Duplicate private keys question

[ifyouloveit]

Hi all,

So I've been trying to understand how offline paper-wallets work and have a question regarding that.

In my understanding, creating an offline paper wallet works like this:

1. Download a webpage/script containing the algorithm for generating sets of private/public keys.

2. Go to a safe environment offline and use the script to generate a set of keys.

3. Print the keys to paper and then delete any track of the private key so that it never has been connected to any network and is thus safe forever and ever.

Now to my question. If I can generate private keys offline, wouldn't 2 people in theory be able to download the same script and generate the same private key by pure randomness?

Thanks,

[jackjack]

You're absolutely right!
But the odds are only 1/115792089237316195423570985008687907853269984665640564039457584007913129639936

[ifyouloveit]

So you're telling me there is a chance?

[CIYAM]

This has been answered many times before - basically the chances are about the same as you getting hit by lightning on the same day at the same exact time several years in a row.

[Dabs]

You'd have a better chance of winning the lotto every draw date for the next 30 years. I mean, winning the lotto is only 1 in 13 million. If you play Satoshi Dice, you have a 1 in 64k chance of getting the ultimate jackpot.

My favorite phrase is about 256 bit encryption brute force time. And they strongly imply that brute-force attacks against 256-bit keys will be infeasible until computers are built from something other than matter and occupy something other than space.

[ifyouloveit]

Alrighty then. Thanks!

[tpantlik]

Well, there could be bug in sw/script that is generating private key that could potentially lead to generating keys in smaller address space. I think something like this is unlikely to happen, but try to say this to debian maintainers  ;-)

[jackjack]

try to say this to debian maintainers

That's low