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Bitcoin => Bitcoin Discussion => Topic started by: MWD64 on December 31, 2016, 03:09:37 PM



Title: Intentionally ugly paper wallets for all coins. Security thru obscurity
Post by: MWD64 on December 31, 2016, 03:09:37 PM
Full post with more examples here: https://bipcoin.org/?p=2099
tl/dr (though it's not very long): Most paper wallets are beautiful works of art. But they look like paper wallets. How about ugly paper wallets that could hide better in plain site?

This is a working Bitcoin wallet:

https://bipcoin.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/UglyPaperWalletArt-791x1024.png

(I posted this by accident in a different thread, but can't delete it there myself. So moved it here and said "moved" with the URL on the old one.)


Title: Re: Intentionally ugly paper wallets for all coins. Security thru obscurity
Post by: OmegaStarScream on December 31, 2016, 03:20:49 PM
Idea is really creative from what I've seen so far but here is the thing , users most of the time don't care about these details and only want to store their coins securely , as long as they can do it with current way with simplicity , I don't see why would they try something else.


Title: Re: Intentionally ugly paper wallets for all coins. Security thru obscurity
Post by: MWD64 on December 31, 2016, 03:35:09 PM
Idea is really creative from what I've seen so far but here is the thing , users most of the time don't care about these details and only want to store their coins securely , as long as they can do it with current way with simplicity , I don't see why would they try something else.

I understand that about "most users", but this is something that would better used by "a few users" not "most users." Most users doing this would make it something government and other thieves would look for.

I've actually seeing pretty paper wallets with a little Bitcoin in them selling briskly (at Porcfest.) People really like paper wallets. I just am not a huge fan of the asthetic of most of them. Most of them look inspired by Indian mandala with some hippie influence. I have always prefered xeroxed collage "art." I'm sure people can come up with a lot of variations to suit themselves. I just think paper wallets don't have to all have the same tie-die vibe. Google Image search
Bitcoin paper wallets
and you'll see what I mean.

I can absolutely think of a secure use for this that would go well beyond the mundane or "rainy day fun with the kids.":

Carrying a large amount of BTC to start a new life in another country. While they might carefully check or even confiscate electronic devices, you could easily have a stack of papers in your luggage that no one would think twice about. In the middle of a stack of old band fliers is the one with all the Bitcoin to start you new life.

MWD



Title: Re: Intentionally ugly paper wallets for all coins. Security thru obscurity
Post by: BG4 on December 31, 2016, 04:38:14 PM
The paper wallets that I produce are sapose to remain in a safe place for long term storage... They are ment to be recognized as something important to the relatives of a deceased Bitcoin hoarder.. Most old stock certificates , I consider as a work of art...


Have fun with the designs....  Old phone bill,.  yard sale ad,  highschool car wash flyers, birthday cards

But if laying around... Wives tend to throw these things away.....

Good luck


Title: Re: Intentionally ugly paper wallets for all coins. Security thru obscurity
Post by: MWD64 on December 31, 2016, 04:45:06 PM
The paper wallets that I produce are sapose to remain in a safe place for long term storage... They are ment to be recognized as something important to the relatives of a deceased Bitcoin hoarder.. Most old stock certificates , I consider as a work of art...


I'm thinking that if someone (including divorcing wives and governments) DOES get the safe open, they might take the bearer bonds, but leave the pile of old ugly band flyers thinking "This is sentimental crap with no value."

Though this project is mainly a though experiment to get people to think outside the box with paper wallets, and get people's brain's spinning on ideas for long-term storage that might still remain after the burglar, ex-wife and tax man take everything in the safe.


Have fun with the designs....  Old phone bill,.  yard sale ad,  highschool car wash flyers, birthday cards

Nice. Keep 'em coming.

But if laying around... Wives tend to throw these things away.....

My wife stopped thinking of Bitcoin as "magical play toy internet money" as soon as I showed her how to spend it on Sephora. We also respect each other's stuff and both have sentimental things with no monetary value (like old flyers, for instance), and neither of us would ever throw away anything of each other's without asking.


