The complete guide to skill testing

vervoe.com

Skill testing can give recruiters a competitive advantage in today’s ultra-competitive job market. Not only that, but candidates who are hired on merit, rather than background, tend to stay longer and perform better over the long term. Here’s how to use skills assessments to fill your open positions and to keep your pipeline full of happy, engaged candidates.

What is a Skill Test?

A skills test is an assessment used to provide an unbiased, validated evaluation of a candidate’s ability to perform the duties listed in the job description.

Typically, a skills test asks a variety of questions in different formats to see how candidates perform on-the-job tasks. A good skills test includes questions that are capable of being answered by someone already doing the job and can accurately measure key performance metrics. Questions should also be specifically tailored to relate to the responsibilities of an open position. Many skills tests include immersive experiences, like coding challenges or job simulations, to mimic how a candidate performs when faced with a real-life scenario.

Other types of job-readiness evaluations deploy validated psychometric assessments to identify those in-demand soft skills: things like motivation, conscientiousness, resilience, and emotional intelligence. A personality assessment varies from a skills test in that it predicts how a person will behave in a specific scenario, rather than their ability to complete a task.

While skills test cover task-related abilities, like coding, copywriting, or sales, some pre-employment assessments integrate the less tangible capabilities – things like teamwork and leadership. These qualities are sought after by executives at more than 900 companies, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of executives. Yet, 89% of those surveyed said they have a “very or somewhat difficult time finding people with the requisite attributes.” Where traditional hiring methods fall short, a skills test can easily clarify a candidate’s true talent.

Overall, skills tests can play a critical role in predicting on-the-job success. More so than resumes or job interviews, a skills test can assess the true potential of a new hire to go the distance with the company. Here’s how skill testing works, and why more companies than ever are starting to integrate skill testing into the recruitment and hiring process.

How Skill Testing Works

Skill testing works best when the questions being asked are specifically crafted to the role and needs of the team hiring the new candidate. In designing a skills test, combine different types of questions to get a 360-degree view of how a candidate will perform in different scenarios.

There are a variety of ways to set up a skills test – and we’ll get into the mechanics of how to actually run the assessment in the next section. But, designing a thoughtful aptitude test takes some initial foresight on behalf of the hiring manager and team. Research by Deloitte suggests this sample process for selecting and implementing skill testing questions:

1. Define the “human elements” needed to perform the job
2. Compile questions that will measure and predict these human elements
3. Use the data gathered by the skills assessments to empower the next round of the screening process
4. Post-hiring, evaluate the efficacy of the hiring assessment to ensure the questions delivered the best result.

Ultimately, the best use for an aptitude test is to help recruiters move away from the resume and allow candidates to prove they are the real deal. Crafting the right series of questions should be a collaborative process between the recruiting team and the team hiring the new employee. Here’s how these teams can set up and run a skills test.

How to Set Up and Run a Skill Test

In designing a skills test or pre-employment assessment, there are a few specific steps to take in order to thoughtfully structure your questions. Vervoe recommends following these best practices in setting up and running your skills test. These tips can help with candidate engagement and lead to high rates of completion.

• Your skills test should include a minimum of six questions; somewhere in the eight to ten range is best.
• At least a few questions should require text answers; start with a text-based response in the first question, rather than a video or immersive question.
• At least one question should be multiple choice.
• Include an “immersive” style question, in which the candidate edits a document, spreadsheet, or presentation.
• To retain a candidate over the entire experience, start with easier questions and build up to more difficult ones later in the assessment.
• Try to minimize use of timers to account for technical difficulties and give the candidate the best chance of success.

We also suggest that video responses not be timed; there are too many technical issues that can result from a candidate trying to film a one-way video interview. If you do wish to set a time limit, make sure it’s at a minimum of five minutes.

