Metadata

[we6jbo]

I've been reading a few topics here and I see things that flash at me as things that appear worrying to others. One of them is the state of anonymity and the other is lost of bitcoins.

I understand the anonymity part and that systems that provide anonymity to people such as I2P are rewarding yet they don't incur lost if that anonymity is stolen because there's usually no financial ties. However in the case of Bitcoin there is a real threat to finances. One of the things I can do with physical cash is I can put it into a bank and use a Visa or other credit card to pay for things. If that Visa card is ever stolen or misused by the clerk I can then dispute the charges with Visa and I'll usually get all of the money back. In the case of Bitcoin however if my computer is hacked and my wallet is stolen, what was in that wallet is lost. So I was thinking in order to provide some backing to my wallet, some metadata about myself and my purchases could be embedded to all my transactions. Then if someone receiving money sees that the metadata does not match what the transaction is for they can find out the real owner of the bitcoins and hopefully come up with an arrangement for getting the bitcoins back.

[mcdett]

VISA is a private company that offers as a service the protection of fraudulent transactions.  I believe that if bitcoin grows people will offer similar services.

[we6jbo]

Encrypting the wallet only works when I'm not using my money. In the case of Visa I can use my card to buy a 2,000 computer system online and if a hacker gets my number I can dispute any charges with Visa. If I decrypt my wallet I automatically make a point of failure where a hacker can take my money. If I put my bitcoins into a third party and the third party is hacked then my money and everyone elses money is lost.

Now with metadata I can still lose my money in all the examples but if a bitcoin cashing place gets bitcoins that were owned by John Doe and the person wanting the cash is Jane Smith then that may put up some red flags and the cashing place can invesigate that.

[ShadowOfHarbringer]

Encrypting the wallet only works when I'm not using my money. In the case of Visa I can use my card to buy a 2,000 computer system online and if a hacker gets my number I can dispute any charges with Visa. If I decrypt my wallet I automatically make a point of failure where a hacker can take my money. If I put my bitcoins into a third party and the third party is hacked then my money and everyone elses money is lost.

Now with metadata I can still lose my money in all the examples but if a bitcoin cashing place gets bitcoins that were owned by John Doe and the person wanting the cash is Jane Smith then that may put up some red flags and the cashing place can invesigate that.

No worries.

With today's technology you can create a Fort Knox to hold your Bitcoins in your home.
Truecrypt + Virtual Machines + Linux are the things you need.

With these, it is possible to create a digital safe with multi-level encrypted rooms full of mirrors & traps/honeypots which only you can navigate and only you know if they contain anything.... Possibilities are totally endless.

----
PS. If you want to go "security", drop Windows & Mac instantly. Go Linux or BSD. Corporations such as Microsoft & Apple can not be trusted. Actually, no corporation can be trusted and that is why we have open source software.

[Garrett Burgwardt]

Encrypting the wallet only works when I'm not using my money. In the case of Visa I can use my card to buy a 2,000 computer system online and if a hacker gets my number I can dispute any charges with Visa. If I decrypt my wallet I automatically make a point of failure where a hacker can take my money. If I put my bitcoins into a third party and the third party is hacked then my money and everyone elses money is lost.

Now with metadata I can still lose my money in all the examples but if a bitcoin cashing place gets bitcoins that were owned by John Doe and the person wanting the cash is Jane Smith then that may put up some red flags and the cashing place can invesigate that.

If Visa got hacked then your money is lost as well, though that's why they have insurance.

Similar businesses will appear for bitcoins.

[jgarzik]

VISA is a private company that offers as a service the protection of fraudulent transactions.  I believe that if bitcoin grows people will offer similar services.

mcdett has it right.

VISA and PayPal are services layered on top of a base currency.

Neither the Euro nor the US Dollar has any fraud-protection services attached to it; if your Euros are stolen, your only recourse is calling the police.  And their job is to catch the criminal, not get your money back.

Same with bitcoin.  All we need to do is provide a sound base currency that prevents double-spending.  The rest can be left to outside services.

[ribuck]

One of the things I can do with physical cash is I can put it into a bank

Lobby your government to remove the restrictions on small businesses starting up a bank, and you'll soon see innovative banking models built around the needs of bitcoiners. It will happen anyway, but it will take longer in the current regulatory environment (which is designed to protect the big players at the expense of the public, while being sold to the public as the opposite).

[myrkul]

All we need to do is provide a sound base currency that prevents double-spending.  The rest can be left to outside services.

+1.
Metadata goes against what I see as bitcoins' main strength: anonymity. I do NOT want my name in a block any more than I want my thumbprint permanently inked on a dollar bill.

[genjix]

My bank is fucking rubbish with security. When I log into internet banking they ask for any 1 of my answers to 3 secret questions (mothers maiden name, first school .etc - no numbers) and 3 random digits of my 6 digit passphrase!!

When I was reading the source code to their webpages, they were written for netscape navigator.

No, I'd rather not pay the premium for their security/fraud protection. nothx, I can secure myself faaarrrr better.

That fraud protection you get isn't free. They cover that with fees, and the service in return is very poor. It's like insurance or warranty on a purchase- if you're sensible (and the risk isn't a significant portion of your savings) then it's a bad investment.

[Mike Hearn]

If you want the ability to do chargebacks you'd have to do it via an intermediate escrow service, and convince merchants to accept that. Some of them either won't, or they will but they'll charge more.

Wallet security is an interesting topic and I think smartphones are the answer.