Is this a possible attack or am I missing something?

[Xenland]

On average I get about 100 connections through the bitcoin client but this is on Linux; On windows I get about 8 connections sometimes 9 if I'm lucky. I've heard similar reports for windows users.

Don't I only have to have control of 8 of those nodes and I could potentially fake send bitcoins?
And the user wouldn't even know right?

[jackjack]

fake send bitcoins

[Xenland]

Sorry

Send fake data to make them think you sent valid bitcoins...

Is that clearer?

[newminerr]

If you control those 8 nodes -or most of them- you can fake a transaction to your CLIENT.

But transactions are saved in the bitcoin block thingy so you can't fake that unless you can mine all the blocks consecutively.

[dree12]

This is a possible attack, but not in the way you suggest. You can DOS the nodes connected only to you, reject their blocks, and reject their txs. In theory, it should also be possible to fake tx to them (double-spend) and not broadcast it over the network, but this is very dangerous since you must keep them in quarentine until the coins are confirmed to be spent into your other wallet. (and you don't know if they are in quarentine or not).

This attack is very dangerous, and costly since many IPs in different blocks (bitcoin allows only one connection per block) needs to be purchaced. To avoid this attack, remain well-connected, keep a peers file on your computer and do not rely on IRC too much.

[Xenland]

This is a possible attack, but not in the way you suggest. You can DOS the nodes connected only to you, reject their blocks, and reject their txs. In theory, it should also be possible to fake tx to them (double-spend) and not broadcast it over the network, but this is very dangerous since you must keep them in quarentine until the coins are confirmed to be spent into your other wallet. (and you don't know if they are in quarentine or not).

This attack is very dangerous, and costly since many IPs in different blocks (bitcoin allows only one connection per block) needs to be purchaced. To avoid this attack, remain well-connected, keep a peers file on your computer and do not rely on IRC too much.

That sounds like a good plan. I feel that I am safe as I've get a good 100 connects on my computer. Its the windows peeps I feel are vulnerable, especially since 60% or more of bitcoiners use windows while sending and receiving coins.

[dree12]

The attacker has no way of knowing if its target is quarentined. See the wiki article on cancer nodes: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Weaknesses#Cancer_nodes.

The wiki identifies it at medium threat level, the highest it goes. For a comparison, the 51% attack is at low threat level. Unfortunately, the wiki is probably poorly organized (it places Illegal Content at medium (should be none IMO), Scalability at low (should be medium at least)), and is missing some recent allergations about MyBitcoin attacks.

[ctoon6]

uh, i use windows and get over 100 connections, you obviously don't understand how to properly forward ports.

[Xenland]

uh, i use windows and get over 100 connections, you obviously don't understand how to properly forward ports.

Hey we don't all live in areas with Gigabits of Internet just laying around I'm running off out in the middle of the woods. My point was mainly for those who don't actively forward ports......

[ctoon6]

uh, i use windows and get over 100 connections, you obviously don't understand how to properly forward ports.

Hey we don't all live in areas with Gigabits of Internet just laying around I'm running off out in the middle of the woods. My point was mainly for those who don't actively forward ports......

your posts made it sound like it was a windows problem, and not a user problem.

[Xenland]

uh, i use windows and get over 100 connections, you obviously don't understand how to properly forward ports.

Hey we don't all live in areas with Gigabits of Internet just laying around I'm running off out in the middle of the woods. My point was mainly for those who don't actively forward ports......

your posts made it sound like it was a windows problem, and not a user problem.

I wasn't implying either. I was just asking given the circumstances of the low amount of windows connections is it possible to own 1000 nodes to attack one specific node. So what I did was, I took a real world problem and asked a real world question but I'm glad we got all of this cleared up. Cancer node was the answer in case anyone was wondering.