Running a skills test through Vervoe, or any other platform, is relatively straightforward. Vervoe’s Talent Trials let you select questions from a library of assessment tools, or design your own questions based on the specific needs of your company. The Talent Trial library offers questions and trials created by experts in their fields, meaning they have at least 3+ years of experience in their specific area of expertise. You can preview questions from any of the Talent Trial areas and add them seamlessly through the Vervoe platform.

Now that you know how to set up an aptitude test, when should you deploy this tool during the hiring process?

Using Skill Tests During Hiring

Timing is everything when it comes to adding a skill assessment to your hiring process. Research by Harvard Business Review revealed that skills tests should come early in the hiring process. According to their study, “Many service companies, including retailers, call centers, and security firms, can reduce costs and make better hires by using short, web-based psychometric tests as the first screening step. Such tests efficiently weed out the least-suitable applicants, leaving a smaller, better-qualified pool to undergo the more costly personalized aspects of the process.”

Skill tests should be used to screen candidates in, not out. The issue many recruiters face is that the volume of candidates makes it impossible to carefully consider each person’s ability. Smart algorithms and AI tools can turbo-charge candidate assessments by scoring results quickly and removing human biasfrom the equation. Vervoe’s algorithm scores candidates using a multi-layered approach. Candidates are ranked based on how well they performed, rather than filtered out if they didn’t achieve a certain benchmark. The top candidates easily rise to the top; but no one misses out on being considered for the next round. When used early in the hiring process, Talent Trials can select a more diverse pool of applicants to continue onto the next phase.

Skill Test Examples and Templates

There are many ways to set up a skills test, depending on the position for which you are hiring. Pre-employment skills tests can cover a range of positions: administrative assistant, finance and accounting,and call center reps are just a few roles that companies hire for using Talent Trials.

Excel skill tests, coding skill tests, typing skill tests, and other computer skill tests are the most common forms of pre-employment assessments. Some companies focus on questions that are task-related, e.g. “Create a Powerpoint Slide that has a video embedded in the presentation.” Questions can get hyper specific to test a niche skill, like a coding language, or be posed more broadly to test the general requirements for success at a certain level. 

Some companies choose to focus on verifying the skills that will help a candidate succeed beyond the immediate position. This approach skews closer to a pre-employment assessment, with questions designed to reveal if a candidate can climb the corporate ladder, adapt in a challenging work environment, or respond under pressure. For example, one call center rep test included questions such as, “You have an elderly customer on the phone who is having trouble understanding your instructions. A colleague is also trying to transfer a call from a customer you served before, and you have a scheduled follow-up call happening in 5 minutes. How would you handle and prioritize in this situation?” 

Multiple choice, open-ended questions, and pre-recorded video responses are all great ways to see if a candidate has what it takes to do the job well. But, do candidates enjoy answering these types of questions?

Do new hires like doing skill tests?

By most accounts, candidates appreciate the opportunity to showcase what makes them great at their job. Orica, the world’s largest provider of commercial explosives, integrated skill testing into their interview process to the delight of their job candidates. In revamping the interview process for graduate students looking to join the Orica team, recruiters consolidated their online evaluation components into one platform, Vervoe. The Talent Trial test combined questions focusing on skills, logic, and values.

An average of 86% of candidates completed the online process, and the reviews were mostly positive. Here’s what the candidates had to say about the skills test:

“The tests required total engagement and thought, and were a clear demonstration of what makes Orica different from any other company.”

“I think the questions were very diverse and it allowed me to showcase myself, my skills and abilities in different ways.”

“It gave me an opportunity to showcase who I am as well as challenge my skills”

This is just one example of how a skill test can change the entire interview process for a potential new hire. In a job market where people spend an average of 11 hours a week looking for a new job, it’s easy to get burned out, fast. Every job description starts to look the same; every interview begins to feel stale.

When given the opportunity to showcase their talent through real-world tasks, job candidates will jump at the chance to be engaged with the job description, rise above their resume, and challenge themselves. Companies that use Vervoe’s Talent Trials experience a 97% candidate completion rate, which is among the highest engagement rates in the industry. Candidates love the opportunity to stand out from the crowd. Even if they aren’t hired, skills testing offers a break from the repetition of the stale interview experience.

