Show Posts
|
Pages: « 1 [2] 3 4 5 »
|
22
|
Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / Re: Transferring bitcoins by sound?
|
on: July 18, 2011, 04:33:00 PM
|
The idea is great, however sound should only be the vector for a message following the standard bitcoin URI https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/URI_SchemeThis way we always have the same kind of message in QR codes, audio messages, smoke transmissions. I guess for sound there would need to be a lot of redundancy and error correction in the transmission. However I love the idea, it's how podcasts could hide their donation requests, radio could do so too..
|
|
|
23
|
Bitcoin / Development & Technical Discussion / Re: LiveUSB for better security.
|
on: July 13, 2011, 09:47:05 AM
|
I'm working on a clean solution to this problem: the distro I help to mantain has the possibility of being installed on a usbstick puttting only the iso on it (plus some files needed to boot), adding a hidden crypted file with the wallet inside. So you have only 1 media to carry but in the some time if you want to add a keylogger or other malware you've to rebuild the whole iso (and to be sure that the iso version you put on it is the same of the bootloader files too - the distro is a rolling release one with weekly snapshoots).
The main reason I am sceptical in regards to persistence is that I don't like the idea of a growing system: malicious code caught on some malicious websites, growing log-files, all sorts of stuff bloating the system... A LiveCD gives you a fresh start at each reboot. At least for managing your bitcoin-life savings that's what I see as being safer. A working environment is a different story altogether...
|
|
|
24
|
Bitcoin / Development & Technical Discussion / Re: LiveUSB for better security.
|
on: July 11, 2011, 06:01:30 PM
|
What about a partitioned usb stick with an unencrypted partition with the bootable OS and a true crypt (or similar) encrypted partition containing the Bitcoin wallet?
That would work. You just have to be sure that it's not storing swap data on the unencrypted part. Honestly if you want a live distro I'd check either puppy linux or tiny core linux. Both run completely in ram off of a CD and are very fast. Then load the wallet off of a truecrypt container. When you reboot there will be no traces! If you used puppy linux you download the extras you want and when you reboot it will ask where to save those changes. You can put that on usb stick as well! Then you don't have to re-setup every time. Just pick -strong encryption- and not weak encryption (its not actually encryption!) when asked. Anyone familiar with what their strong encryption is? If it's decent you don't even have to worry about truecrypt as your live home folder is saved in the puppy linux storage file. I guess if you keep the usb stick safe your safe. The Problem with persistence: lend me your USB Key for a Minute and I put a keylogger on. Tails Linux on a signed CD-R is IMHO the safest choice at the moment
|
|
|
28
|
Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / Re: Nigeria may be forced to adopt bitcoin
|
on: July 07, 2011, 06:49:47 PM
|
No, they aren't. You're right. But certain countries have an unacceptable history of internet fraud (statistically). So most online retailers block them from purchasing anything (Romania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Ukraine, Bangladesh) If any of these countries started using bitcoins for their online purchases, everyone would ship there. Since bitcoins can't be reversed in any possible way, the seller is 100% protected against fraud, and scammers are unlikely to purchase anything because they realize they can't cheat the seller. The sad thing is that everyone would scam them.. They pay, you don't send them anything..
|
|
|
29
|
Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / Re: Transaction fees and speeding up transactions
|
on: July 04, 2011, 03:29:00 PM
|
i have a list of ideas, it may sound crazy, but here it is. You place the order BEFORE you go to the restaurant. You have an account at each restaurant where you keep funds. Wait for a confirmation. Bitcoin devices that attempt to be temper proof, this way the device can be trusted to not double spend. lowering the target block rate. open once wallets. they are made in such a way that once opened they can not be closed again. they reveal the private key of a bitcoin account that contains said amount of money. the retailer can refund any spill over coins. the open once cards must be hard to forge and reusable. they can be made of metal with a replaceable seal and private key paper. the seal could be made of the same cotton paper USD is made of Not so good ideas. Banks that send bitcoins without actually using the network. lowering the target block rate. Actually that's not a bad idea! You could "overpay" the burger place when you enter, they would then send you the change as soon as you place your order. This way the trust would be placed into the store owner who couldnt really run from you... And if you didn't pay upfront? Too bad, you will have to wait 10 minutes
|
|
|
30
|
Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / Re: Metal Engraved Keypair Cards! Coming soon!
|
on: July 02, 2011, 10:04:51 PM
|
How do I know that my engraved key pair is secret?
