as extending individual SDN experiments across the wide-area to include resources from either Chameleon site or even from other compatible testbeds, such as NSF GENI.

New hardware will be complemented by new capabilities allowing users to define entirely new classes of experiments. For the second phase, new team members from RENCI with significant expertise developing such capabilities will join the existing Chameleon team based at UChicago, TACC, and Northwestern University.

On the software side, the Chameleon team will package CHI (CHameleon Infrastructure), the software operating Chameleon, based primarily on the open-sourceOpenStackproject to which the University of Chicago team made substantial contributions. Packaging the Chameleon operational model will allow others to create their own experimental clouds easily.

Whether somebody wants to provide a Chameleon resource or create their own experimental testbed, CHI will make it very easy for them Keahey said. It is based on a widely used open source system that is increasingly popular in scientific data centers and thus easy to adopt. Ultimately, we would like to make testbeds for Computer Science research cost-effective to operate.

The project will also look to expand their community through outreach events, including workshops, online tutorials, and Septembers user meeting. In addition to training scientists in the use of Chameleon and gathering feedback for future improvements, these events will also be an opportunity for defining the future of cloud computing science, Keahey said.

We would like to go beyond simply providing resources, and give the community the opportunity to focus on experimental methodology in computer science: how to improve it, how to control it, and how to make experimental computer science less about logistics and more about the science.

Source: Computation Institute & The University of Chicago

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Cloud Computing Testbed Chameleon Renewed for Second Phase - HPCwire

The Software Alliance Advances Discussion on India’s Cloud Computing Policy – ETAuto.com

September 6, 2017 | Author: admin

Utilizing cloud computing technologies can allow organizations to reduce their information technology spending, whilst harnessing networking innovations to seamlessly offer efficient, accountable, and effective governance.New Delhi: The Software Alliance today will hold a conference, BSA Cloud Computing Roundtable: Successes and Policy Challenges, to promote understanding of global best practices around public and private partnerships and cloud service deployment.

The roundtable will bring together technical experts and representatives from the industry, trade associations, civil society, and academia with an aim to align business, technical, and policy discussions on cloud adoption and encourage the development of Indias digital infrastructure.

The first session of the roundtable focuses on sharing examples of cloud use by governments around the world and India with an aim to understand the merits and learnings from those respective examples, while the second session covers challenges and concerns in terms of cloud related policies from a forward-looking perspective.

Also Read: BorgWarners HVH Motor Technology ElectrifiesScania Hybrid Bus

BSA is committed to contributing to initiatives that advance cloud computing in India, said Jared Ragland, Senior Director, Policy APAC.

We hope this event will encourage a constructive dialog around implementing a transparent and predictable policy environment which is essential for businesses, consumers, and the public sector to leverage the full benefits of cloud computing and partake in the growing digital economy.

Originally posted here:
The Software Alliance Advances Discussion on India's Cloud Computing Policy - ETAuto.com

How to: Your essential guide to internet security – PC Authority

September 5, 2017 | Author: admin

How can you stay safe on the internet?

The internet is a fickle beast. On the one hand, we now have access to the sum total of human knowledge (and human opinion) at our fingertips across an incredible range of devices. On the other, its opened us up to a whole new world of crime, where scammers are waiting seemingly round every corner.

But just because a threat is out there, doesnt mean you must inevitably be vulnerable to it.

Here are some simple steps to ensure both you and your business remain safe on the internet.

Running internet security software on your endpoints (computers, mobile devices, tablets, etc) is the simplest place to start with a project like this.

Most of the well-known antivirus firms, such as Kaspersky Lab, Symantec and AVG, have dedicated internet security products for both individuals and small to medium businesses (SMBs). They include features such as warning you if a page isnt secure, which is particularly important if youre going to be entering sensitive personal data, or if a page is trying to redirect you, as well as protection againstmalwaredownloads, includingransomware.

This type of software should ideally be used in conjunction with other on-deviceanti-malware programs.

