Title: What are private keys? Post by: M3t on April 02, 2013, 06:41:20 AM I just got bitcoin-qt client today, and all that show up are public keys that people can send money to me.
What are private keys I hear so much about such as blockchain.info etc? Title: Re: What are private keys? Post by: Stephen Gornick on April 02, 2013, 06:49:17 AM I just got bitcoin-qt client today, and all that show up are public keys that people can send money to me. The Bitcoin-Qt client takes care of everything so that a user doesn't need to know what a private key even is. The keys are stored in the wallet.dat. If you do want to see them, you can export them: - http://computriks.com/en/bitcoin-export-private-key Or if you just want to see what one looks like: - http://www.BitAddress.org Title: Re: What are private keys? Post by: oakpacific on April 02, 2013, 06:51:09 AM And a reminder: no one but yourself should see your private keys.
Title: Re: What are private keys? Post by: TiagoTiago on April 02, 2013, 06:58:59 AM The private keys are what is used to sign a transaction from one of your addresses. Basicly it is proof that the owner of that address said the money from that address should go somewhere else. And public keys are used to check if the signature really is from who it says it is.
As their name suggest, private keys are meant to be private (no one but the owner should have access to them in any form), and public keys are meant to be presented to the public. Though as already mentioned above the client automates the whole process so that the average user doesn't need to deal with the inner mechanics of the system. Title: Re: What are private keys? Post by: M3t on April 02, 2013, 07:00:59 AM Okay, can you give me an example of a transaction, break it down slowly >.<
I'm slow. Title: Re: What are private keys? Post by: TiagoTiago on April 02, 2013, 07:03:38 AM Okay, can you give me an example of a transaction, break it down slowly >.< In this context "transaction" is just a fancy way of saying "a record of money changing hands".I'm slow. Title: Re: What are private keys? Post by: virtualmaster on April 02, 2013, 07:20:31 AM The private key is a kind of brain wallet if you can remember it.
Title: Re: What are private keys? Post by: wonderbash on April 02, 2013, 07:21:44 AM A transaction is group of data that is broadcast to the network and recorded into blocks. It stores the information of some bitcoins flowing from one address to another new public key (address).
Title: Re: What are private keys? Post by: Stephen Gornick on April 02, 2013, 08:08:01 AM Okay, can you give me an example of a transaction, break it down slowly >.< Here's what the data for one looks like: Code: Input: - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Transaction#Principle_example_of_a_Bitcoin_transaction_with_1_input_and_1_output_only And here's what one looks like in a nice viewer: - http://blockchain.info/tx/74aa359a7f007ec120bb0fbbb747797e1ded08bdcffeddce4e5ede5b1a40be5a?show_adv=true (at the bottom click Advanced to see the link to get to the UTXO for the INPUT transactions) |