What are the benefits of a skill test?

The benefits of a skills test aren’t limited to the candidate experience.

Recruiters looking to hire diverse, high-performing teams with better efficiency and consistency can use pre-employment tests to their advantage. Skills tests are a better predictor of performance than resume screenings or traditional interviews alone. Resume screenings are bad for three reasons. First, studies suggest that it’s common for candidates to lie on their CV. The person you think you’re hiring may not actually possess the qualifications you think they do.

Second, resumes only provide a high-level view of a candidate’s credentials and work experience. These items don’t offer qualitative insight into actual on-the-job performance. Coupled with recruiting biases that are built into the process, the third threat is that recruiters are privileging candidates based on background and demographics, rather than talent. Perhaps this is why new hires crash out as often as they do. According to one study, 46% of new hires “fail” within the first 18 months of being hired.

Skill tests can help take some of the bias out of the interview process, give recruiters a new evaluation metric to consider, and lead to happier, long-term hires. There’s ample evidence to suggest they really do work better than many of the other traditional hiring methods recruiters have relied on in the past.

Do skill tests work?

In our experience, skill testing works better than traditional hiring methods – with some caveats.

Without a doubt, aptitude tests can be used to replace resume screening. This style of sorting through candidates increases the chance that the best candidates will be unfairly eliminated. Good people get screened out, rather than screened in. So-called “pedigree proxies” – resumes and cover letters – are not indicative of job performance, yet they are often the quickest way a recruiter or algorithm can think of to cut down on their stack of candidate resumes.

Skills tests improve time to hire while allowing the hiring manager to see how someone will do the job, before they get the offer. This reduces turnover costs, which add up quickly: the cost of making the wrong hire can be up to 2.5x salary, easily over $100,000. Working with Vervoe’s Talent Trials, on the other hand, can help a recruiter identify the best people at under $100 per hire.

The best skills tests, however, need the right formula to help the candidates succeed. Some recruiters focus narrowly on the skills that will help a new hire succeed in the immediate position for which they are hiring. Yet, many CEOs emphasize the importance of soft skills – things like leadership and teamwork. New hires may end up being disappointed and leaving because they lacked the soft skills needed to adapt to their new team, not necessarily the skills to perform the job. Recruiters must integrate questions into their skill assessment that focus on critical soft skills that predict long-term success. These validated psychometric assessments are key to assessing “culture fit” without defaulting to recruiter bias.

Skill tests vs. interviewing

In conclusion, we’ll leave you with few thoughts on skill tests compared to interviews.

First, interviews, in general, need a total overhaul. Recruiters have been asking the same, outdated interview questions for decades. Many candidates get overwhelmed by the performance anxiety inherent in the interview and may make (forgivable) mistakes. Nevertheless, many recruiters like the security of meeting someone before making an offer.

Many recruiters seek the same insight from a group interview or case study that they would get from an individual skill test. Unfortunately, using these methods can’t give you the same valuable information as a straightforward aptitude assessment. Case studies can be too conceptual; rather than seeing how a candidate will approach the work listed in the job description, case studies ask abstract questions. The goal of asking “how many tennis balls can fit on a Boeing 757” is not to see if the candidate can guess the right answer, but to see how they approach the question and reason through their response. But this knowledge doesn’t always serve a recruiter with the best predictor of on-the-job success.

Group interviews provide more insight – into a candidate’s teamwork, leadership, and communication, for example. Yet, in a group scenario, extroverts tend to dominate. It can be difficult to see how each candidate performs as an individual while trying to consider the group at once.

In summary, skill testing is all about understanding whether a candidate can do something or knows something. It’s about verifying their ability to go the distance with your company. Pre-employment assessments differ slightly in that they focus on predicting how a candidate will behave in certain scenarios, not what they can do. By combining questions from skills testing and pre-employment assessments, recruiters can get a more accurate picture of the candidate’s ability.

