Quote from: ReCat on May 31, 2013, 05:55:06 PM

I know. I'm not saying that it's sabotaged, I'm saying that it's probably an inferior version of what the creator privately uses for himself. The trading deciding algorithm can be unoptimized, or optimized. Both being legitimate trading algorithms, but one resulting in a less favorable result than the other. Resulting in scenarios that are easily exploitable by the optimized trader. I'm a programmer myself, so I know this to be a possibility, which is why I don't trust it.

If you can understand the code it's best to go out and create your own private trader.

I do agree that you shouldn't always trust everything, especially things with a download button. However:

If you are a programmer why you don't you just read the code yourself instead of not trusting the maintainer? As a programmer you are always building on top of / using stuff others created, it is just not feasible to reinvent the wheel every time imo. I think open source software like this needs more verification from people able to read the code.

I don't quite understand your position: have you read the source of bitcoin-qt? Do you even use proprietary software? I know there is a difference between software of an established company and a github repo. The bot is up for over a year, the code has beed tested and read.

I don't see any real world way for the maintainers to exploit an unoptimized version of the bot: If a 1000 people were using this bot with all 1BTC on their account this would in no way be able to move a market with a size of Mt. Gox to anything which can be easily exploited. Even if there was something like a hidden button the maintainer could press to make all the bots sell or buy (which there wasn't last time I checked).

It is always important to check free tools like these that are being offered but writing things from scratch is no option except when you are a programmer yourself AND have the time to take on a new project.