Large enterprises will likely have dedicated security resources - either in the form of an individual or team - which should be leading internet security efforts and monitoring. For these businesses, an off-the-shelf solution is unlikely to be suitable. Instead, they should liaise with vendors and/or security-focused managed service providers to develop a system thats suitable for them.

Security appliances are a must, particularly for businesses with a large corporate network. The most fundamental of these is the firewall, which filters web traffic to try and prevent malware or malicious actors gaining access to the internal network. There are also email protection systems, and secure web gateway solutions that also offer protection for other internet-connected systems, such as instant messaging programmes.

If your organisation has IoT devices that are connected to the public internet, you should be paying particular attention to finding systems that can protect these end points as well, as their built-in security may not be as strong as those on PCs, laptops or mobile devices.

Educating the rest of the business is a key component of the internet security process for businesses.

The entire business should be encouraged to take a sceptical better safe than sorry approach, particularly as workers are one of the most common ways malicious actors gain entry to corporate systems.

For example, genuine-looking messages can be laden with hidden traps, like documents or PDFs containing malicious payloads or links to infected websites a technique commonly known asphishingor, when someone like the CEO or CFO is targeted, whaling.

Users should be told that if they receive an email from the finance department asking to double check this invoice, for example, they shouldnt be afraid to ask for more details about the contents before opening it. Even better, if your company uses an instant message platform, such asSkype for Business,Slackor Yammer, users should be encouraged to contact the sender directly there to double check. Similarly, the entire organisation must be trained to be receptive to this belt and braces approach and not become irritated with colleagues who are doing the best thing for the security of the business.

Similarly, if the email comes from a supplier or customer and includes an attachment or link, its better for the recipient to call them up for clarification or details than to blindly click the link out of a sense of typical dont make a fuss sentiment.

Users should also be aware of potential phone scams, particularly if the caller claims to be from Microsoft Support or similar, or the bank.

The IT department, perhaps in collaboration with HR, should be responsible keeping users up to date with the latest policies and best practices and encouraging individuals to come forward with any questions or concerns.

Everyone is confident in their own ability to create an infallible system, but theres really only one way to be sure your defences hold up under stress get someone to attack them. This will test any technical measures youve put in place, like security software, fire breaks and so on, as well as the efficacy of any training thats been put in place.

There are businesses and individuals that specialise in penetration testing who can be brought in as independent consultants. Alternatively, many security vendors also offer this service, but it may be more useful to use them before you roll out their software than after.

This kind of activity shouldnt be a one-off, however. The security landscape is ever-evolving, with new threats and methods of attack appearing all the time. This kind of drill should be carried out at least once a year to identify any areas of weakness you need to improve upon.

Sometimes, the worst happens and your business should be prepared for this eventuality. Nobody wants to be left trying to figure out whos responsible for notifying the CEO that an attack is taking place once its already underway.

A data breach response plan should include the names and contact details of the people who will be involved in responding to a breach, whether its an attack in progress or one thats over by the time its discovered. This will include members of the IT team and the CTO, who should all have defined roles, as well as the data protection officer (DPO).

In a larger business, this will also include a dedicated person (for example, the CTOs PA), who is responsible for contacting the companys legal team and, if appropriate, PR agency/crisis comms team.

Finally, make sure you keep yourself up to date with the latest security news and best practices fromreliable sources.

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How to: Your essential guide to internet security - PC Authority

25% Upside Seen In Palo Alto, Argus Research Upgrades To Buy – Benzinga

September 5, 2017 | Author: admin

Analysts at Argus turned bullish on Palo Alto Networks Inc (NYSE: PANW) as the integrated internet security solutions provider showed in its earnings report that it has moved past prior problems. The firm's Joseph Bonner upgrades Palo Alto's stock rating from Hold to Buy with a $183 price target.

Various sales execution issues apparent in the past few quarters have now been fixed, Bonner commented in his upgrade note. As such, the company finished its fiscal 2017 year on a positive note and successfully delivered product refresh cycles while adding new services to its portfolio of offerings.