Original Post: https://vervoe.com/blog/the-complete-guide-to-skill-testing/

How Can Identity Play a Key Role in Secure Ecosystems?

civic.com
By Chris Smith

Take a second to consider how much someone would know about you if they had unfettered access to your phone. We store so much information on our phones that our mobile devices have become windows into our lives. Think about all the apps you sign into, photos you take, and texts that you send. Studies show that the average person spends over four hours on their mobile device per day. The average person also has over 80 apps installed on his or her cell phone.

All of that information adds up to a treasure trove of identity data for anyone who gains access to it, regardless of whether it is through legal or illegal means. Accordingly, we’ve seen the data economy take-off, as companies have discovered that identity data is very valuable in the digital economy.

Until recently, we didn’t spend too much time or energy protecting our data. Passcodes were simple to hack or altogether nonexistent, giving thieves easy access to your credit card information, photos, emails, and anything else you’d store on your phone. It didn’t take much for bad actors to get their hands on your identity, then use it for nefarious purposes. The rise of the data economy, coupled with worsening data breaches and identity theft, have exacerbated these privacy concerns, and the face of privacy is changing.

We need new and improved security measures that actually protect users: making stolen data useless without the owner of said data. We need a system that values ownership of data rather than the sharing of data. The Civic App uses biometrics so that people must prove ownership of their data. Biometric authentication uses the things that make you, you — like your fingerprint or face — to ensure that only you can access or share this encrypted data. It’s much more secure than just sharing abstract information, like a social security number. Anyone can share your social security number, not everyone can prove ownershipof your social security number.

Imagine if you had the Civic App pre-installed on your mobile phone and get your identity information verified the first time you use the device. Imagine if you could use this app as your ID at the airport or a bar, and you could use this app to log in and access every other app on your phone, from Facebook to your bank account, without the need to remember a username or password.

This is how digital identity can create a secure ecosystem, and this is the foundation that we’re building with Civic technology. The Civic App functions as the identity layer on your mobile device, and this functionality only becomes more powerful as it is connected to a growing ecosystem.  The Civic App offers one, central account protected by biometrics and secured by blockchain attestations, in addition to giving you the ability to prove who you are on-demand.

Original Post: https://www.civic.com/blog/identity-in-secure-ecosystems/

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FACEBOOK CRYPTOCURRENCY

mintdice.com

Fifteen years ago when Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin created what would become Facebook, it would have been difficult to picture just how powerful that project would eventually become.

When Facebook opened its doors to the public in 2006 and began its journey in the shadows of social networks like Hi5 and MySpace, there wasn't the slightest hint that it would exist in today’s era of digital currencies, much less create its own. But development has brought Facebook a long way, and with it, millions of users.

Facebook was originally intended as a social networking site in which users could create extensive friend lists and share activities with members of those lists. It served a different purpose for every demographic. For adults, it was a way to find old friends again after many years. For teenagers, there was no better way to throw a party and invite everyone at the same time.

As more people used the network, Facebook’s functionality increased. For brands, Facebook became a new way to reach their target audiences and as the demand for more intentional marketing tools increased, Facebook silently evolved.

Today, Facebook is a machine for the creation, storage and distribution of data through various channels, including Whatsapp, and can be used for any of the following:

• Uploading photos and maintaining picture galleries with time stamps.
• Networking and interacting online using Facebook's instant messenger.
• Joining groups and interacting with fan pages at any point in time.
• Marketing a business by distributing content to a wide audience
• Streaming and creating videos easily on Facebook live.

Just like Chinese social media app WeChat, Facebook has joined the race to become the ultimate platform with every type of activity a user could need including tools for work, advertising, social activities, and payments.

While it has everything else on lockdown, the social media giant has had some difficulties perfecting its payment areas. In an effort to solve these difficulties, it plans to introduce FaceCoin, its own digital stable coin to facilitate payments using blockchain technology for its WhatsApp users.

