[Info-vax] OpenVMS x64 Atom project

[Phillip Helbig undress to reply]

In article <s9j58f$m66$1 at dont-email.me>, Stephen Hoffman
<seaohveh at hoffmanlabs.invalid> writes: 

> > By how much would ransom-ware attacks be reduced if there were no 
> > bitcoin and no anonymous internet?
> 
> Unclear.

> An anonymous internet is valuable to us all, for as long as we might 
> still have that. If we even still have that in an era of 
> increasingly-ubiquitous and pervasive surveillance.
> 
> Do ask some folks that are not in your relatively charmed social 
> position about why they either don't post, or why they post 
> anonymously. If they're willing to answer. Some of us are targets of 
> harassment, of abuse or of massive abuse, or of threats of violence up 
> to and legally-sanctioned death sentences.

I certainly understand that an anonymous internet is a boon for many 
people.  However, it does have a downside in that perfect anonymity and 
uncrackable encryption do help criminals as well.  One has to weigh up 
the risks; neither choice is ideal.

> Cryptocurrencies are speculative investments and regulatory-arbitrage 
> schemes at best, and self-organizing pyramid schemes and/or massive 
> frauds at worst, and that all usually doesn't end well for all but the 
> earliest investors. If it works out at all. Proofs-of-work and 
> proofs-of-space algorithms are just stupidly-consumptive designs in 
> general too, as those necessarily must be structured and provisioned to 
> always detect and defend against 51% "attacks".

I am certainly not a fan of crypto currencies, for several reasons, and 
am pleased that Elon Musk has now reduced the corresponding hype since 
he realized (late, but still) that they are NOT GOOD for the 
environment.  However, it is clear that the ability to transfer money 
anonymously has greatly aided the extortionists.