Meanwhile, Palo Alto's management team is very active in taking advantage of emerging trends, highlighted by its 2017 acquisition of an Israel-based security machine-learning analytics company called LightCyber, the analyst continued. In fact, automated security analytics based on machine learning will prove to become a key trend across the entire cybersecurity industry and Palo Alto could boast a leadership position in this area (see Bonner's track record here).

Palo Alto could also prove to be another industry-leading innovator through the planned introduction of its "Application Framework."

Finally, investors could also be attracted to the stock as there is always the possibility of it being acquired by a larger tech player although there is no sign of any offer being on the table now, Bonner noted.

ATC Coin Review: ATCC altcoin with massively inflated …

September 5, 2017 | Author: admin

ATC Coin provide no information about who owns or runs the business on the company website.

The ATC Coin website domain (atccoin.com) was privately registered on March 1st, 2017.

A page on the ATC Coin website titled legends involvement claims Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Eric Schmidt, Richard Branson and Peter Thiel are involved in the company.

No proof of any involvement by any of the individuals listed is provided.

An UK incorporation document for ATC Coin LTD is provided on the ATC Coin website.

ATC Coin LTD was incorporated in the UK on May 11th, 2017.

Subhash Jewria(right) is listed as the sole Director of the company, through a virtual mailing address owned by Garden Studios.

On his Facebook profile, Jewriacites his location as Mumbai, India. This is likely where ATC Coin is actually being operated from.

Prior to launching ATC Coin in March Jewria was promoting My Money Seva. He was also promoting payment solutions to MLM companies:

My Money Seva appears to be a local e-commerce discount platform. As far as I can tell, ATC Coin is Jewrias first MLM launch as an executive.

Read on for a full review of the ATC Coin MLM opportunity.

ATC Coin has no retailable products or services, with affiliates only able to market ATC Coin affiliate membership itself.

ATC Coin affiliates invest in ATC Coin on the expectation theyll be able to later sell the coins at an increased value.

ATC Coin affiliates invest 100,000 INR ($1544 USD) and receive 50,000 ATCC upfront, plus 4500 ATCC a month for 18 months.

Residual commissions on funds invested by recruited affiliates are paid out via a unilevel compensation structure.

A unilevel compensation structure places an affiliate at the top of a unilevel team, with every personally recruited affiliate placed directly under them (level 1):

If any level 1 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 2 of the original affiliates unilevel team.

If any level 2 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 3 and so on and so forth down a theoretical infinite number of levels.

ATC Coin pay a percentage of funds invested by affiliates in a unilevel team, based on what level of the unilevel team the affiliate is on:

ATC Coin affiliates can increase the percentage paid out on levels 7, 9 and 11 if they meet the following qualification criteria:

A residual commission is also paid on cashback payments, again based on what level of the unilevel team the cashback was generated on:

Note that the ATC Coin website does not provide any information on how affiliates generate cashback.

ATC Coin reward affiliates who recruit downlines as follows:

ATC Coin affiliate membership is tied to an investment of 100,000 INR ($1544 USD).

ATC Coin was launched in late April and is currently publicly tradeable on the Nova Exchange.

ATC Coin is also listed on Coin Market Cap, with a current value of 9.2 cents.

As at the time of publication, the actual value of ATCC is lagging behind projections used to market the opportunity:

According to Nova Exchange, on July 1st the value of ATCC was 0.00035 BTC (5.92 INR).

Coin Market Cap began tracking ATCC in late June. Today ATCC has a value of 8.7 cents USD (5.64 INR).

As far as I can tell ATCC has no real world application as of yet, leaving a question mark over whether the coin will achieve projections going forward.

ATCC presents itself as yet another MLM pump and dump coin. Affiliate presentations claim the coin can be used for e-commerce, but as of yet there is no evidence of this being possible.

In line with other MLM pump and dump altcoins, all ATC Coin affiliates can do is invest in the coins, trade them (among themselves as theres no public interest) or hold onto the coins and hope the price rises.

Interest in ATC Coin at the moment appears to be exclusive to India. The UK incorporation is a shell listing, with ATC Coin not appearing to be registered in India to offer securities.

The company also has no retailable products or services, meaning its operating as a pyramid scheme.

