Bitcoin Forum

Other => Beginners & Help => Topic started by: solareclipse64236 on October 28, 2013, 05:59:54 AM



Title: What does this mean?
Post by: solareclipse64236 on October 28, 2013, 05:59:54 AM
SatoshiMines - Source of entropy is bad, the house can easily bruteforce the hash to make you win/lose. Including "random" non-preselected strings in the hash render the whole process insecure.

'from https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=216280.0;


Title: Re: What does this mean?
Post by: rigel on October 28, 2013, 10:40:48 AM
A chance-based game requires a random number generator. A common computer cannot generate truly random numbers without some strange device containing radioactive material.

Computer pseudo-random number generators use instead cryptographic functions and some external source of entropy to scrumble the sequence. Without the external source of entropy future numbers can be forseen by someone who knows internal state of the software.

Good sources of entropy are intervals between keystrokes on the keyboard, intervals between incoming network packets... everything that happens on the computer coming from outside it.

I don't know how SatoshiMines works.


Title: Re: What does this mean?
Post by: HashEngineering on October 29, 2013, 04:52:12 AM
Wow what an excellent question and answer.  Remember the random number bug found in the Bitcoin Android App?  Some one joked that the code for the Android random number generator was:

Code:
int randomNumber()
{
  return 4;
};

LOL.


Title: Re: What does this mean?
Post by: odolvlobo on October 29, 2013, 07:14:29 AM
Wow what an excellent question and answer.  Remember the random number bug found in the Bitcoin Android App?  Some one joked that the code for the Android random number generator was:
Code:
int randomNumber()
{
  return 4;
};

This is what you are referring to:

http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2010/12/12-29-10-ps3publickeyrandomization.jpg

The Android situation was not this, but it was almost as bad.


Title: Re: What does this mean?
Post by: HashEngineering on October 29, 2013, 07:23:19 AM
Yes, that is it!