FaceCoin is a new cryptocurrency proposed by Facebook that will allow users of Whatsapp to send money around the world. It is expected to be cheaper and faster than regular payment methods while allowing users to keep their money within the social media network.

According to a report by Bloomberg, other messaging companies like Telegram are also minting their own cryptocurrencies for the same purpose. Their extensive user bases present a unique opportunity to tackle remittance, especially in developing countries. For example, in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Brazil, 73%, 68%, and 56% of the total population are active WhatsApp users. It would be easier to send money to such countries using an integrated Whatsapp payment structure than to use a separate app like Paypal.

Bitcoin has shown that it is possible to simplify the process of sending money across borders even with their restrictions. Unfortunately, there are still many problems that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies face, such as regulatory uncertainty.

One major regulatory hurdle faced by Bitcoin is the lack of a central authority to blame if anything happens to user funds. This situation makes it easier for criminals to take advantage of the network and creates a lack of trust on the part of users. The design of the network also makes it difficult to scale up for mainstream adoption.

FaceCoin is expected to be different from Bitcoin in its structure and design but it remains unclear how these differences will solve its problems. Will they have a more centralized structure that users can trust? Or a perhaps a more scalable design?

For now, it seems that if FaceCoin and other new digital currencies don't take a deliberate stand against these issues in the planning and design phase, they'll get stuck.

A HISTORY OF PAYMENTS

Although FaceCoin is the first fully-fledged cryptocurrency supposedly coming out of Facebook, this is not the company's first dabble into payments technology. In 2011, Facebook launched Facebook Credits, a virtual currency system intended to simplify payments. Issues with fluctuating exchange rates for international payments prevented this system from gaining widespread use.

The company also launched Facebook Gifts in 2012 as a way for its users to send digital gifts internationally, but couldn't solve localization issues to make it work either. For a while, Facebook has been expected to make another move in the virtual currency space, especially since recruiting former PayPal president David Marcus in 2014. In light of recent developments, Marcus is heading the company's blockchain initiatives, which are still strictly on a need-to-know basis. According to Linkedin, Facebook's blockchain team now has up to 40 people.

As digital currencies grow more popular, the pressure to solve the problems with cross-border payments is also increasing. Digital currencies like Bitcoin and Ripple are credited as faster payment methods compared to traditional banking and they also have reduced fees, so what on earth is the big problem?

Simple. The intended market (developing countries) still has a currency conversion problem after receiving money in the form of digital currency. For example, a person could send 500 Bitcoin, Ripple or even FaceCoin to someone else in Kenya. But now, the recipients must go through the time-consuming task of looking for local exchanges on which to convert it back to Kenyan shillings.

This is even more difficult because developing countries have nowhere near the number of exchanges or level of cryptocurrency infrastructural development as their counterparts. An alternative would be to use foreign exchanges and pay charges, but going through the stress of opening Coinbase accounts just to convert some money makes the whole purpose of using digital currencies redundant.

FaceCoin can attempt to solve these issues in different ways. They can create a better way for users to exchange their virtual currency for their national currencies without the need for Coinbase accounts. They can also aim to create a large marketplace where users can pay bills, buy goods and services, as well as invest without leaving the Facebook ecosystem (including WhatsApp).

This will reduce the need for conversion and save users the stress. As it stands, the Facebook site has a great foundation to make something like this work. Integrating bill payment, ridesharing, and other platforms with the Facebook platform should not be too difficult to achieve. There's just one hitch: Not everyone wants to use a currency simply because Facebook made it. Also, a system like this is out of the realms of remittances and is simply equivalent to a game system in which people can send game tokens to each other.

Like other companies, Facebook is showing that it understands the importance of remittances. Being in a great position to take advantage of it is one thing, but knowing the best way to approach it is another. FaceCoin could be the missing link between digital currencies and fully functional remittance systems.

