Bitcoin Forum

I recently posted these findings on my own blog. I plan to post more technical analisys of other coins in the future: https://cryptocurrencyexchanges.wordpress.com/2017/12/18/torcoin-is-a-scam/ (https://cryptocurrencyexchanges.wordpress.com/2017/12/18/torcoin-is-a-scam/)

This is not a wild guess. I have hard technical proof that TorCoin has lied about their Crypto Currency.

I'm a certified Network Engineer with a little over 10 years experience. Most recently I worked for a very large ISP in their core engineering department. I'm also kind of a nerd, so in my free time I like to investigate how things work, especially if they are network related.
 
I have experience with Tor and anonymous distributions like Tails. My primary interest at this point is to find out how secure TorCoin really is. If you are familiar with anonymity, then you should be aware that leaking network data on the clear net (the regular internet) is a big concern. Leaking any data related to you or the app you're trying to conceal will give you away.
 
To test, I configured a Windows 10 Virtual Machine and setup Wireshark. After installing and launching TorCoin, I performed a series of packet captures. For the sake of being brief, I discovered that most of the claims made by TorCoin are false. TorCoin does NOT integrate with The Tor Network. It does NOT keep your usage private.  
 
Here are just a couple things that I found!

* Clear public NON-Tor DNS traffic asking for http://seed.torcoincoin.com
* Clear public IRC traffic to irc.lfnet.org and irc.smutfairy.com
* Does NOT connect to The Tor Network!
* Does NOT keep your use of the coin anonymous!
* Nodes do NOT help The Tor Network.
 
Here is a screenshot of the IRC traffic:
https://i.imgur.com/p5km1aG.png
 
The TorCoin OP says you are untraceable. I found a central location where I can track all the connected nodes.

You can see the IRC room with all the connected nodes here:
https://i.imgur.com/uC7dj2Y.png

You can download the Wireshark packet captures here so that you can see for yourself:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/48nhs90ia6rosop/AACTChe_153XeFptUUGtSRsGa?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/48nhs90ia6rosop/AACTChe_153XeFptUUGtSRsGa?dl=0)
 
BitCoinTalk member TheTorCoin (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=970309) makes these FALSE claims on his thread:

TorCoin communicates with other nodes over the regular internet. Your IP address can be seen by everyone! I was able to do a reverse lookup on a node and found a user on Comcast. His claims are misleading at best. I personally feel the creator of this coin has done this intentionally. It is my educated opinion that you avoid this cryptocurrency.

Is this you?  Either way, probably relevant on this thread

@ibminer - No. What you posted was not me, but it does seem relevant.

Posting here for reference. There are accusations that there is an embedded trojan in the Windows version of the TorCoin client

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1864282.msg19065197#msg19065197

This came up when I was doing some research into Torcoin so thank you very much for the valuable information. I will never invest in something that is ripping off someone else and or doesn't even do what it is supposed to.

Don't you think from 2016 onwards most ICOs are included in scamming.

“…if the just man is good at keeping money, he is good at stealing it.” Plato, Book I, The Republic

Just after seeing this thread few hours back I approached to the manager of the ICO so that I can make a fork of the main torcoin branch and he is still silent... :) This shows their dedication...

I'll just leave this here

Yeah. That was ME that submitted the report to ESET. Before I tested TorCoin, I submitted it to ESET for analysis. After ESET came back and said it was clean I tested the client. It does not connect to Tor. It sends all of its data over the regular internet.


That's the thing. It does not even come close to doing what they say it does. They didn't stop to think that advertising a coin that works over a network like Tor would attract technically savvy people. I do not trust privacy to blind faith. If they are lying about how it works, you can guarantee this is just a pump and dump coin.

It was wrong from TheTorcoin not to state this in the OP
Torcoin however is indeed TOR integrated:
https://github.com/TorCoinProject/torcoin/tree/tor

I agree it was completely wrong not to state this in the OP
However I also think it's a bit of an exaggeration to leave a red tag on him

Torcoin IS being developed and will implement more features
It's a mistake, however a scam accusation is a bit too much since there actually is
https://github.com/TorCoinProject/torcoin/tree/tor

If there weren't it wouldn't be too much since it would be a flat out lie
This way however, the OP was just wrongly formed

As I understand it:

Mac version == Not integrated with Tor
Windows version == Not integrated with Tor
Linux version == Not integrated with Tor
Github version (tor branch only) == integrated
Not developed yet - but I'll assume the iOS and Android versions will also not be integrated with Tor.

The majority of TorCoin releases, and all main branch releases, are not integrated and it is extremely misleading reading the OP or the website because everything revolves around its integration with Tor.

If the website and OP get changed to reflect the truth more clearly and I hear back from some of the companies I've contacted regarding possible false-positives on the windows version being detected as a trojan, I will consider modifying my feedback.

