Trust No One

[codymanix]

Hooray! I will paint chunks of lead with sparkling color and get rich! That I didn't think of that before!!!

Note that there are some people which have another opinion. One of them is, that the value comes from the fact that there is fewer gold on this world than tree stumps. Gold doesn't grow, you know.. 

[Proofer]

Hooray! I will paint chunks of lead with sparkling color and get rich! That I didn't think of that before!!!

Note that there are some people which have another opinion. One of them is, that the value comes from the fact that there is fewer gold on this world than tree stumps. Gold doesn't grow, you know.. 

I wasn't so much stating an opinion as asking a question; my introductory statement, "I don't understand this," was not a mere rhetorical flourish.  I do understand that difficulty of production or relative scarcity is a requirement of a medium of exchange, but I don't understand how this is equivalent to intrinsic value.  Intrinsic value derives from the properties of something that makes it useful or desirable for reasons other than potential exchange.

In other words, I don't see intrinsic value in Bitcoins.  I am not saying that this defeats the idea; I am merely questioning the assertion that "Bitcoin is based on [intrinsic] value."  Rather, I think it's a brilliant idea for controlling the quantity of a specified kind of information that, as far as I can see as a Bitcoin toddler, can work as a medium of exchange.

[Eveofwar]

Yeah its better to not trust ppl...

Have this weird feeling you're going to be a scammer.  Only time will tell.

EDIT:  LOL...all posts by them deleted.  Imagine that.

[tbdunamis]

I must admit that I haven't taken the time to read this entire thread.  My only reason for replying is to admit that I am a naturally trusting person who believes that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.  This does not mean that I naively give away my money to the first person that offers to do something beneficial with it.  It's just a simple fact that a person who has paid the price to become honest will naturally be able to recognize those who aren't.  This experience has a habit of relieving one of any sense of paranoia.

[occulta]

I dont think this point it totally fair/true:

Are they asking you to trust them? (red flag)

Anyone starting out trying to gain trust but are totally legit, may say these words. Unless the person is begging, thats a different story

[xDGDZEx]

I dont think this point it totally fair/true:

Are they asking you to trust them? (red flag)

Anyone starting out trying to gain trust but are totally legit, may say these words. Unless the person is begging, thats a different story

True, but if someone is just starting out, they would probably be best served by making a proposal and then leaving it to the more experienced party to decide whether or not to trust them.

Everyone wants to be trustworthy (at least normal people), but on the internet especially, these things take time.

My rule: Everyone lives in Nigeria...until they prove the don't

p.s. No offense meant to honest Nigerians

[Chin-A]

I must admit that I haven't taken the time to read this entire thread.  My only reason for replying is to admit that I am a naturally trusting person who believes that everyone is innocent until proven guilty.  This does not mean that I naively give away my money to the first person that offers to do something beneficial with it.  It's just a simple fact that a person who has paid the price to become honest will naturally be able to recognize those who aren't.  This experience has a habit of relieving one of any sense of paranoia.

I think in a forum like this its better to assume everyone is guilty/untrusty worthy unless proven innocent/trustworthy...

[onelineproof]

Here's a simple system I propose:

1) Generate your bitcoin public&private keypairs offline. If for example, you want to store 1000 BTC, generate 10 keypairs and use each keypair to store 100 BTC.

2) Send 100 BTC to each of the 10 public keys that you generated (while keeping your private keys still offline).

2) Encode the keypairs into QR codes and print them onto paper (10 papers). Protect each paper with a plastic covering. Store the papers in a safe place at home. Also, store your important passwords (not necessarily related to bitcoin) there. Set up as much home security as you see fit.

3) Whenever you want to use 100 BTC, take a paper, scan it, and send.

