Quote from: mvid on December 19, 2016, 01:10:09 PM
Does the mining/staking of OKCash only require that our client/wallet is connected to the network and there is no actual PoW process that happens after the PoS?
Somebody please just explain the tech behind how the staking happens and blocks are added to the OKCash blockchain.   

Perfect, I thought those answer your question, in a direct manner to your questions we can say:

mining/staking: Only requirement is to have coins in the wallet, wallet must be unlocked for staking and online (hence connected to the other nodes in the network)

PoW - PoS: the coin started with PoW and PoS Hybrid distribution with Scrypt Algo until block 33,186 . After that block OK became full PoS, meaning the only way to mine/stake Okcash is now with the Proof of Stake process (having coins in your wallet with previous step requirements) and the Algo changed to Sha256 (to become inline with Bitcoin code and for the fact that Sha256 is the most tested algo for security and efficacy.

Sounds great and that is correct, the code is OpenSource and anyone can participate, feel free to DM me over Discord if there's anything I can help with.

More info about OK: http://bitcoindood.com/bitcoin-blog/2016/11/25/interview-with-oktoshi-lead-dev-of-okcash/

Below info relayed from: http://okcash.co/faq.html

01
If I understand correctly, you have to leave this wallet open on your computer to stake (earn). What exactly is it connected to, and do these connections make it/me more susceptible to being hacked or the contents of my wallet compromised? Is that why I should encrypt my wallet?

First assumption is correct, Okcash is a Proof of Stake cryptocurrency which is more sustainable long term, more fair with the coin holders and way more Eco-friendly than Proof of work.

-To stake: You need to have coins in your wallet and leave it running, this wallet is a "node" in the network, The Okcash network is created by a lot of this nodes scattered around the world, anywhere where people download and start staking their coins, That is why it is Decentralized and free from middle men, as the users are the real power behind the network, so this nodes connect to each other and there is no Central authority or single points of failure like with masternodes or other way of distribution.  After leaving your wallet open, around 24 hrs later you should start getting your first stakes (coins) and this coins get mature and ready for use after 69 confirmations in the network which you can check in the wallet under the transactions tab.

-Security: The connections to the wallet are normal as they are other nodes connecting to yours and vice versa, your wallet automatically blocks unofficial or malicious nodes it detects, even so you could download and use malwarebytes to increase the security as it blocks malicious ip addresses extending even more the security of your connections, to have maximum security you should always download official clients and only from official sources.

-Wallet encryption: You should encrypt your wallet so in case anyone else gets access to your computer (Via physical or internet access) they can not use or spend your coins as they would require the password to send any transaction as well, and the information inside its encrypted.

To Stake you can unlock only the staking process by selecting the small box "stake only" when unlocking your wallet, that way will still require your password to send coins out of your wallet but it will be able to do the stake process. (A fully encrypted and locked wallet does not stake)

02
If I want to back up the wallet, it prompts me to save a .dat file. I'm assuming that's in case my computer goes belly up and I lose my hard drive. How would I restore and point the new wallet install to that old .dat file if that happens?

More properly speaking that wallet.dat file is your real personal wallet (the program people normally call a wallet is in fact a Client or Daemon if is used under its graphical or command line interface).  So your real "Wallet" and the file you should always keep secure backups of it is that .dat file.

-Wallet.dat: This file contains your private keys, in easier terms  it holds your addresses and all the coins in them, that is why only you can use those coins, because only you have this private keys, if someone else get access to the private keys they could spend the coins, hence why encryption and security is important, and having a backup of it on a secure usb device just in case of anything happens to that computer.

To restore a wallet you just need to place the wallet.dat file into the Data folder, For example:

On Windows you can find that folder at: %appdata%/roaming/okcash and then just start the okcash client and let it Sync.

03
How long does it take for coins to be considered "mature" and start earning?

The coins are able to start getting stake (earning) after the first 8 hours in your open wallet, depending on the people staking in the network you could start earning your first stakes after 24 hrs or more before you start watching a constant influx as they are gaining weight in the network.

-Maturity: a coin is mature when you are able to use it, on Okcash your coins mature after 69 confirmations.

04
Speaking of backing up the wallet, should you only back it up and keep the latest copy, or can you back it up again and again at different points in time? I guess I'm wondering if it's like a snapshot or not.

This works a bit different from that perception we have of files.