Title: Re: Intentionally ugly paper wallets for all coins. Security thru obscurity
Post by: MWD64 on December 31, 2016, 04:51:29 PM
Have fun with the designs....  Old phone bill,.  yard sale ad,  highschool car wash flyers, birthday cards

QR code on the back of a cheap panting or on the bottom of a cheap plaster statue of a rooster from Tijuana. Make it look like something put there by the company that sold it. Print the label with the name of a company that sells nicknacks, and say "for more information check out our website, have their URL, then the QR code.

I'm also thinking about "how small could you make a QR code and make it able to be expaned and scanned?" Like microdot. ....The old spy technique:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microdot

not the LSD:
http://www.bluelight.org/vb/threads/736999-100ug-vs-250ug-lsd?s=86cdcf7a3b2ddc8bbc612f7cae1608db&p=12626871&viewfull=1#post12626871


lol. Would be pretty funny to disguise Bitcoin as drugs. Makes me think about when my friend was detained at an airport by the TSA for "having Bitcoin in his luggage" (was actually Bitcoin wearable art, shirt pins that looked like Casascius coins.)
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2014/03/03/why-the-tsa-hassled-a-traveler-with-bitcoin-in-his-bag/&ref/



Title: Re: Intentionally ugly paper wallets for all coins. Security thru obscurity
Post by: odolvlobo on December 31, 2016, 05:25:57 PM
Here is a 12-word BIP39 (English) seed:

1. There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice. Charles de Montesquieu
2. Be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur. Muriel Spark
3. Cholesterol does not exist in vegetables. Vegetables do not clog arteries. Jane Velez-Mitchell
4. You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. Mahatma Gandhi
5. Children are our most valuable natural resource. Herbert Hoover
6. I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them. John Stuart Mill
7. Is it a crime, to fight, for what is mine? Tupac Shakur
8. Cock your hat - angles are attitudes. Frank Sinatra
9. All who joy would win must share it. Happiness was born a Twin. Lord Byron
10. Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. Martin Luther King, Jr.
11. They talk about the failure of socialism but where is the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia and Latin America? Fidel Castro
12. On wrongs swift vengeance waits. Alexander Pope


Title: Re: Intentionally ugly paper wallets for all coins. Security thru obscurity
Post by: MWD64 on December 31, 2016, 05:28:48 PM
Here is a 12-word BIP39 seed:

1. There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice. Charles de Montesquieu
2. Be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur. Muriel Spark
3. Cholesterol does not exist in vegetables. Vegetables do not clog arteries. Jane Velez-Mitchell
4. You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. Mahatma Gandhi
5. Children are our most valuable natural resource. Herbert Hoover
6. I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them. John Stuart Mill
7. Is it a crime, to fight, for what is mine? Tupac Shakur
8. Cock your hat - angles are attitudes. Frank Sinatra
9. All who joy would win must share it. Happiness was born a Twin. Lord Byron
10. Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. Martin Luther King, Jr.
11. They talk about the failure of socialism but where is the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia and Latin America? Fidel Castro
12. On wrongs swift vengeance waits. Alexander Pope


Probably the first word of each one, right? Maybe better would be first word of last one, second word of second to last one, etc. Any combo that would work for you.

I'm really bad at remembering these kinds of things.  Probably part of the reason for my fascination with paper wallets.