At the moment ATC Coin is being marketed as Indias answer to bitcoin. This might generate some initial investment hype, but without a real world application ATC Coins value is going to eventually plummet.

Its also worth pointing out that ATC Coin is undercutting the public market, offloading premined ATCC for 0.76 INR.

This suggests ATCCs current public price of 8.7 INR is massively inflated (to the tune of 1144%).

Subhash Jewria can either raise the price hes selling premined ATCC for through ATC Coin, which in turn will cool affiliate recruitment, likely collapsing the MLM opportunity.

Or he keeps massively undercutting the current public value of ATCC, which will stifle public trading of the coin.

Jewria is unlikely to kill off his golden goose (selling ATCC at a huge discount to gullible investors).

As such when ATCCs public value eventually aligns with what Jewria is selling his premined ATCC for, investors get screwed.

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ATC Coin Review: ATCC altcoin with massively inflated ...

Bitcoin dips another $300 after China’s cryptocurrency crackdown – CNBC

September 5, 2017 | Author: admin

Bitcoin fell by another $300 on Tuesday after the fallout of a Chinese ban on cryptocurrency crowdfunding methods saw the price of the digital coin slump earlier this week.

The virtual currency fell from $4,584 to $4,350 on Monday following the announcement of a regulatory clampdown on initial coin offerings (ICOs). Many start-ups rely on ICOs as a means to raise funds by selling off new digital tokens to the market. Total ICO investments peaked above $1.2 billion this year.

Although analysts contend that the price of bitcoin shouldn't necessarily be linked with China's ICO crackdown, the cryptocurrency hit a low of $4,037 on Tuesday, according to Coindesk's price index. This follows an all-time high of more than $5,000 over the weekend, meaning the currency fell by almost 20 percent in the space of a few days.

"The price action has certainly been led by this Chinese salvo - but healthy profits and moving traders to take gains off the table too until the panic calms," Charles Hayter, chief executive and founder of digital currency comparison website CryptoCompare, told CNBC via email.

The bitcoin analyst said that the cryptocurrency crackdown was expected due to "irrational excesses" in the Chinese market.

"The Chinese market has been perhaps the most virulently exuberant in terms of its irrational excesses and across the world regulators are looking to gradually turn up the regulatory heat on this ICO phenomenon," he added.

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Bitcoin dips another $300 after China's cryptocurrency crackdown - CNBC

Bitcoin’s price hit $5000 last week. It’s still a dumb investment – Los Angeles Times

September 5, 2017 | Author: admin

Late last week, I noticed a spike in what we might think of as a certain financial index. It wasnt the trading in a financial instrument per se, but in the online traffic in a column I had written in December 2013. The column examined the recent crash in the price of bitcoins, which had plummeted to $600 from $1,200 in just two days. The headline read:

The bitcoin crash of 2013: Dont you feel silly now?

What was causing the spike in readership of that piece more than three years later was that the price of bitcoins was surging toward $5,000, a point it breached during the day on Friday. A few bitcoin true believers had dug out that old story and were, metaphorically, waving it in my face. Tweets citing the piece and asking if it wasnt me who should be feeling silly came pouring into my Twitter feed. Suddenly I was a meme.

So heres my short answer. No, I dont feel silly, but vindicated. If the recent run-up in bitcoin price proves anything, its that the virtual currency is still a dumb investment.

Not only that, but the surge undermines the case for bitcoins ostensibly chief purpose, as a medium of exchange. To understand why, we can start by scrutinizing the recent bitcoin surge or as financial historians might view it, the bubble.

First, the surge is of very recent vintage. From the end of 2013 through January this year, bitcoin as an investment was essentially dead money: Leaving aside some peaks and valleys, it traded in the $800 to $900 range in December 2013, and about the same in December 2016. (Im using coindesk.com price quotes as a benchmark.) Bitcoin crossed the $1,000 barrier in earnest around the end of January and really took off at the end of March. From then through last week, bitcoin quintupled in price. Since bitcoins were introduced only in 2009, the surge represents only a narrow sliver of a very brief lifespan. Tulips live longer.

