Is NiceHash safe?

[HKabeyama]

How safe is it to run NiceHash Miner + lolMiner on my PC? (security wise)

[HanZie82]

Safe sure, wise, who knows.

I would not run 2 miners at the same time.

But i've been running the Nicehash miner for couple weeks now, and nothing wrong. No virus nothing.

 

[Bombastinator]

50 minutes ago, HKabeyama said:

How safe is it to run NiceHash Miner + lolMiner on my PC? (security wise)

Nicehash isn’t exactly direct mining software.  By running the nicehash app you effectively become an employee of nicehash (sort of) which is the actual miner, technically.  You mine parts of things for nicehash who then pays you based on what you find.  Sort of a broker.  As for safety I haven’t heard of any malware that likes to ride specifically on nicehash installs and I haven’t heard that nicehash rummages through your files looking for data to sell any more than many programs.  That doesn’t keep other people from spoofing their site and attaching their own malware to it of course.  That’s a danger with any download though.  They have other ways to make money off you than selling your data.  If they did so and it was discovered people would stop downloading their app and they wouldn’t actually be able to mine.  As long as they think they can make money using your hardware to mine they’re unlikely to do something like that.  Might they have collected user’s data and NOT sold it merely waiting for a point when etherium is no longer profitable for them and they disappear in a cloud of fluttering paper? Not impossible. Do I trust cryptomining companies to not do something like that though?  No.  AFAIK mining etherium is still profitable.  There is a point it will stop being so though.

[LogicalDrm]

-> Moved to Folding@Home, Boinc and Coin Mining

[Video Beagle]

In setting up Nicehash, should you use your main email? Or set up some email dump?

[Bombastinator]

4 hours ago, Video Beagle said:

In setting up Nicehash, should you use your main email? Or set up some email dump?

Afaik nicehash is safe, but it would depend on where the file came from.  It would also depend on how secure nicehash’s equipment is.  Even if their data is safe right now it may become unsafe depending on their actual computer system.  I’m not sure how much an email address would affect that though.

[Video Beagle]

6 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

Afaik nicehash is safe,

have you set up an account with a real email? I guess if i want to actually get money, it has to be something real to send it to, no?

[Bombastinator]

39 minutes ago, Video Beagle said:

have you set up an account with a real email? I guess if i want to actually get money, it has to be something real to send it to, no?

I haven’t set up an account at all.  I consider participating in the crypto market as currently set up to be effectively enabling.  

[tikker]

9 hours ago, Video Beagle said:

have you set up an account with a real email? I guess if i want to actually get money, it has to be something real to send it to, no?

Since you're dealing with money and verification I would not risk using a disposable or junk email address. NiceHash is safe, the miners it downloads typically yes, but it depends on where it gets them from as you can see recently where it accidentally was set to download a fake PhoenixMiner version.

[HanZie82]

I've used my main Email.
Now about 6 months along, nothing strange happened.

Not tried paying out tho, but getting coin and sending it works. Essentialy what you need to be payed out?
(Altho payout i would do on another site that hasnt got them crazy privacy invading rules. In our (Dutch) laws it's illegal for just any company ask for full ID, yet Nicehash does)

[tikker]

1 hour ago, HanZie82 said:

In our (Dutch) laws it's illegal for just any company ask for full ID, yet Nicehash does)

I knew they recommend the KopieID app, to blank out irrelevant information and to put a giant watermark on it, but I didn't know landlords are thus probably also breaking the law by asking for a copy of it ID since they aren't on the list mentioned by the government. Gotta love how (as usual) vauge Rijksoverheid is about who exactly is allowed to as for it by only giving a "for example" list...

 

Banks are on that list though, so I wouldn't be surprised if NiceHash somehow falls under that. I actually had this same problem with Binance. They literally will only verify you if you send a completely unmodified copy of your ID. Any blanking out, watermarking or what not and they deny your verification... I have my doubts as to whether I should have done it or not, but they were by far the best and easiest option to get the coins I wanted (none of the Dutch exchanges had all them and I didn't want to spread myself between a dozen). Binance is going through some weird phase though at the moment. iDEAL has been suspended for like a month now and they recently also suspended SEPA transfers for Euros which I find a little bit suspicious so I have started moving stuff out just to be sure. Perhaps I'll consider a Dutch exchange after all.

1 hour ago, HanZie82 said:

Not tried paying out tho, but getting coin and sending it works. Essentialy what you need to be payed out?

In my experience mining and transferring doesn't really require any verification beyond email. Buying and withdrawing requires additional layers such as ID verification before they allow you to do that to conform with KYC laws.

[Bombastinator]

In the US Landlords ask for ID in the US so they can do financial background checks to see if the tenant can actually afford the rent (people do occasionally rent apartments they can’t afford and the landlord winds up on the hook for something he didn’t do) It is also use to look up unlawful detainers which is where a tenant refuses to leave a unit he isn’t legally entitled to live in and the cops have to be called.). Perspective tenants with unlawful detainers have a statistical record of doing whatever it was that caused the unlawful detainer again and can represent financial ruin for the landlord.  Unlawful detainers generally represent a vast amount of money not just not made, but lost.  Bad tenants can destroy small landlords.   These are all a function of US law though.  The only thing I know about Holland rental laws is that there are greater provisions for squatting which may play into such things.  I don’t know.

Edited July 24, 2021 by Bombastinator