Facebook is only one of several large companies making a move with blockchain technology. Lately, corporations like Amazon, Walmart, and even IBM have graced the headlines with one innovation or the other. By increasing financial accessibility and scaling one of the greatest hurdles that Bitcoin has faced, Facebook could make life easier for millions of people.

Original Post: https://www.mintdice.com/blog/everything-you-need-to-know-about-facebook-cryptocurrency?page=1

Security Breaches are the Icebergs of our Personal Security

civic.com
By Chris Smith

The Titanic taught us about a fundamental lesson about icebergs: only a small part is visible above the surface. If we’re talking about data breaches, 2018 was the year we discovered the part of the iceberg floating below the surface.

Data breach numbers are alarming, but the consequences of these data breaches are what’s impacting our privacy and security, and ultimately, trust. Equifax was fined over $600,000 for a breach exposing nearly 150 million records. Facebook investigated Russian activity attempting to influence the U.S. Presidential elections. The Marriott data breach was tied to Chinese hackers, and it was much more than just credit cards and passport numbers: it illuminated “the patterns of life of global political and business leaders, including who they traveled with, when and where.” And to start off 2019, Google was the first company fined for violating the GDPR with a fine of over $50 million dollars.

Despite all this information, people, not to mention companies, still are not taking significant measures to protect their online accounts. Some statistics show that people are actually less worried about privacy and security, and they trust companies more than they did a few years ago. We are starting to see reports of people taking data privacy measures, like deleting the Facebook App, but there is still an emphasis on convenience over security.

When the news covers these data breaches, the focus is on the bigger picture: the fines, the number of records that have been compromised, the combined cost to consumers, or undue influence on elections. There is less focus on the individual, yet proving identity is a fundamental part of our day to day lives.

We want to ensure that the individual impacts of data breaches and security failures are not overlooked. So we put together an infographic that shows the daily touch points that make everyone more vulnerable, as people continually distribute their identity information on the Internet.

As hacks become more widespread and the consequences become more severe, it’s critical to consider these interactions and consider how companies and people can make changes to protect their identity information without sacrificing convenience.

Original Post: https://www.civic.com/blog/security-breaches-are-the-icebergs/

6 BEST BITCOIN MINING SOFTWARE

mintdice.com

There is so much talk about Bitcoin mining all the time, from Bitmain’s huge expansion plans to news concerning Nvidia’s ASIC devices. A common understanding is that the Bitcoin network is secured by collective groups of people known as miners. But outside of that, there are many technicalities to the entire mining process.

Bitcoin mining is a lucrative venture that involves a series of actions and techniques including confirming the transactions of everyday users. In return, miners receive “block rewards” for their services. The process is capital intensive and consumes resources like processing power and electricity. This makes mining highly competitive, leading to the purchase of powerful and continuously-evolving hardware like ASIC devices which have replaced the average GPU and mining software.

WHAT DOES BITCOIN MINING SOFTWARE DO?

While Bitcoin mining hardware is a common topic within the space, software often gets overlooked. Hardware merely provides the necessary processing power for mining while nearly everything else is handled by Bitcoin mining software. It performs important functions like:

• Providing miners with a solid interface to carry out their work.
• Running the mining algorithms that aid miners in solving the complex puzzles assigned by the Bitcoin blockchain.  
• Delivering work done by the mining hardware to the Bitcoin network.
• Receiving completed work from other miners on the network.
• Connecting the work done by solo miners to the blockchain.
• Connecting members of mining pools to the rest of their pool.
• Monitoring and displaying miner input and output as well as statistics of variables such as base rate, temperature, fan speed, and miner speed.

WHAT ARE THE TOP BITCOIN MINING SOFTWARE?

