How the proof-of-work model works
The proof-of-work model is a consensus mechanism used to confirm and record cryptocurrency transactions.
Every cryptocurrency has a blockchain, which is a public ledger made up of blocks of transactions. With proof-of-work cryptocurrencies, each block of transactions has a specific hash. For the block to be confirmed, a crypto miner must generate a target hash that's less than or equal to that of the block.
To accomplish this, miners use mining devices that quickly generate computations. The aim is to be the first miner with the target hash because that miner is the one who can update the blockchain and receive crypto rewards.
The reason proof of work in cryptocurrency works well is because finding the target hash is difficult but verifying it isn't. The process is difficult enough to prevent the manipulation of transaction records. At the same time, once a target hash is found, it's easy for other miners to check it.
How to mine?
If you seriously are considering mining, you should upfront decide on which coins you want to mine, as this will influence your hardware decision.
On https://whattomine.com/ you can easily check which hardware equipment provide which results for relevant coins.
After purchasing the right hardware you have to build it up, configure it and join a mining pool.
If you want to know how exactly that works, check out my next post :)