I will stay with pen and paper (I wouldn't even trust a printer that much!).
I trust all my printers with less than 1 MB or memory And what about the printing job scheduler? Does it store the document somewhere? You cannot be sure, pen and paper is easy and fine. I guess the solution is to encrypt a wallet with GPG and have that engraved. That gives Noitev an encrypted code he won't be able to do anything with. Now: does anyone know whether a newly generated wallet is small enough to fit on a QR code when encrypted with GPG? See http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=16266.0 for how to generate a printable and encrypted wallet with GPG, which is what I use as a reference due to the simplicity...
|
|
|
31
|
Bitcoin / Development & Technical Discussion / Re: Bitcoin QR-code specification
|
on: July 02, 2011, 09:32:15 AM
|
Basically this is duplicating the work we are doing on the bitcoin URI scheme. Since we can encode the URIs can easily be represented using QR codes I think we should stick with the bitcoin:-URI Scheme Just my 0.02 BTC There is however the other usecase where I just want to share an address and a name: - I go out with friends and want them to have my public account address - I just want to put a donations image on my homepage Ideally that would contain a name (If in one evening I get a dozen of addresses from friends I want to be able to distinguish them later), a description and an address. That is imho not handled by URI's or x-btc. There is a need for standartizing that kind of information Encourage to use a DataMatrix!
QR-code is more proprietary than DataMatrix and DataMatrix fully implemented in very good open source library and ...
The vector of the information is irrelevant! It needs to be so short it can fit in a QR, tweet, DataMatrix, SMS, needs to be unique, possibly human readable and that's it. Let's worry about the vector later. As soon as there is a good standard we can all get behind, we can worry about how and where to encode the information
|
|
|
32
|
Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / Re: Metal Engraved Keypair Cards! Coming soon!
|
on: July 02, 2011, 06:34:25 AM
|
Just a question: how easily can the QR codes be scanned if they are etched and appear white (instead of a high-contrast black and white)?
I tried to scan the QR on the photo of your prototype but the QR apps I usually use would not recognize it...
|
|
|
33
|
Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / Re: How Paypal did it - Bitcoin should do the same - 10BTC Bounty for implementation
|
on: July 01, 2011, 04:05:17 PM
|
Yeah, um, I'm TRYING to get something like that set up, where people can automatically send money to someone else, and the system automatically buys Bitcoin on an exchange and sells it to a different currency in a different country or something in the background, but there are a TON of legal and regulatory issues with even getting a bank account that could participate in this. And I don't have the $25,000,000 of my own backing to open my own bank That would be awesome!! Imagine integrating this with an e-commerce solution! It would allow to transparently handle four cases (dollar as an example) 1) Buyer wants to pay in BTC, Seller wants BTC. 2) Buyer wants to pay in USD, Seller wants BTC. 3) Buyer wants to pay in BTC, Seller wants USD. 4) Buyer wants to pay in USD, Seller wants USD. It would give a huge boost to the BTC acceptance as anyone would be able to accept payments in BTC even if they don't care how they work... Is something like this doable??
|
|
|
34
|
Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / Re: Metal Engraved Keypair Cards! Coming soon!
|
on: July 01, 2011, 03:50:12 PM
|
I love the idea and will definitely order a set BUT there is something I don't understand:
1) The intended use is for an off-the-internet life savings account, right? 2) But as you potentially have the keys for that I cannot trust it to hold my life savings (nothing against you, I think it's just a common sense precaution)
If I got that wrong and it's just for holding a few bucks, then it's more for showing off and probably don't need the private key card as you often use the account anyways..