There are several Bitcoin mining software on the market and each one varies in functionality and efficiency. Some really stand out and here are the top 6 among them:

1. CGMINER

Known as one of the most popular BTC mining software, CGMiner works as a multi-pool FPGA, GPU, and ASIC miner. It provides extensive ATI GPU monitoring, fan speed support and clocking support for Bitcoin and other altcoins. As one of several miners written in C# programming language, it is optimized for speed, efficiency, and compatibility with Windows, Linux and Mac operating systems.

CGMiner has a host of interesting features including:

• Logging
• Configuration files
• Monitoring and overclocking capabilities.
• API monitoring
• Accommodation of different proxy mining methods
• Support for both solo and pool mining
• A scalable hash rate networking scheduler
• Support for submission cache

This software is regarded as one of the most advanced because of its interaction with Bitcoin mining hardware. It allows users to configure ASIC and FPGA settings straight from its interface in a command-specific manner.

2. MULTIMINER

Regarded as the best mining software for beginners, MultiMiner simplifies the process of mining a lot better than other software. Since the idea of mining Bitcoin can seem a little daunting at the beginning, new miners are better off starting with software that is easier to operate and understand.  

Some attractive features of MultiMiner include:

• Desktop application format.
• Compatibility with Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux.
• Multi-device switch between ASICs and FPGAs.
• Multi-device compatibility with BFL/Bitforce, Block Erupter, and HashBuster Micro.
• Multicurrency switch between various cryptocurrencies like Litecoin and Bitcoin Cash.
• Automatic hardware detection.
• Remote monitoring and control of other MultiMiner rigs.
• Ability to scan and detect mining hardware details such as average hashing power and corresponding pool.
• Automatic mining difficulty and profitability selection.
• Projected profits display and other analytics.

3. BFGMINER

BFGMiner is very similar to CGMiner in its functionality and mode of operation, except that it is more ASIC-focused. Like CGMiner, BFGMiner is also written in C# and optimized for mining speed and efficiency. It supports OpenWrt-compatible routers on ASIC, GPU, CPU, and FPGAs as well.

Some of its interesting features include:

• Windows, Linux, and Mac operating system compatibility.
• Support for ADL device reordering via the PCI bus ID, fan control and integrated overclocking as well as, mining with free mesa/LLVM OpenCL.
• Multi-currency mining support involving simultaneously mining other cryptocurrencies alongside Bitcoin.
• Use of pool strategies like load-balance and balance.
• Enabled multi-pooling and tracking pools on the same network.
• Independent pool tracking on different networks.
• Support for the simultaneous use of several algorithms like SHA-256 used by Bitcoin and Scrypt used by Litecoin, on CPU, OpenCL, and Proxy drivers.
• Algorithm assignment based on custom mining goals.
• Mining algorithm control sharing.

4. BITMINTER

BitMinter’s strongest point lies in cross-platform enabled mining, with its own mining pool, commonly known as one of the oldest in existence. Each new user is required to join the pool to make it easier for them to mine and earn more. Since 2011, the pool has registered over 400,000 user accounts.

Unlike CGMiner and BFGMiner, BitMinter is based on the Java Network Launch Protocol (JNLP) and does not require an installation to function. It is a cloud-based service which focuses on people who are interested in mining but can’t afford expensive ASICs.

Some of its major features include:

• Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux compatibility.
• ASIC, GPU and FPGA compatibility.
• A Graphical User Interface (GUI) optimized for ease-of-use and understanding.
• Easy ASIC hardware configuration.
• Profitable payment options including 99 percent of mining income allocated to users.
• Support on BitMinter, Block Erupter USB, Chili, Red/Blue Fury, and Antminer U1/U2.

5. EASYMINER

This is an open-source software upgrade for software like CGMiner and BFGMiner, which focuses on the graphical user interface (GUI). Its main function is the provision of an organized user interface that can be integrated directly with a miner’s cryptocurrency wallet.

EasyMiner gives its users the option of choosing a “moneymaker mode” which is attached to a particular Litecoin mining pool. It also offers a ‘solo mode’, in which miners are allowed to choose which pools they want to join, which cryptocurrencies they want to mine as well as a custom hash algorithm that corresponds with that cryptocurrency.

