How long until bots can profitably guess private keys?

[nutildah]

I'm not sure why I'm explaining this since your previous post in this very same thread was a link to a thread that probably explains the same,

I'm not sure why I have to explain to you it doesn't.

but the brain wallets you refer to were probably "hacked" before the deposits were ever made and then monitored.  A bot is used to monitor those addresses and immediately redirect funds, but it isn't really "hacking" addresses that have funds, it is generating addresses based on parameters and then monitoring them for deposits.  This is no different than setting up a regular wallet with a bot to redirect all deposits except that the regular wallet derived without parameters is unlikely to have collisions while the wallet derived from simple dictionary passwords is very likely to have exact matches.

OK thanks for the clarification. It is good to know the difference. But the end result is the same: a user thinks they are generating their own, private address and they're not and their funds get stolen.

[The00Dustin]

I'm not sure why I'm explaining this since your previous post in this very same thread was a link to a thread that probably explains the same,

I'm not sure why I have to explain to you it doesn't.

I felt bad about not following the link to confirm even though I thought I had read that thread before, then I followed the link...

A 12 characters mixed with numbers and simbols, then converted to sha256 2 times, and then generating a private key with that hash its unsecured? Who, so all the entire bitcoin system is unsecured.

Hi Wolf Rainer,

Please read carefully the following article: http://www.palkeo.com/code/stealing-bitcoin.html

We can see how they were able to find many active wallets by generating addresses with a dictionnary. They actually found your address by using the passphrase "alfanumerico".

I hope this answers your questions!

That URL includes a brainwallet section that tells the same information I gave, albeit in a more vague/indirect manner.  This is why I felt like it was in that thread, although I suppose I can see why you didn't.

the end result is the same: a user thinks they are generating their own, private address and they're not and their funds get stolen.

This is true, and in that regard, the answer to the question the title of this topic poses is they already can, but only when they aren't targeting a specific key and users are bypassing the inherent security in randomly generated keys.

[minerpumpkin]

the simplest best answer is cold storage.
authorization is irrelevant if a hacker got into your machine.

Which still wouldn't save you from being 'hacked' by a bot that guesses private keys.

[jonald_fyookball]

the simplest best answer is cold storage.
authorization is irrelevant if a hacker got into your machine.

Which still wouldn't save you from being 'hacked' by a bot that guesses private keys.

...Which won't happen because bots can't guess private keys
except poorly/amateurishly chosen brain wallets.

[rgm108]

Has Satoshi's ~1mln been touched?

Now, if I were to hack an account, that would be the target.

My answer to OP question = NEVER! (Except by accident ocf  )

[smoothie]

I heard that there exists a persistent army of bots that are currently trying every possible combination of known words to unlock a brain wallet, which apparently happens all the time. This was 8 months ago:

http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1ptuf3/brain_wallet_disaster/


So... I realize the brainwallet word combination is many exponents smaller in possible combinations than the private key, but what happens if/when the processor power is developed to brute force keys with relative success?

Maybe it will take until some well-connected cybercriminal element gets their hands on a functioning quantum supercomputer and can actually use it to harvest correct private key and address matches from parallel universes. Or such.

If people use encryption and really long brain wallet pass phrases I'd say VERY LONG!

[minerpumpkin]

the simplest best answer is cold storage.
authorization is irrelevant if a hacker got into your machine.

Which still wouldn't save you from being 'hacked' by a bot that guesses private keys.

...Which won't happen because bots can't guess private keys
except poorly/amateurishly chosen brain wallets.

Yes, exactly. I just wanted to remind the uninformed reader that it doesn't matter if bitcoins are in a paper wallet or on a computer. They're only not 'accessible' because the key is on a piece of paper.