I completely agree with this :)

This is my point. The whole hype of this coin is it's supposed native integration with Tor. It does not do this. On the main thread I saw someone saying they couldn't even compile the Github version. It may not even work on any version of the client. No one has confirmed any Tor integration. Not a single person!

Nobody cares about your false positive screenshot. TorCoin still does NOT connect to Tor, regardless of your "no virus" proposal. A virus has nothing to do with TorCoin NOT  connecting to Tor. The coin does not do what you claim it does. PERIOD.

Just in case anyone was wondering, Iluvbitcoins works for TorCoin. He is an admin on TorCoin website. He has a stake in this coin so he is trying to make it look better.

I don't have stake on torcoin but I just wonder how did you know all of this,if you invest on a particular coin you will try to make it look better especially if you invest big,he could be just an investor but what made you post he is the admin or the dev of the coin.

I research anything before I invest. I don't trust things blindly. Here is the link to his post on the official TorCoin website.

http://torcoin.org/forum/index.php?topic=451.0 (http://torcoin.org/forum/index.php?topic=451.0)

And here is a screenshot.

https://i.imgur.com/fEJ1GpM.png

Heard about it and never cared..

Thanks for looking into it and yeah i agree.. it reeks of deception.

So yeah that does in fact mean it's a scam / scammy (deceitful)

I became a moderator after I started leading the Signature Campaign, I had nothing to do with the coins creation at all.
I'v found out about the coin 3 weeks ago.

Also
https://image.prntscr.com/image/c40cbbc076be4ad484d30c1f29d56750.png

There is no virus in Torcoin as accused.

Why does no one care about "your false positive report?"

Torcoin has been accused of being infected
I believe everyone reading the thread would care.
So far ESET, BitDefender, Avast, Kaspersky, Webroot and Cyren have whitelisted Torcoin, clearly making this statement false.

And it is Tor integrated, Cryptopia only lists the Linux wallet as working  :D
There's been a terrible mistake not stating this in the OP and a very visible spot.
That's completely true.

However, a great future lies ahead of Torcoin at its grasp with future implementations and development :)
I believe these features are what the community needs, bumps at the early road will not matter in a year or so, if we get there successfully :)

So a tag along noob just seen the coin and just showed up to get a piece of the action and was eager to be a "moderator" and had nothing to do with the code..is well.. speaking about the code.

Did i get that right ?

Uhhhmm signature campaigns are legit  :D

I'd dip my fucking balls in a wood chipper before getting involved in shit like this.
And everyone on this site is a moron and most on the web.
None of these fucking idiots would know a virus if they were smacked in the fucking face with one.
I can't count how many times i have had to lecture these lippy dipshits.
All they can do is yammer their little dick-holsters about a virus program "report"
To them they rely on some stupid ass program to tell them what is a virus and what is not.
AKA: they are idiots.
I have found *FIRST* endless amounts of malware online and exposed them for a decade or two.
How ? i used 100 different tools on my PC to do it.
I did not click submit at VirusTotal like a fucking reject.

I learned in the year 2000 that depending on Virus signature systems is silly.
All it is.. is a system to flag shit AFTER THE FACT.
Heuristics may have come a long way but it still is what it is.. heuristics.

For example i got my hands on the massive and rather impressive Zuess Rootkit malware via underground sources years ago when it was sold for 10k a pop..
And no it was not detected..
I still have it too LOL
And yeah i can compile it right now if i wanted to.. because i can code and not just reverse engineer shit.

But hey don't listen to me or the OP who did REAL research.. listen to the snotty little shit spouting off for random shitcoin ROI's.. because he's a sig campaign moderator !
Ooooh la la look out mother fuckers we got a fucking big shot in here ROFL

@OP
Random tidbit of info for you ;)
2013 i did some poking around with some wallets and i found an interesting bit of info..
A lot of the wallets were all calling home to a specific IRC channel to allegedly a dev said to get nodes.
And it also made it easier to track some of them to the same dev.. because he used the same IRC channel etc.. pointing the finger at him for a crap load of clone coins on Cryptsy back then.
Who were all of course tied in closely with almost all the staff..
Made by the same scammy cunt who made CENT and shitloads of others.

Funny enough he did add a virus to his Wallet on one of the updates too.
He slipped it on the official web site he ran and that is where i got it directly !
I prob still have it kickin' around too.
And what he did was updated the compiled binary then used an .exe joiner which was a little bit corrupted but still ran & worked.. which included a trojan + keylogger.
Then he never bothered updating the source code linked on his page..
I had a guy tracking it all and he tipped me off and he was right 101%
And funny ?

Yeah because he was one of the biggest coin dev's in all of crypto with probably half the coins on the exchanges.

Story told lots.. no one ever cared in the slightest.