Its features include:

• Multi-currency support including Bitcoin, Litecoin, and other altcoins.
• Windows operating system compatibility
• ASIC Mining hardware compatibility
• Support for both solo and pool mining.

6. AWESOME MINER

When it comes to solving the problems associated with centralized mining management, Awesome Miner is a user’s best bet. Unlike other mining software, it can work really well with multiple mining rigs. Although Awesome Miner is built for mainly the Windows operating system, it has an accessible web-based interface.

The features of this miner include:

• Support for over 25 mining engines including CGMiner, BFGMiner, Xmrig, SBMiner, and SGMiner.
• SHA-256, Ethereum, X11, Scrypt and Zcash compatibility.
• Single operation pool management.
• Status and temperature monitoring on ASIC and FPGA devices from a single location.
• Inbuilt C# script engine.
• API access setup.
• Default pool configuration for all Bitmain Antminer ASICs.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Mining is what keeps the Bitcoin network secure and functional. Without it, the network will crumble, bringing the cryptocurrency ecosystem to a critical point. For something as competitive as Bitcoin mining, a miner’s software choice can mean the difference between stagnation and huge rewards.

This is why miners, especially beginners must think thoroughly about what features they expect and require in a software. While the software discussed above are incredibly popular, there are others within the space, so proper research must be carried out. As development continues, Bitcoin mining software may continue to evolve, to better meet the growing needs of miners.

Original Post: https://www.mintdice.com/blog/6-best-bitcoin-mining-software

ESSENTIAL APPS TO MANAGE YOUR PPC CAMPAIGNS FROM ANYWHERE

By Michael Kordvani

Gone are those days when PPC was considered as an optional marketing strategy where people use to opt it for betterment. The time has now changed, PPC is now mandatory for your business if you wish to run in this digitally advanced world. PPC visitors are more committed to purchasing than someone who has reached you through organic search.

To efficiently deal with your PPC marketing campaign you need to have the right tools that can help. Also, you do need access to these when you need them without thinking of where you are. Well, smartphones apps make it possible for you. Mobile App advertising is a growing trend and while more and more businesses offer quality Apps to their clients, the need to advertise through this medium will increase and become more commonplace.

ADWORDS AND ADWORDS EXPRESS

Google PPC advertising may be one of the easiest ways to generate traffic to your website and make some decent profits from your AdWords campaign. Google AdWords is the most popular form of pay per click advertising for small businesses, partly because of Google and their AdWord advertising popularity, and partly because it allows you to control your expenses by setting daily maximums for each ad in your Google AdWord campaign.

Google AdWords allows you to run numerous AdWords campaigns at the same time. This is key. One of my best practices is I test different ads to see which one is converting better. AdWord is available on iTunes and Google Play Store.

LOCAL SERVICES ADS

This is particularly true if your business is a locally based one and not simply an electronic (internet) one. By not focusing some of your marketing budgets on making sure that you have adequate local ads, your local community is likely not being fully informed and aware of your presence and what you have to offer. Because many people would rather shop locally in many cases, this could be a valuable customer that you are losing out on.

It is important to not neglect your local customer base. In many cases, these local customers will be providing you with the majority of your business. By placing a variety of local ads that pinpoint exactly what your business does and whom it is targeted for, you will be putting the word out to your local community as well as the larger internet audience too.

You can set ads and PPC options according to your likings. It is available on both iTunes and Google Play Store.

BING ADS

With Bing advertising, you have the possibility of getting your products or services across to over one millions of potential customers depending on your niche. You will be the one to set the cost while you only have to pay when prospects click your ads. The most important factor before you start advertising on Bing, you need to prepare yourself properly and understand the whole process, I mean how the ad campaign will work for your business you're trying to promote based on your keywords you'll like your services or products to be found on search engine results. It is available on both iTunes and Google Play Store.