As we just saw, our wallet stores private keys (addresses) and we have to remember that there is a blockchain (where all the transactions are stored), the blockchain is stored across all the Okcash network nodes hence is decentralized and always available.

So. If you create a backup of your wallet when it has only 3 addresses, you could consider that backup valid and all your coins safe no matter when on time, as long as you dont create another address, as that backup only has 3 saved, so if you create more addresses then you would require to make a new backup, so you really have a full backup of all of your private keys (addresses).

As the Blockchain or in this case OKChain stores the transactions, as long as you have your private keys, the coins in those addresses are safe. So if you lose your hard drive with 600 coins in it, as long as your backup holds the private key for that address, you will have the full balance, no matter if someone send you more coins to that address and you had the computer off, you would still have the 600 coins and the new ones people send you as the transactions  are stored on the Chain so are never lost, and as you hold the keys for your address, then only you can access them..

05
What is your weight and network weight in the wallet mean? Does it affect how long it takes to get rewarded via staking? I've seen it say anywhere from 200 days to over a thousand days to earn reward. Just curious.

In easy terms, You could think in your weight as "age and quality" of the coins in your wallet for stake.

In more technical terms:

The weight of every address starts at 0.
When an address provides a signature, its weight increases so that after several signatures,
the weight approaches the number of coins in the address as of the last signature block:

New weight = 0.9 * Old weight + 0.1 * Balance

If a signature is not provided by the address in a signature block, its weight decreases:

New weight = 0.9 * Old weight

This way, addresses whose owners do not wish to participate in signing do not hamper the ability to reach a majority.

If an address signs two conflicting blocks, its weight is reset to 0. This is to limit the power of malicious stakeholders.

by CGB

Okcash Cold Storage
New Paperwallets

One of the most popular options for keeping your Okcash safe is something called an OK paper wallet.
Here you will learn how to transfer all those digital coins into a physical paper form using just a printer.

https://okcashpro.github.io/okcash.paperwallets/



What is an OK paper wallet and why do I need one?

An Okcash wallet consists of two 'keys'. The one you'll already likely be familiar with is the public key, which is your wallet address and is how other people send OK coins to you.

The other part of your Okcash wallet is the private key. It is this that enables you to send OK to other people.

The combination of the recipient's public key and your private key is what makes a cryptocurrency transaction possible.

It is important to understand that, if anyone else obtains the private key of your wallet,
they can withdraw your funds – this is why it's absolutely essential that nobody else discovers it.

So, if you keep your coins in either an online wallet, or a hard-drive-based software wallet,
you are vulnerable to attacks by hackers or malware that can log your keystrokes.

Furthermore, a stolen PC or a hard-drive crash could also see you waving bye-bye to your digital treasure.

Used with care, a paper wallet can protect you from these possibilities.


What is an OK paper wallet?

A paper wallet is a document that contains copies of the public and private keys that make up a wallet.
Often it will have QR codes, so that you can quickly scan them and add the keys into a software wallet to make a transaction.

The benefit of a paper wallet is that the keys are not stored digitally anywhere,
and are therefore not subject to cyber-attacks or hardware failures.

The disadvantage of a paper wallet is that paper and ink can degrade,
and paper is relatively fragile – it's definitely worth keeping well away from fire and water for obvious reasons.

Furthermore, if you lose a paper wallet, you'll never be able to access the OK coins sent to its address.


How to create an Okcash paper wallet

Here are 10 steps needed to create an OK paper wallet:

    1.- To generate a new Okcash address, open https://okcashpro.github.io/okcash.paperwallets/ in your browser.

    2.- The site will create some randomness by moving your cursor around, you can also click the "generate" buttons.

    3.- You will be presented with your public and private keys and their respective QR codes. Do not scan these.

    4.- Click the 'Paper wallet' tab.

    5.- Select the number of addresses to generate.

    6.- If you don't wish to keep the Okcash artwork, click the 'Hide art?' button.

    7.- Click the 'Generate' button to create new wallets.

    8.- Once the wallets are generated, click the 'Print' button to make a hard copy.

    9.- Your browser will ask you to select the printer you wish to use. In the case of Google Chrome, you may also save the page as a PDF file.

    10.- Make a note of the public addresses, or scan the public address QR code in your Okcash app and start depositing funds.

** As an extra security measure you can click on the bottom github icon and download the full site in a .zip file to generate your OK paper wallets locally or offline.

