Should beginners stop relying on default nodes?

[casey15]

Hello Bitcointalkers
We know for a fact that a lot of people will keep joining and coming into Bitcoin and will one day make their first Bitcoin transaction and from there they keep making more, but for the first few transactions they are going to make they will almost always rely on their  wallet default setting, where it connects to the provider node and broadcast the transaction
 But on the other hand we are very much  aware that it is not totally private and if there is a compromise, the transaction can be delayed.

A lot of people advocate that individuals should  personally run their own full node to support the network and ensure more privacy for their transactions , or at least  make use of a wallet that allows manual broadcast( like Blue wallet)

Fir someone who is just coming into the space, should they even bother about setting up their own node and learning how to manually broadcast transaction ..OR... Is the level of technicality involved  too much for a beginner to bother about it until he has enough experience

[Charles-Tim]

To broadcast a transaction using another tool but still not running your own node with Tor still make you not private. You need to run your own node to be private.

But you can be anonymous if you use Tor every time you are connecting to a wallet. You can set up Electrum and make connecting to it impossible without Tor and that can help a lot.

Most newbies do not care about running their own node and many do not care about privacy. But if they care, they will follow the right path to achieve it with learning.

[Cookdata]

Fir someone who is just coming into the space, should they even bother about setting up their own node and learning how to manually broadcast transaction ..OR... Is the level of technicality involved  too much for a beginner to bother about it until he has enough experience

Not everyone has what it's takes to set up a node but if you have the means(a working laptop, raspberry pi, VPS and many other options with good internet speed) I will advice you make one for yourself so you don't have to rely on other nodes. There is great privacy you can achieved with having your node but it's not a yardstick to use it for transactions especially if you don't have the means to build one.

Been a beginner isn't subjective to how to use Bitcoin, you can be a beginner and have plenty of Bitcoin or you may plan to be buying more. Such will make you want to do transactions most often and this is what privacy requires, you don't want your transactions to become an object of surveillance that other people might want to watch over.

If you have just a phone and want to use Bitcoin but don't have a node, it's all still good.

[SilverCryptoBullet]

But on the other hand we are very much  aware that it is not totally private and if there is a compromise, the transaction can be delayed.

The transaction can be broadcasted immediately from your wallet, but it can take 10 minutes, 1 hour or 10 hours to have a first confirmation. It depends on the fee rate used for that transaction and status of Bitcoin mempools.

It does not related to whether you use your Bitcoin full node for transaction broadcast or not.

Bitcoin full node especially if operates with Tor, can increase your privacy but it does not help you getting a first confirmation faster if you broadcast it with very low fee rate at bottom of Bitcoin mempools.

[Mia Chloe]

~snip

Well if you create a wallet and connect to defaultly available public nodes you can still broadcast anonymous transactions but they won't actually be private per say because the nodes you are connected to can see all your transactions which obviously is your transaction history ,other nodes you are connected to and even your public keys.

But you can be anonymous if you use Tor every time you are connecting to a wallet. You can set up Electrum and make connecting to it impossible without Tor and that can help a lot.
Most newbies do not care about running their own node and many do not care about privacy. But if they care, they will follow the right path to achieve it with learning.

Making use of Tor actually secures your IP address which makes your location anonymous but for a much better level of privacy you also have to run your own node and make use of silent payments if possible.

[Charles-Tim]

Making use of Tor actually secures your IP address which makes your location anonymous but for a much better level of privacy you also have to run your own node and make use of silent payments if possible.

I have discussed it on my previous post.

Bitcoin Core or other full node wallet for privacy which definitely includes anonymity.
Using Tor to connect to Electrum that its server is set to .onion for anonymity.

You need to run your own node to be private.

But you can be anonymous if you use Tor every time you are connecting to a wallet. You can set up Electrum and make connecting to it impossible without Tor and that can help a lot.

and make use of silent payments if possible.

I have no practical reason to use silent payment for now. Privacy and anonymity are possible before silent payment existed and also still possible without silent payment. But if you like it, you can use it as it can easily help you generate different addresses for different transactions.

[Mia Chloe]

I have no practical reason to use silent payment for now. Privacy and anonymity are possible before silent payment existed and also still possible without silent payment. But if you like it, you can use it as it can easily help you generate different addresses for different transactions.

Well I understand you and you have a decent point. However to an extent silent payments are still more private compared to regular wallet creations and normal broadcasting of transactions since you still have to download a certain amount of block chain data.

I tried it out one time on cake wallet but like you also said, on the surface you may not really see much of a difference. Running a node is not always convenient for everyone so yeah sticking with Tor only is also fine if privacy isn't your optimal priority.

[PrivacyG]

Very good debateable question.

The ideal scenario is that they figure every thing out from the start step by step, using Bitcoin in the most Decentralized and Non Custodial way possible.  And only after learning the basics they get into receiving and spending actual Bitcoin.  But we all know this is almost never the case and beginners are too excited to learn.  So for a beginner who does not have the patience, I would not bother asking them to get into too many details UNLESS their threat or risk level is high and it really matters.