Whats more, Fridays peak was gone by Saturday, when the price fell to as low as about $4,600. Thats a drop of 8% in a matter of hours. Is that significant? Think of it this way: If the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 8% in a day, that would be a plunge of more than 1,700 points. Most market participants, its safe to say, would regard a one-day collapse of that magnitude as cataclysmic. Since Saturday, by the way, bitcoin has continued to head lower. As I write, its quoted at about $4,350.

Bitcoins will undoubtedly rise in quoted value again, and also fall again, I wrote in 2013. The one inevitability about them is their volatility, to which there's no end in sight.

Thats still true. As an investment, therefore, bitcoin is not for the average household. Even professional plungers might quail at such a volatile financial instrument.

What about people using bitcoin as a medium of exchange? Among bitcoins virtues, ostensibly, is that its anonymous, and theoretically easy to convert into or out of national currencies. This makes it relatively convenient for anyone needing to move financial assets around, out of the eyesight of government foreign exchange regulators, tax authorities or law enforcement agencies. The infamous Silk Road black market for drugs took payment exclusively in bitcoins until it was busted in 2013, for example. Ransomware perpetrators, who lock up institutions computers until theyre paid off, typically prefer bitcoins.

Bitcoin is popular among businesspersons in places such as Greece, Spain and China, where the impulse to get capital out of the country confronts strict government policies aimed at keeping it in. You can buy bitcoins from home and convert it into dollars, sterling or euros. These transactions are anonymous and electronic, typically performed via a virtual wallet maintained at a bitcoin exchange firm. Your capital exists in cyberspace, everywhere and nowhere like Schrodingers quantum cat, until you convert it into a recognized currency and deposit it in a safe offshore account.

Yet most bitcoin value appears to be held by investors, not used for trading or capital flight. Thats the conclusion of a research team headed by Susan Athey of Stanford. In an August 2016 paper, the researchers observed that the risk of bitcoin investing derives from the fact that its almost entirely virtual, with its supply governed if thats the right word by a mathematical algorithm. (Bitcoins are created by users of supercomputers solving an increasingly complex mathematical puzzle; by its terms, the supply of bitcoins can never exceed 21 million.)

Since Bitcoin is not backed by an underlying asset and instead has a fully fluctuating exchange rate. they wrote, there is substantial risk about its future value. Under those circumstances, speculative bubbles can form given many of the fluctuations that have occurred with Bitcoin exchange rates, the idea of bubbles seems salient. We may be in one right now.

That should give pause to anyone using bitcoins to transfer value. Consider yourself a Chinese or Greek business person using bitcoins to spirit, say, $50,000 in your local currency abroad. You convert that to 10 bitcoins at the peak last week; if you wait more than a day to convert it out of bitcoins, you get only $45,000 back. Wait until today, and youre down to $43,000. Thats a sizable transaction tax.

Factor in the instability of bitcoin exchange firms, which have experienced a string of failures, technical problems and government seizures tied to criminal activity for almost as long as there have been bitcoins. The bitcoin thesis is that its mathematical underpinning eliminates the need to rely on trust relationships with ones transaction counterpart, as long as one trusts the algorithm. But when the firm holding your wallet shuts down, who do you trust then?

This may be why bitcoin still accounts for a minuscule proportion of financial transactions worldwide. The capitalization of the bitcoin market that is, the 16.5 million bitcoins in existence multiplied by $4,350 each comes to just under $71.8 billion. The worldwide stock of broad money, which includes notes, coins and financial accounts, was placed at $82 trillion by the CIA as of the end of 2016. In market cap, bitcoin ranked just ahead of the Romanian leu, in 60th place and that was only after its quintupling in price this year. For comparisons sake, the market value of all U.S. dollars alone as of Dec. 31 was $13.2 trillion.

Coindesk

Oh, sure, let's rely on bitcoin as a global reserve currency: The price action in bitcoin since July 2010 shows extreme volatility.

