most alt networks are smaller in size than bitcoin , i have been using open ssl 1.0.2a for a while on builds , the ix network is not currently vulnerable to this issue at all if it is indeed anchored by 3.x code , if it is not, since a majority of mining power (very large majority in this case) is under control of two pools ix is still in no danger but , yes other coin networks could be vulnerable to this issue, it is a danger that is restricted to mining ........ using different wallets for normal transactions should not pose an issue ..... but ...obviously moving away from open ssl and other libraries would be the safest long term plan......... much easier said than done..
the short term fix is to make sure for any network the primary nodes and pools and wallets that are distributed are running preferably the same version of open ssl
<<<<also when building open ssl from source , traditionally it would be something like this in linux or mingw
./Configure no-shared no-dso mingw
make
Others who are familiar with this issue for a while including myself have been building open ssl with the algos disabled , fellow developers on the blake 256 team and I are in agreement with this as well and we have discussed it at length ( also see Nitrogenetics posts on this in this forum)
./Configure no-zlib no-shared no-dso no-krb5 no-camellia no-capieng no-cast no-cms no-dtls1 no-gost no-gmp no-heartbeats no-idea no-jpake no-md2 no-mdc2 no-rc5 no-rdrand no-rfc3779 no-rsax no-sctp no-seed no-sha0 no-static_engine no-whirlpool no-rc2 no-rc4 no-ssl2 no-ssl3 mingw
EDIT TWO AUG 3 -15 , IF ANYONE IS USING THIS TO BUILD OPEN SSL , BEFORE YOU USE THE
make command
make depends
then make,
make
note this solved all issues i had with building it even openssl 1.0.2d fyi --------------------------------- sorry about that ------------
forgot all about it until just now when i started setting up a new build system to run tests finally with a good working copy of mingw 48
not for ix for something else but i thought, ''''''''''oh i forgot about this part''''''''''
make
also
https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/master/depends/packages/openssl.mk#L27note in tests with open ssl 1.0.2d i was unable to 'disable cms' ---------- another thing people should consider is that when building recent versions of qt open source everywhere , if you ever compiled this monster it calls open ssl, i.e. you put it in your path before you build it,
I think while the bitcoin team says little of this i notice (probably for many reasons other than just this) their test builds are always done from 'scratch' not with a ready made build system...........
imagine your qt everywhere 5.4.0 is compiled with a different (earlier) version of open ssl than the wallet itself..... i see a few possible issues there but I tend to be a little 'over paranoid' on these things.
On your other concepts I have always felt that merged mining is the real future and know of a few other 'experts' who agree and I have learned many things from them and hope to continue to do so.
So Cinnamon... About that little code detail... BIP66, the OpenSSL change and all that...
It sounds like all the merged mined coins need to be fixed for that?
Plus any other altcoins any of us are into will also be needing it most likely?
It sounds like we need someone familiar enough with the problem and apt enough at fixing it that putting it into coin after coin after coin until all are fixed will become easier and easier for them to do the more coins they do it to?
Along similar lines I am noticing more and more coins that could really do with having merged mining as a subchain implemented. Mostly these are coins that can be mined with just one or two CPU cores currently, so someone could potentially make good money by mining them all with a core or two each for a while while quietly preparing an upgraded version that will support merged mining so that eventually the coin can be brought back into the public eye - and onto exchanges - with at least some chance of being able to secure their blockchains. (Not all of these coins are SHA256 coins; in fact most of them are not.)
-MarkM-