What about a host which doesn't discriminate against people?

[davout]

I thought the blockchain was downloaded from peers in the network and not from a central server...

It is, IRC is used to find the first ones to connect to.

[SgtSpike]

I thought the blockchain was downloaded from peers in the network and not from a central server...

One website provided a direct download to the current blockchain.  Not sure where it is though, but it was meant to be a high-speed way to get your blockchain up to speed for a new client download.  Sometimes the P2P download can take forever, especially if you only have 8 peers connected.

[davout]

If somebody explains to me how to setup an offline downloadable block chain I'll happily host it at bitcoin-central.net

[zellfaze]

I thought the blockchain was downloaded from peers in the network and not from a central server...

It is, IRC is used to find the first ones to connect to.

I wouldn't exactly call that a centralized system...

If somebody explains to me how to setup an offline downloadable block chain I'll happily host it at bitcoin-central.net

blkxxxx.dat files and blkindex.dat just need to be copied out of your data directory and into their data directory.
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Data_directory

[TiagoTiago]

Probably a good idea to close the client before copying the files just in case a new block is being downloaded i guess

[memvola]

Someday, bitcoin clients will simply bootstrap their chain using the bittorrent protocol

Well, what it currently does is essentially the same thing as the bittorrent protocol. It would be way better if they made the download more efficient. You can always download the blockchain externally using bittorrent, though you have to make sure they are signed by, preferably multiple, trusted developers.

[davout]

Well, what it currently does is essentially the same thing as the bittorrent protocol.

Well, yeah, bitcoin is peer-to-peer...

You can always download the blockchain externally using bittorrent, though you have to make sure they are signed by, preferably multiple, trusted developers.

You don't even need to, you just need to check that once you start using it, you receive blocks built upon it, or ask a few peers for block hash at height X and check that it matches your chain.

But I guess the fact that it's PGP signed can't really hurt

[Lolcust]

I'd like to humbly point out that somewhat blindly trusting fellow peers when connecting (w/o TOR, or mayhaps even with it) from a place that has draconian and fairly intrusive government with competent people on payroll is not a particularly cheery idea.

[memvola]

I'd like to humbly point out that somewhat blindly trusting fellow peers when connecting (w/o TOR, or mayhaps even with it) from a place that has draconian and fairly intrusive government with competent people on payroll is not a particularly cheery idea.

+1

I think it will be safe to use until the State decides that it's a threat. It can take a long time. Until then, I suppose we need to pay our pledged bounties and create new bounties for support for pseudonymous overlay networks.

You can always download the blockchain externally using bittorrent, though you have to make sure they are signed by, preferably multiple, trusted developers.

You don't even need to, you just need to check that once you start using it, you receive blocks built upon it, or ask a few peers for block hash at height X and check that it matches your chain.

Wow, this is really pratical. Does the current software do such checks? It has to I guess, and if so, downloading blockchain from an external source is much less dangerous then I first thought. You could even embed the executables' checksums in the block chain, hehe... No, no, bad idea...

[zellfaze]

I'd like to humbly point out that somewhat blindly trusting fellow peers when connecting (w/o TOR, or mayhaps even with it) from a place that has draconian and fairly intrusive government with competent people on payroll is not a particularly cheery idea.

+1

I think it will be safe to use until the State decides that it's a threat. It can take a long time. Until then, I suppose we need to pay our pledged bounties and create new bounties for support for pseudonymous overlay networks.

You can always download the blockchain externally using bittorrent, though you have to make sure they are signed by, preferably multiple, trusted developers.

You don't even need to, you just need to check that once you start using it, you receive blocks built upon it, or ask a few peers for block hash at height X and check that it matches your chain.

Wow, this is really pratical. Does the current software do such checks? It has to I guess, and if so, downloading blockchain from an external source is much less dangerous then I first thought. You could even embed the executables' checksums in the block chain, hehe... No, no, bad idea...

Unless everyone starts to do it.

If a million people download the Bitcoin client today and with it the wrong block chain....

[CyberPhunk]

Open directory on my seedbox with current clients:

Here

Let me know if there are any problems. Also, would be nice to include a link to the current checksums, but can't seem to find them.

[Xenland]

Open directory on my seedbox with current clients:

Here

Let me know if there are any problems. Also, would be nice to include a link to the current checksums, but can't seem to find them.

if you've downloaded your clients from source forge you can checksum them your self

[CyberPhunk]

if you've downloaded your clients from source forge you can checksum them your self

'k, will do, thanks.

Hmm, that begs the question, how to verify the checksum for those downloading them?

Say, I post a checksum for each client in a txt file. How do people downloading them know that it is valid?

Is there a way to point to an official/verified checksum that they can check against?

[Xenland]

if you've downloaded your clients from source forge you can checksum them your self

'k, will do, thanks.

Hmm, that begs the question, how to verify the checksum for those downloading them?

Say, I post a checksum for each client in a txt file. How do people downloading them know that it is valid?

Is there a way to point to an official/verified checksum that they can check against?

Thats a good question, If you can't find the original checksums, maybe there will be enough people to provide their checksums and you can get enough of the same confirmations to affirm that is the correct checksums.

[CyberPhunk]

Thats a good question, If you can't find the original checksums, maybe there will be enough people to provide their checksums and you can get enough of the same confirmations to affirm that is the correct checksums.

'k, I'll search for them, and create a topic with the current client file names and relevant checksums. Then I'll put a link to the thread.

Link

put a .txt file in the directory with the url of that thread.

[ThiagoCMC]

Bit Bit Bit! I love that word!!!   :-P

 I know Torrent as created for huge files transmissions but, I see another potential for Torrent... BACKUP!

 So, I'm already seeding the Bitcoin oficial clients with MD5 included.

Bitcoin Bittorrent
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=28689.0

 I propose a mirrored Bitcoin repositories across the globe. Just like Debian, Ubuntu...

bitcoinbrasil.com.br/bitcoin
bitcoinchina.ch/bitcoin
intersango.com/bitcoin
etc.com/bitcoin

 With rsync working automatically in the background...

Cheers!
Thiago

[CyberPhunk]

So, I'm already seeding the Bitcoin oficial clients with MD5 included.

Cheers!
Thiago

Would it be okay to add the .torrent links to the mirror/checksum thread I created?

[joepie91]

Regarding the blockchain downloading... I'll be mirroring the blockchain periodically at http://cryto.net/mirrors/ - I believe that by just running the Bitcoin client for a while, it'll verify that the blockchain it has is legitimate, right?

[film2240]

speaking of hosting places.Try hosting in Iceland as the laws are more favourable on privacy as well as not embargoing countries the US has issues with (I think.I got that impression from the pro freedom press law for the net in Iceland which prevents foreign countries trying to silence critical materials hosted on Icelandic placed servers)

It may help? (or it may not as I don't know fully about these kinds of things)