If they have a Linux Operating System and they are setting up their Wallet on Electrum, they are already a hundred steps ahead of the average Bitcoin beginner.  Many start by purchasing Bitcoin on Centralized Exchanges.  If the risk or threat level is low and they are not spied on by any Three Letter Agency then I would say this is good enough.  Even if they work with Default Nodes.

Think of this like fixing a wrist watch.  You want to show a beginner how things work step by step.  Make them replace the battery of a few wrist watches.  If you want to completely confuse them and make them hate their task then completely disassemble a wrist watch and tell a beginner to assemble it.  Bitcoin should be fun and interesting, not over whelming.

[tbct_mt2]

Bitcoin Core or other full node wallet for privacy which definitely includes anonymity.
Using Tor to connect to Electrum that its server is set to .onion for anonymity.

People have different financial status but if they are not too poor, they can have enough fund to run their Bitcoin full node which does not cost them too much money. If it is feasible for investing into technical devices, setting up their Bitcoin full nodes and keep their nodes operating with time, it's really worth to do that.

There are some guide topics on how to run a Bitcoin full nodes with few bucks.
[Guide] How to run a Bitcoin Core full node for under 50 bucks!
[GUIDE] The simplest Full Node guide ever.
[Guide] Using Electrum to Tor.
Onion server list
https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tor.html#list-of-active-onion-servers

[pooya87]

It depends on the person and there is no solution that fits everyone.

For most beginners who come into Bitcoin world from the traditional systems, Bitcoin is overwhelming. They are used to having an "account" that handles everything for them since the third party (eg. the bank) has full control of their finances. All of a sudden they have to not only learn all these new concepts but also they have to learn how to handle everything on their own and be safe about it as well.
This can be overwhelming for them. So simplifying things and even skipping some security and privacy matters is unavoidable. For example newbies could use a custodial service like Coinbase to enter the Bitcoin world. They'd have no privacy but it has its advantages, like making it easy for them to buy, store and spend bitcoin all in one place.

But of course if a particular new user is willing to put up the effort and spend time needed to learn the correct way of doing things to maximize their security and privacy, then they should take that route. But remember, not many people are like that.

[PrivacyG]

People have different financial status but if they are not too poor, they can have enough fund to run their Bitcoin full node which does not cost them too much money. If it is feasible for investing into technical devices, setting up their Bitcoin full nodes and keep their nodes operating with time, it's really worth to do that.

In my opinion.  Unless the beginner is very enthusiastic about the learning curve it is not the greatest idea.  I run into SOME difficulty almost every time I try to run a Full Node.  But I like what I do and I would spend as much time as it is necessary to properly do it.

Some body new running into problems from the start is not the best way to find out about Bitcoin.  To the eye of a new person it may even look like Bitcoin has errors or is difficult to 'run'.  Think only of how much storage space is required.  Unless they want to run a Pruned Node.  And then think of how much time is required.  Include having to learn to use the Terminal and you have already made at least half of them give up.  I would have probably given up my self when I started if I had to do all of this.

[KiaKia]

I have been on this forum for few years already and I have some mining hardwares too, running a Bitcoin node is still a misery to me not because I can't figure it out, but because I don't have what it takes to run the nodes.

Many people will fall into the same category as mine, either newbies or non newbies, running a personal node is not for everybody, as simple as it is to run or figure out you will have a tough decision to make when it comes to the requirements.

You either give it up or put yourself in a uncomfortable position all because you want to run a Bitcoin node, you will internet and unlimited data access, which is the most challenging for me in my country.

[Pablo-wood]

Fir someone who is just coming into the space, should they even bother about setting up their own node and learning how to manually broadcast transaction ..OR... Is the level of technicality involved  too much for a beginner to bother about it until he has enough experience

Someone starting out will obviously find running their own node technical and complicated. It's like someone learning to drive,  you don't start by building your own car. At the beginner stage, the focus should be on understanding Bitcoin fundamentals like how wallets work, how to secure private keys, and how transactions are processed.

Once that foundation is solid, setting up a personal node becomes much easier to grasp and more meaningful because you'll understand the very reason why one should run their own node, mainly for privacy, verification, and sovereignty over their transactions. So, it's not something to ignore forever, just something to approach when  enough confidence and experience has been gained in the ecosystem.

[casey15]

To broadcast a transaction using another tool but still not running your own node with Tor still make you not private. You need to run your own node to be private.

So it means that even knowing how to manually broadcast your own transaction does not make you private... And that true privacy and anonymity can only be achieved through a personal node.. but since the Blockchain is pseudo anonymous and not fully anonymous, can the transaction still not be linked to you?

[satscraper]

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Fir someone who is just coming into the space, should they even bother about setting up their own node and learning how to manually broadcast transaction ..OR... Is the level of technicality involved  too much for a beginner to bother about it until he has enough experience

I started using my own Bitcoin node from the very beginning  and strongly recommend the same for anyone new to the space. I used ^{and use right now} Bitcoin Core node running on dedicated laptop under Linux, but there are plenty of ready to use alternatives like Umbrel, MyNode, RaspiBlitz, etc. ^{just make sure to DYOR}.

Benefits for beginners.

• you don’t have to trust anyone with your stash confirmation,
• you’re in control of your privacy,
• you're learning through hands-on experience.