Is there some safe way you could create those cards without you keeping the private key? Maybe provide you with an encrypted version you would then engrave?
Just wondering.. I want that set, but I also want it to have real practical use
|
|
|
35
|
Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / Re: Is there any currency in the world backed by gold?
|
on: June 30, 2011, 07:54:33 AM
|
"Is there any currency in the worlk backed by gold?"
Not since the Swiss Franc dropped gold reserves in 2000. They only used a partial (40%) currency reserve anyway, and it wasn't convertible, so it's debatable that even that would have counted.
They recently stated that with the current high gold prices the Swiss franc is actually more than 100% covered ( http://www.schweizer-franken.ch/?Schweizer-Franken.ch:Durch_Gold_gedeckt). THAT however does not mean you can get gold for Swiss francs but merely that the worth of the gold in the vaults of the Swiss national bank exceeds the bargaining value of the Swiss franks in circulation. Please correct me if I am mistaken!
|
|
|
36
|
Bitcoin / Project Development / Re: Zurich Meetup July ??
|
on: June 29, 2011, 06:48:49 AM
|
It's been almost two months ... time for the third informal bitcoin meetup in Zurich? (well, I couldn't make it to the last two so it would be the first for me).
Tentative dates:
Saturday July 2 Saturday July 23
Would anyone be interested?
I potentially would! Update me on any decisions...
|
|
|
37
|
Bitcoin / Bitcoin Discussion / Re: Out of the box - LiveCD encryption
|
on: June 26, 2011, 05:22:34 PM
|
LiveUSB makes a whole lot more sense to me.
A liveUSB has some problems: someone could modify the distro on your stick so as to look perfectly normal but steal your password / wallet. No one would do that? Well, if your whole life savings are in bitcoin it's absolutely worth it doing that! A liveCD is safer in that regard (just sign the CD-R and check your signature). Reboot and you start from scratch. Sure, you will have to download the whole blockchain from scratch every time, but if your intended use is a savings account, that's a viable option.
|
|
|
38
|
Bitcoin / Project Development / Re: BitVault LiveCD - Bitcoin Secure Transactions Environment
|
on: June 26, 2011, 08:44:30 AM
|
Might want to check out this distro, too. They've modified the kernel to prevent hard disk mounting and disabled network access: https://www.privacy-cd.org/They recommend doing a full memory test on reboot to wipe memory. I use this on a $300 netbook which I never connect to the Internet or use for anything else. I have another one: TAILS Linux (the amnesic...): http://tails.boum.org/about/index.en.htmlThat's is my favorite livecd as it does everything possible for anonymity... Every internet connection goes through tor by default, the memory is immediately overwritten as soon as you unplug the boot medium (someone with a gun comes in, you raise your hands and step away from the computer automatically unplugging the USB stick from which you booted and which is connected to your belt), it has a nice on-screen keyboard to defeat hardware keyloggers, provides a MAC changer for anonymity in hostile environments... And they are even so paranoid that they want to remove truecrypt support (check their site for the rationale) They are considering to add a bitcoin client per default in the future. For me this is quite a great candidate for a paranoid BitVault distro (Thanks for NOT calling it VaultCoin)
|
|
|
40
|
Local / Deutsch (German) / Re: bitcoin Installation auf Mac
|
on: June 23, 2011, 05:07:41 AM
|
Hi Restore,
hier ein paar Antworten:
1) Der "src" Ordner ist absolut irrelevant. Er enthält den bitcoin-Quellcode, d.h. du kannst darin sehen was genau wie programmiert wurde. Aber in den meisten Fällen wird Dich das nicht interessieren und du brauchst nur bitcoin.app
2) Ein wallet wird erstellt sobald du das Programm das erste mal öffnest, schliesslich brauchst du ja die Möglichkeit dass Dir jemand irgendwohin Geld schicken kann auch wenn du noch keines hast
3) In OSX ist das Wallet in "~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/" (Die ~ bedeutet dein Benutzer-Ordner)
Ich hoffe das hilft weiter!
|
|
|
|