how to bury some bitcoins without even installing the client

[SgtSpike]

I want to recreate this in PHP using the json-rpc calls.  It looks like everything that is needed is there, except the private key creation.  I'm not sure the ability to create an encrypted private key exists in the bitcoin-php classes.

Code:

Then you generate and encrypt a new private ellyptic curve (replace grondilu by your GPG id):

openssl ecparam -genkey -name secp256k1 |
gpg -ae -r grondilu |
tee wallet.pem.asc

Is it possible to recreate this step in php using the existing bitcoin-php classes?
http://code.gogulski.com/bitcoin-php/

[cypherdoc]

grondilu:

would u please comment on the live CD technique being discussed?  it goes as follows:

1.  boot into Ubuntu Live CD
2.  download btc client with new wallet.
3.  copy receiving address and email it to yourself
4.  close client and copy wallet.dat from data directory directly to secure usb stick or cd rom
5.  delete wallet.dat from data directory.
6.  reload copied wallet.dat from usb stick or cd rom back into data directory and reopen client to verify it can be read properly.
7.  once verified, close client and Ubuntu, erasing entire process

i should add #6 is my variation on this theme.  i hope it makes sense in the sense of not leaving any fingerprints.

[Bunghole]

Wouldn't zipping the wallet file help with ensuring integrity, since zip has CRC error checking?  If the zip archive doesn't give an error when you open it, you can be sure that the wallet file is still intact.

[grondilu]

grondilu:

would u please comment on the live CD technique being discussed?  it goes as follows:

1.  boot into Ubuntu Live CD
2.  download btc client with new wallet.
3.  copy receiving address and email it to yourself
4.  close client and copy wallet.dat from data directory directly to secure usb stick or cd rom
5.  delete wallet.dat from data directory.
6.  reload copied wallet.dat from usb stick or cd rom back into data directory and reopen client to verify it can be read properly.
7.  once verified, close client and Ubuntu, erasing entire process

i should add #6 is my variation on this theme.  i hope it makes sense in the sense of not leaving any fingerprints.

Well, this seems much more complicated than executing my code, which is just a few bash scripts lines.  The longest part is the conversion of the public key into a bitcoin address, but it's not that long.

[em3rgentOrdr]

As an alternative, you can bury bitcoins by sending them to 1DiPumCD3XTMoEjR4nascMNSCeySoDa6tv

I don't know yet how you can retrieve those bitcoins later.  But it doesn't really matter if you want to save it long term "burrying your bitcoins".  It surely is possible to retrieve them, though.  Possible for me to retrieve them, anyway.  Not you.

[cypherdoc]

grondilu:

would u please comment on the live CD technique being discussed?  it goes as follows:

1.  boot into Ubuntu Live CD
2.  download btc client with new wallet.
3.  copy receiving address and email it to yourself
4.  close client and copy wallet.dat from data directory directly to secure usb stick or cd rom
5.  delete wallet.dat from data directory.
6.  reload copied wallet.dat from usb stick or cd rom back into data directory and reopen client to verify it can be read properly.
7.  once verified, close client and Ubuntu, erasing entire process

i should add #6 is my variation on this theme.  i hope it makes sense in the sense of not leaving any fingerprints.

Well, this seems much more complicated than executing my code, which is just a few bash scripts lines.  The longest part is the conversion of the public key into a bitcoin address, but it's not that long.

you need to learn to think like an avg Joe.  my steps are actually pretty easy and logical from a newbs standpoint.  the bash lines for non Linux users are too foreign and incomprehensible and would scare a newb.

[kseistrup]

How about a bash script that (1) creates a key/address like we learned from the first post, (2) creates a completely empty wallet.dat, and (3) puts the key into that wallet.  Will it blend?

Cheers,

[davout]

you need to learn to think like an avg Joe.

You need to appreciate the incredible elegance of grondilu's solution

my steps are actually pretty easy and logical from a newbs standpoint.  the bash lines for non Linux users are too foreign and incomprehensible and would scare a newb.

A newb will just copy a wallet to a couple USB sticks. I guess newbs are not the intended audience for this thread.

