Ragetester. The prize is still not claimed. Based on the number of votes of this post I would say there would not be many trying.
My only tip at this stage is that it's just as important to mark the blanks as it is to mark the blacks. For example if you have a run of 4 blacks and you know that there couldn't possibly be another black after it (because the list says 4) then put a mark in that square so that when you are looking from another direction you can use it to help you.
And never mark a square unless you are 100% sure of it. Making assumptions at the start could lead to a big problems and it's very hard to back track.
It should be solvable. I did it using Excel with conditional formatting and a couple formulas to help check things along the way.
If no one has made progress by tomorrow I might post some more squares so its a bit easier.
RE: Cyrpto Puzzle 1 - Solve and win $5