Oh, sure, let's rely on bitcoin as a global reserve currency: The price action in bitcoin since July 2010 shows extreme volatility. (Coindesk)

What bitcoin has that the Romanian currency lacks is a fan base that sees it in ideological terms. These fanatics believe that its a viable alternative to what they call fiat money, which is currency subject to central bank buying and selling. The central banks, they further believe, are devoted to maintaining inflation, which can only sap those currencies of their value over time.

What they dont acknowledge, however, is that bitcoin is even more vulnerable to externalities such as government policies. Experts seeking to explain this years bitcoin bubble have pointed to factors including a speculative hysteria akin to the tulip mania of the 1600s or the South Sea bubble of the 1700s; and more welcoming policies enacted in Japan and Korea. On the other side of the cliff, however, the subsequent fall in prices has been blamed in part on a hostile policy issued by the central bank of China.

The real value of bitcoin may reside not in the price of these virtual coins, but the underlying technology, which is known as the blockchain. Blockchains, put simply, are ledgers or databases that arent maintained by a government agency, corporation or other centralized authority, but their community of users. Theyre encrypted to prevent unauthorized or secret tampering, which makes them especially secure. Bitcoin can be viewed as blockchains proof of concept.

Indeed, bitcoin is facing competition from other virtual currencies purporting to exploit blockchain more effectively. Investors are pouring into the blockchain space, hoping to get in on the ground floor of a technology with broader application for business and government than merely as a way to move money around.

That doesnt mean those investors have much faith in the market price of bitcoin. As is often the case in financial markets the real money is to be made via investments for which the actual value of the underlying asset is irrelevant. (Thats why brokers prefer to take a commission on every transaction, regardless of its price.)

As I wrote in 2013, bitcoin may well rise in price, but it may also fall after all, its done both, big time, in the last week. As an investor you may end up getting rich. But you may also end up looking very, very silly. Whether the price is $1,000 or $5,000, that will always be true.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.

Return to Michael Hiltzik's blog.

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Bitcoin's price hit $5000 last week. It's still a dumb investment - Los Angeles Times

Why Beanie Babies make for a better investment than bitcoin – MarketWatch

September 5, 2017 | Author: admin

At least Beanie Babies have the alternative use for kids to play with. David Merkel

Safe to say the Aleph blogs David Merkel is not a fan of digital currencies.

In his latest bearish slam lobbed at bitcoin BTCUSD, +1.21% Where money goes to die, he explained why he believes most of the players in the crypto market will eventually disappear along with the fortunes of late-to-the-party speculators.

The lure of free money brings out the worst economic behavior in people, Merkel wrote. That goes double when people see others who they deem less competent than themselves seemingly making lots of money when they are not.

He says that digital currencies have three primary weaknesses: Theyve got no intrinsic value, cant be used to settle all debts public and private, and are less secure than insured bank deposits.

While bitcoin, as is typically the case these days, managed to shake off the declines brought on by an announced crypto crackdown in China, Merkel didnt back away from his grim outlook.

In fact, he gave China credit for trying to limit the emergence of new cryptos.

A good argument could be made that they all should be made illegal, he wrote in his blog post. Its almost like we let any promoter set up his own Madoff-like scheme, and sell them to speculators.

Of course, theres no shortage of fervent bitcoin backers whod quickly dismiss Merkels argument, like one crypto exec who recently said he sees bitcoin potentially reaching $250,000.

To get an idea of just how explosive the growth in cryptocurrencies has been, check out this chart from Visual Capitalist:

Sure, its certainly been an amazing ride for those getting in at the right time, but pain awaits those chasing similar returns, according to Merkel.

New asset classes that have never been through a failure cycle tend to produce the greatest amounts of panic when they finally fail. And, all asset classes eventually go through failure, he wrote. Ultimately, most of the cryptocurrencies will go out at zero. Dont say I didnt warn you.

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Why Beanie Babies make for a better investment than bitcoin - MarketWatch

IRS Eyes Profits From Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash Investments – Investopedia

September 5, 2017 | Author: admin

Perhaps one of the biggest draws of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin has been its murky tax status. Throughout the history of the industry there have been few if any set procedures and guidelines regarding the leading digital currency, prompting investors to wonder whether profits from their mining and investing in this area could be seen as "free cash" from the perspective of the IRS. Now, a report by Coin Telegraph suggests that it may not be so easy, although the results are yet to be determined. The IRS will reportedly examine how cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin should be treated with regard to income taxation.