4) Make a backup of your private keys as well as all your important passwords, and encrypt this backup with a complicated passphrase, and keep the passphrase in your mind only. Do not write it down. Rehearse it every day. Store a copy of this backup in various places around the world (Google Docs, Work computer, second home, buried underground somewhere, whatever). These backups are important in case something happens to your home (like a fire), or someone attacks your home. They ensure that there is no single point of failure for your important data. Of course, if your house burns down with your data AND you forget the password to your backups IN THE SAME TIME, then you're screwed. But what are the chances of that? As long as you keep your brain safe and alive, you have your data. And if you don't keep your brain healthy enough for this, then I think you have bigger problems to worry about than data & money.

[Markus000]

Ok, thanks for the tip, at least i'm aware and not to trust anyone.

[TheHeroMember]

Ok, thanks for the tip, at least i'm aware and not to trust anyone.

That's lesson number 1.

[556j]

Good guide!

[msin]

Totally agree with this, my MtGox account was hacked, my password and email were changed, and my bitcoins are now gone, about 300.  Nothing from MtGox, they don't give a shit.  When I received the account withdrawal email, I immediately told them to freeze my account, they didn't.

[julz]

Totally agree with this, my MtGox account was hacked, my password and email were changed, and my bitcoins are now gone, about 300.  Nothing from MtGox, they don't give a shit.  When I received the account withdrawal email, I immediately told them to freeze my account, they didn't.

When did this happen?  Did you use the same password on multiple systems? Did you use a crappy short password?

I'm not trying to 'blame the victim' here - but in most cases it does seem to turn out that the user was using woefully inadequate passwords, or that the security breach was on the user's side, so please let us know if you have any information on how your 'account was hacked'.

Also - there is a daily withdrawal limit in place on most mtgox accounts.. are you saying that all 300 or so disappeared at once - or that this happened over a period of time?

How much followup have you done with mtgox support?

I see you've made another thread regarding this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=54711.0
Please reply there.

[TheHeroMember]

Totally agree with this, my MtGox account was hacked, my password and email were changed, and my bitcoins are now gone, about 300.  Nothing from MtGox, they don't give a shit.  When I received the account withdrawal email, I immediately told them to freeze my account, they didn't.

When did this happen?  Did you use the same password on multiple systems? Did you use a crappy short password?

I'm not trying to 'blame the victim' here - but in most cases it does seem to turn out that the user was using woefully inadequate passwords, or that the security breach was on the user's side, so please let us know if you have any information on how your 'account was hacked'.

Also - there is a daily withdrawal limit in place on most mtgox accounts.. are you saying that all 300 or so disappeared at once - or that this happened over a period of time?

How much followup have you done with mtgox support?

I see you've made another thread regarding this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=54711.0
Please reply there.

Mostly its a problem with short passwords, i suggest you use alphanumeric + symbols with up to 15-20 characters. Ex *(')P@$sw0Rd*_#!++>

[msin]

Totally agree with this, my MtGox account was hacked, my password and email were changed, and my bitcoins are now gone, about 300.  Nothing from MtGox, they don't give a shit.  When I received the account withdrawal email, I immediately told them to freeze my account, they didn't.

When did this happen?  Did you use the same password on multiple systems? Did you use a crappy short password?

I'm not trying to 'blame the victim' here - but in most cases it does seem to turn out that the user was using woefully inadequate passwords, or that the security breach was on the user's side, so please let us know if you have any information on how your 'account was hacked'.

Also - there is a daily withdrawal limit in place on most mtgox accounts.. are you saying that all 300 or so disappeared at once - or that this happened over a period of time?

How much followup have you done with mtgox support?

I see you've made another thread regarding this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=54711.0
Please reply there.

Mostly its a problem with short passwords, i suggest you use alphanumeric + symbols with up to 15-20 characters. Ex *(')P@$sw0Rd*_#!++>

My password wasn't crazy long or anything but there is no way in hell it was guessed or brute forced.

[omo]

good!

[andylam]

Sorry about your coins :O
~andy ^_^

[thegato]

My mama say: Dont talk to strangers 

[altuin]

Meh Paranoia don;t get you nowhere

[TheHeroMember]

My mama say: Dont talk to strangers 

Your mama is a genius.