Welcome to the forums, everything is possible, I ll work in this tutorial as soon as i get a chance if nobody beats me to it

New Okcash Reviews over Revex.co

https://revex.co/okcash/

Okcash 2nd Birthday

You are the magic behind #Okcash! Happy 2nd Birthday !
Total Thanks for your joy and support in this first 2 years!

Okcash Flyer #1

New OK social flyers by rnz

Okcash Forums Design upgraded

http://okcashtalk.org

New Mirror website backup for Okcash.co

Helps on protection vs censorship/ddos/domains expirations
99.9% uptime, github hosted, opensource.

http://okcashpro.github.io/okcash.co.website/

New OK site with info about the OK Blockchain, Block Rewards, different currencies value and more

OK wallet v4.0.0.3-core v4 Utopia - Released



https://github.com/okcashpro/okcash/releases/latest
OK Wallets v4.0.0.3 core
codename: Utopia
Non-Mandatory

Utopia (/juːˈtoʊpiə/ yoo-TOH-pee-ə) is an imagined ideal community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities. Utopian ideals often place emphasis on egalitarian principles of equality in economics, government and justice, though by no means exclusively, with the method and structure of proposed implementation varying based on ideology.

Change List 30-Oct-2016 v4.0.0.3-core v4 Utopia

    Qset updt (imp / fix)
    New Linux Easy Installers (imp / adopt)
    Linux desktop files (imp / maint)
    Protocol update (security / maint)


Instructions for previous clients:

    Close your OKCash client, replace it with the v4.0.0.3 Okcash files , open your client, done.

(Windows users can use the easy installer to install latest update on top of the old version)
(Linux users can use the easy installer to install latest update on top of the old version)

ROKOS v7 "Core" for Raspberry Pi 2, 3 IoT Devices Released.


We've seen new services selling "stake miners" or pi "fullnodes" for different amounts of bitcoin ranging from 200 USD to 982 USD, we support the new technology and uses for cryptocurrencies in the Raspberry Pi , Bananapi, Pine64+ and IoT environments, hence we came up with a Free solution for every IoT enthusiast, developer, user, service that want to use their IoT devices with Bitcoin and OK, or that would like to turn their Pi into a Staking device, It already integrates a fully functional Bitcoin Client and full node as well to provide the users with the best and easier Out of the Box experience, and to be the perfect toolbox for developers.



ROKOS is the First OS release that merges the full power of Raspberry Pi zero, 2, 3, Banana Pi PRO, Pine64+ & IoT Devices with Bitcoin OK and Cryptocurrencies:
- ROKOS v7 "core" comes with integrated OK and Bitcoin Client / node and OpenBazaar server.


Some of the ROKOS core features are:
v7 "core" Release (Pine64+, Raspberry Pi 2, 3)
- Full burnable OS Compatible with the Raspberry Pi, Pine64+, BananaPi and IoT devices.
- Full System / Programs Upgrade.
- Full Design Upgrade.
- Chrome/Firefox browser added. (depends on version)
- Autolog.
- Debian/Xubuntu/Linux based.
- Java Dev Tools.
- Easier to Use mod Update.
- Security and Optimization Update.
- Includes Qt and complete set of Dev tools (For developers)
- Works with other cryptocurrencies.
- 1024 mb swap mod.
- Updated Bitcoin client / node v0.13.1 with full functionality.
- Updated OKCash client / node v4.0.0.3 with full Stake functionality, private messages.
- Updated OpenBazaar server.
- Custom Login and Wallpapers.
- BTC and OK nodes at /usr/local/bin/
- Easy Clients / Nodes Upgrades.
- Custom OK-Scripts to ease the user experience.
- Direct access to the Clients Via: Task bar and Menu > Blockchain.


Requirements:
ROKOS v7 "core" :
- Pine64+ - ready for download
- Raspberry Pi 2, 3. - ready for download
- Banana Pi PRO - coming update

- Min 16gb SD card and an External device (usb / hdd / ssd). To sync the BTC chain on the external device instead of the SD card, BTC chain alone is around 60gb.

ROKOS constantly evolves and releases new Versions based on:
- Security, Chain, Technology and Design updates.
- Ease of access and use for the final users.
- More Cryptocurrencies are integrated for an Out of the Box experience in a different version called ROKOS FLAVORS.
- More wallets, programs or features, based on users/communities/developers feedback, support and/or cross collaborations.

Download at: http://rokos.space/downloads.html