When it comes to taxing, the fact that Bitcoin has recently split into two different currencies has some speculating that the tax implications may be favorable for investors. Earlier in the summer, Bitcoin developers and miners reached an agreement to adopt a new set of protocols, one result of which was that Bitcoin "forked" into two different currencies: the original Bitcoin, as well as a newer "Bitcoin Cash." The newer currency aims to have a faster verification process by virtue of its larger blocks, enabling more users to conduct a larger number of transactions without clogging the network and slowing down processing times.

Investors holding Bitcoin prior to the fork received Bitcoin Cash at the time of the fork, provided that their wallets or exchanges of choice supported the divide. The nature of the split has some wondering if they will be taxed or not.

There aren't preexisting guidelines on how Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash are taxed, but analysts do seem to agree that there are applicable taxes on sales of either or both of the two currencies. If an owner of Bitcoin Cash sells his holdings and receives the profit as capital gains income, it is taxable.

According to the Notice 2014-21 from the IRS, "virtual currency is treated as property for US federal tax purposes." This means that transactions on digital properties like cryptocurrencies can be taxed as well. To the IRS, it seems that Bitcoin is a capital asset which can be subject to short-term capital gains (if sold after less than a year) or long-term capital gains if sold for a longer duration. The tax rate will be 15-20% based on the value as determined by the fair market price.

The vigilance of the IRS regarding cryptocurrency profits may require that many investors change their approach to taxes. Because specific tax law may differ from state to state, it's perhaps most helpful to speak with an accountant familiar with the local procedures in order to ensure compliance, particularly for those who deal in cryptocurrencies.

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IRS Eyes Profits From Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash Investments - Investopedia

Cloud Hosting Providers CommsTrader’s UK Channel Guide 2017 – CommsTrader

September 5, 2017 | Author: admin

What are Cloud Hosting Providers?

Cloud hosting is unarguably the most important technological advancement of the decade and has drastically changed the way businesses communicate on a number of different platforms.

With Cloud Hosting (data centre hosting), businesses can save money, improve efficiency and collaboration, streamline their communications, minimise security threats and engage better with their customers and gain much greater control and flexibility over their business communications.

With Cloud Hosting providers (or vendors), channel partners and resellers are given complete cloud packages moulded together by specialists who use their years of experience and knowledge in the Industry to create a failsafe platform for mission critical hosting.

The CommsTrader Guide is a service that provides cutting-edge news on all the latest products that the UK Unified Communications (UC) top vendors have to offer and explains what benefits they bring to businesses.

In the guide, readers can find an alphabetised list of all the latest product groups, each contain a short yet informative overview of what they, what they do and what types of businesses would benefit most from investing in them.

Heres a list of wholesale cloud hosting companies in the UK,in alphabetical order.

If youre a data centre provider that offers channel partners and service providers a wholesale modeland would like us toaddyour company to this list, pleasecontact us.

Interested in Unified Communications? Sign up to ournewsletterhere.

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Cloud Hosting Providers CommsTrader's UK Channel Guide 2017 - CommsTrader

Cloud Hosting

Cloud Computing Testbed Chameleon Renewed for Second Phase – HPCwire

The Software Alliance Advances Discussion on India’s Cloud Computing Policy – ETAuto.com

How to: Your essential guide to internet security – PC Authority

25% Upside Seen In Palo Alto, Argus Research Upgrades To Buy – Benzinga

ATC Coin Review: ATCC altcoin with massively inflated …

Bitcoin dips another $300 after China’s cryptocurrency crackdown – CNBC

Bitcoin’s price hit $5000 last week. It’s still a dumb investment – Los Angeles Times

Why Beanie Babies make for a better investment than bitcoin – MarketWatch

IRS Eyes Profits From Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash Investments – Investopedia

Cloud Hosting Providers CommsTrader’s UK Channel Guide 2017 – CommsTrader

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