I'm giving up trying to get into Bitcoins. When I first heard about Bitcoin, I tried to get into mining; I thought I could just lend my computer's processing power out to generate Bitcoins in a pool-mining group, but I found out that unless you have immensely powerful, custom-made mining rigs set up, then mining won't earn you a single penny.
I tried to set up a wallet, but I had no idea how to operate it or secure it, as I'm only an average computer user. I recently also found out that my computer had a key-logger virus on it so I had to cancel and replace all my cards and passwords as I've made online purchases on my computer before. I tried to learn how to acquire and exchange Bitcoins but it required sending my personal information to shady, unreputable services that also required wire transfers, written checks and long validation times.
I also got scared by all the stories of scams, hacking and backlogged/bankrupt exchange services I've heard on here.
So unfortunately, after a month of trying to get into Bitcoin without even being able to get a single one, I'm giving up. I really hope that some reputable service providers start producing secure, easy-to-use and fool proof Bitcoin trading apps in the near future. Until then, the technical challenges and security risks just seem too high for me, so I'm out; sorry.