[grondilu]

Well, this seems much more complicated than executing my code, which is just a few bash scripts lines.  The longest part is the conversion of the public key into a bitcoin address, but it's not that long.

you need to learn to think like an avg Joe.  my steps are actually pretty easy and logical from a newbs standpoint.  the bash lines for non Linux users are too foreign and incomprehensible and would scare a newb.
[/quote]

My script is not intended to avg Joe.  At all.  It is really designed to be used by linux nerds.

[davout]

It is really designed to be used by linux nerds.

* davout raises hand

[cypherdoc]

Well, this seems much more complicated than executing my code, which is just a few bash scripts lines.  The longest part is the conversion of the public key into a bitcoin address, but it's not that long.



you need to learn to think like an avg Joe.  my steps are actually pretty easy and logical from a newbs standpoint.  the bash lines for non Linux users are too foreign and incomprehensible and would scare a newb.


My script is not intended to avg Joe.  At all.  It is really designed to be used by linux nerds.

even as a non Linuxer (?), i do appreciate your code and i wouldn't be hanging out here bothering you all except for the fact that there are very few quality threads anymore where i respect the guys on them anymore than you.  so i hope you don't mind if i throw in a newb type question in here every now and then since i learn quite a bit.

[davout]

Bringing this thread back to life to say I've just put together a small ruby script that will :
 - take a PEM file such as the one shown by grondilu
 - process it to extract the bitcoin address
 - process it to extract the EC private key
 - format the private key so it can be imported directly with the "importprivkey" RPC call that should be part of the next versions of the bitcoin client
 - output a nice and fuzzy HTML file containing this data along with a couple of QR codes : (link to the address in the block explorer, private key, address)

The code : https://gist.github.com/1139599

The result looks like this : http://imageshack.us/f/835/capturedcran20110811144.png/

Now my dream can come true : store coins safely and super easily on paper

[kseistrup]

Cool!

[Boussac]

Thumps up to grondilu and to davout (the master of this new "bury on liars" technology)

[Boussac]

My script is not intended to avg Joe.  At all.  It is really designed to be used by linux nerds.

I ran this on my Windows 7 machine and its works fine until the last step:

$ gpg < wallet.pem.asc |
> openssl ec -pubout |
> publicKeyToAddress

You need a passphrase to unlock the secret key for
user: "Boussac (nickname on bitcoin forum)"
2048-bit RSA key, ID 26B8AF92, created 2011-07-02

read EC key
read EC key
bash: xxd: command not found
gpg: encrypted with 2048-bit RSA key, ID 26B8AF92, created 2011-07-02
      "Boussac (nickname on bitcoin forum)"
writing EC key
writing EC key
bash: xxd: command not found
bash: xxd: command not found
bash: bc: command not found
1111111111111111111111111111111111

I like the simplicity of this bitcoin address but I suspect something fishy with the "command not found" warnings.
Any idea how to get these xxd and bc working

[sneak]

It's not a windows script.  xxd and bc aren't installed on windows by default - try it on a unix box.

[Boussac]

I got that part right: I am running Cygwin. But I must be missing one or two packages: which ones ?

[grondilu]

I got that part right: I am running Cygwin. But I must be missing one or two packages: which ones ?

You need bc and dc.  They should be available on Cygwin (which is a great project by the way).  Check out the "maths" section.

You also need xxd.  I don't know if it's available on Cygwin but it should.  It's a small programm anyway, so in worst case you can just compile it.

PS.  Après vérif bc et dc sont dispo dans le paquet "bc": http://cygwin.com/cgi-bin2/package-cat.cgi?file=bc%2Fbc-1.06-2&grep=dc

Pour xxd je ne l'ai pas trouvé donc je pense que tu dois le compiler ou faire un truc équivalent avec un autre filtre.

[Boussac]

Thanks!

 I fixed the bc issue.
Now xxd seems like a problem (it's even listed as malware on some sites??). If there is a reliable download for the source I would happily compile it..

[grondilu]

Now xxd seems like a problem (it's even listed as malware on some sites??). If there is a reliable download for the source I would happily compile it..

Oh, my bad.   It seems that xxd goes with the Vim editor.  I had no clue.

It might be tedious to get the vim source and extract only the xxd part.  You may not want to install Vim if you are not a vi adept, though.

I guess I should rewrite this script with a more standard hex dumper, such as 'hexdump' or 'od'.