Title: Re: Intentionally ugly paper wallets for all coins. Security thru obscurity
Post by: odolvlobo on December 31, 2016, 05:36:03 PM
Here is a 12-word BIP39 seed:

1. There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice. Charles de Montesquieu
2. Be on the alert to recognize your prime at whatever time of your life it may occur. Muriel Spark
3. Cholesterol does not exist in vegetables. Vegetables do not clog arteries. Jane Velez-Mitchell
4. You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty. Mahatma Gandhi
5. Children are our most valuable natural resource. Herbert Hoover
6. I have learned to seek my happiness by limiting my desires, rather than in attempting to satisfy them. John Stuart Mill
7. Is it a crime, to fight, for what is mine? Tupac Shakur
8. Cock your hat - angles are attitudes. Frank Sinatra
9. All who joy would win must share it. Happiness was born a Twin. Lord Byron
10. Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend. Martin Luther King, Jr.
11. They talk about the failure of socialism but where is the success of capitalism in Africa, Asia and Latin America? Fidel Castro
12. On wrongs swift vengeance waits. Alexander Pope


Probably the first word of each one, right? Maybe better would be first word of last one, second word of second to last one, etc. Any combo that would work for you.

I'm really bad at remembering these kinds of things.  Probably part of the reason for my fascination with paper wallets.

shield alert clog ocean resource satisfy crime hat twin force latin swift

It works because there are specific BIP39 words to select from and the last word is a checksum. You remove all the non-BIP39 words (most of them) and then find the combination that works.


Title: Re: Intentionally ugly paper wallets for all coins. Security thru obscurity
Post by: MWD64 on December 31, 2016, 05:38:07 PM


shield alert clog ocean resource satisfy crime hat twin force latin swift

It works because there are specific BIP39 words to select from and the last word is a checksum.

I'll bet at some point in the life of this thread someone will check that wallet for BTC. lol. Same with my fliers. None in mine. But it is a working wallet.


Title: Re: Intentionally ugly paper wallets for all coins. Security thru obscurity
Post by: dothebeats on December 31, 2016, 06:29:51 PM
This is a nice idea actually, and honestly who would take interest on some screwed up pictures and have the idea that it actually contains money? Might as well start thinking of a very crooked design and keep some of my coins from there.


The paper wallets that I produce are sapose to remain in a safe place for long term storage... They are ment to be recognized as something important to the relatives of a deceased Bitcoin hoarder.. Most old stock certificates , I consider as a work of art...


Have fun with the designs....  Old phone bill,.  yard sale ad,  highschool car wash flyers, birthday cards

But if laying around... Wives tend to throw these things away.....

Good luck

Good thing I'm living alone and I don't tend to keep any papers laying around the corner. My mom loves to clean my apartment and that might be a problem if I leave such designed paper wallets on the floor.


Title: Re: Intentionally ugly paper wallets for all coins. Security thru obscurity
Post by: pooya87 on January 01, 2017, 04:48:06 AM
all these years i have heard two interesting ways of storing private keys/seed on paper.
in a (preferably physical) phone book in plain sight: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1699611.0
and someone once said "label it urine test result" and put it among other medical documents, no thief would go look among those papers :)

and obviously it is best to encrypt them before printing, that way it really doesn't matter if it is hidden in a safe or tattooed on your forehead.


Title: Re: Intentionally ugly paper wallets for all coins. Security thru obscurity
Post by: MWD64 on January 01, 2017, 06:40:25 AM
in a (preferably physical) phone book in plain sight: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1699611.0


ah ha! love it.

Thank you.


Title: Re: Intentionally ugly paper wallets for all coins. Security thru obscurity
Post by: Bitcoinpro on January 01, 2017, 07:04:07 AM
That Zebra looks 3 D


Title: Re: Intentionally ugly paper wallets for all coins. Security thru obscurity
Post by: MWD64 on January 01, 2017, 07:11:56 AM
That Zebra looks 3 D

I found the zebra with the bar code in a google search of:
bar code punk art

But more 3D with Bar codes and especially QR codes would be good for this technique.


Title: Re: Intentionally ugly paper wallets for all coins. Security thru obscurity
Post by: Bitcoinpro on January 01, 2017, 07:14:38 AM
That Zebra looks 3 D

I found the zebra with the bar code in a google search of:
bar code punk art

But more 3D with Bar codes and especially QR codes would be good for this technique.

I was expecting to see something like scribbles to hide the fact that it's a code