Here is a picture of him.. he's known as Shake + others and for his free and paid coin cloning guides "for fun & profit"

http://i65.tinypic.com/25usg41.jpg

And there was other incidents too.
Guys have simply launched a coin with a Trojan / Keylogger on launch day before infecting users.
So it does in fact happen but they know they have to be crafty now a days.
And bypassing SIG campaign "moderators" would be rather trivial LOL

PS:
I uploaded to the Github Repo a new folder of code.. it's called "YOU ARE RICH"
So.. you know.. all you guys buying TorCoin.... will be Rich ;)
You know it's true.. didn't you see the folder name ? liek JEEEZ !!!

I know about the IRC deal. It's the first thing I noticed when I inspected the TorCoin traffic. I caught it in the Wireshark packet capture. I also found the IRC Username and Password for the channel too. I logged in and watched all the nodes joining and leaving. I wrote down several IP addresses and even ran NMAP on a few of them. So, yeah. The TorCoin OP says you are untraceable. I found a central location where I can track all the connected nodes.  :o

You can see the IRC room with all the connected nodes here:

https://i.imgur.com/uC7dj2Y.png

Honestly, that's all I need to say. Every claim they make about anonymity is completely fake.

https://i.imgur.com/Qjbz9ZT.jpg

Looks like the old DDoS botnets that would join IRC to receive commands from its operator. They were not really "bots" but infected machines that would join IRC and wait for commands on what IP to attack...

I've jumped on a sort of a rant like two weeks ago in their thread. never got any official response. looks like I was mostly right after all. they claim anonimity etc. while there is not a single thing improving anonimity. they just bundle their software with a tor relay. WHAT A LAZINESS. uneblievable. now it is ovious to me that the traded volumes must be fake; I mean operated with creator's cash.I mean who with a sane mind would trade into this?

I'm surprised this thread has not grown more popular, do people not care? Or they only want to get paid from their campaigns.

They don't even bundle the client with a tor relay. It does not use Tor at all. The Linux client that supposedly has Tor also fails to compile. None of the clients or nodes are using Tor.

I doubt many seen this topic..
I am not sure how many users are supporting it either (guessing it's not a lot)

I see it this way.. even if the dev wanted to achieve a goal here.. he didn't !
And it then comes down to massive misrepresentation.
I don't like things like this that make users think they are secure when they are not.

This sums it up..

http://i65.tinypic.com/2vmatq9.jpg

Problem is ..it's not integrated.
So where the fuck is the numerous innovations then ?  :D

Seems pretty suspicious. Almost like the first stages of getting a CNC channel set up over IRC.
Definitely interested if anyone sees anything else weird over Wireshark/ NMAP etc.

Comment above still stands. TorCoin is not integrated with Tor and I'm almost positive now that it is a scam. I'm at least confident enough to say nobody should trust this person or this coin.  

Don't worry though, the "creator" posted it will be integrated in 2 weeks. < This is sarcasm.

A good portion of the code is copied from "Nightmare" coin, also a SCAM:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=740936.0
and linked to Shadowcoin:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=741234.0
These were also linked to "Carsenk", same developer listed for the Torcoin github.


From the torcoin github commit history:  (a bunch of replacements renaming "Nightmare" to "Torcoin")

https://i.imgur.com/kEza8FY.png
https://i.imgur.com/mIJGD8L.png
https://i.imgur.com/ao1QKRD.png

I've updated my feedback.

Some more goodies that come from the Carson Klock collection of crap:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=387500.0
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=726111.0
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1510913.0

Carsen
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=128350

carsenk
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=362435

kingcarsen (new alt)
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=860708

Update:
To try and keep the record straight, "carsenk" apparently left the development of TorCoin near the end of April because Tor didn't want them using the trademark & logo. I still wouldn't trust a coin started by him. He is still the only sole contributor to the TorCoin GitHub, so at this point I see him as being the primary developer.

https://i.imgur.com/BYXonVF.png

agreed


agree



#freebogatov #KAction

Since there seem to be people grasping at straws with this coin thinking there is going to be some 'android wallet' that the developer (whoever it is?) and the owner seem to be creating and it's "coming soon", it is worth noting:


It is asinine to think that Google is going to allow copyright infringement on their app store. You are not going to see any Torcoin android app.


https://play.google.com/about/ip-deception-spam/



If anyone thinks "Tor" is going to allow these guys to put out an android app for Torcoin, they are seriously delusional.

@ibminer

Sounds about right to me.
If the other guys who own the name complain it will get pulled from the Play Store i think.

i was planing to invest a small amount in this coin..after reading all negatives comment...it seems this coin
has no future.

it,s Tor a scam ,virus or neither?

And where is the problem ,
the wallet?
The coins?
How does it work if it is a virus?

thanks

Seen that SIG here..

I wonder if it is from the same guy(s) ?

more "integration"  :D