Electrum - Privacy issue (Windows)

[Lucius]

If you use Electrum on Windows OS and if you click on Start menu taskbar -> Properties -> Notification Area -> you can see all icons that appear in that area. One of them is Electrum which in itself is not a problem, but in additional info, that icon also shows balance of your wallet which can certainly compromise your privacy if you share your computer with someone, or need to have it repaired. I must mention that this is not an icon that is visible only while Electrum is open, but information that remains after you close the program.

I have to mention that this is about Windows 7, I haven't checked yet for the W10.

Please no discussion about how Windows is insecure or how we should stop using any version of this OS.

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[nc50lc]

Same thing on Window10:


It's weird that the balance is being displayed on the selection of Taskbar Icons, from:
"Notification and Actions settings->Select which icons appear on the taskbar"

[o_e_l_e_o]

I must mention that this is not an icon that is visible only while Electrum is open, but information that remains after you close the program.

What about if you restart your computer and then don't open Electrum at all? Is it still viewable then?

Is it showing the balance of the last wallet you opened? Would creating a "dummy" wallet and opening it reset the value to zero?

[Lucius]

o_e_l_e_o, I can confirm that even after completely shutting down the computer and run CCleaner (it has zero effect on this issue) that notification is still visible in Notifications Area Icons with a balance of last opened wallet.

I will try to monitor for how long that info will be visible there without opening Electrum again. I'm sure opening an empty wallet would be the only smart solution, with some possible tweaks in the Windows settings that would make it impossible to remember things like this at all.

[DireWolfM14]

That's odd, on my PC that icon only appears when I have Electrum running.  I'm still running Win7 at work, been putting off the upgrade much to the IT guy's chagrin.  I noticed there's a setting that may have an effect:  Right click on the taskbar, and select properties, then click on the "Customise..." button.  It looks like you can select between three options, one is to hide the icon all together.

[hatshepsut93]

I just tested, it shows the balance of the latest opened wallet, so you can just open some empty dummy wallet before closing Electrum to show zero balance. Though I don't know if its possible to recover the previous Electrum labels if you dig through some system files.

I really don't think it's that big of an issue, if you are sharing your PC with someone you have bigger things to worry about, they could install a keylogger and steal your coins. But if it bothers you, you could probably open an issue on github and ask them to change the description string for notification service.

[NeuroticFish]

I haven't checked yet for the W10.

On Windows 10 the tray icon seems to go away as soon as I close Electrum. But I use the portable exe... Is the other one installing some sort of agent for faster start?!
Indeed it's an unnecessary info on the tray icon, which causes more trouble than help.

I just tested, it shows the balance of the latest opened wallet, so you can just open some empty dummy wallet before closing Electrum to show zero balance. Though I don't know if its possible to recover the previous Electrum labels if you dig through some system files.

I believe that the tray icon is not intended to be there after closing Electrum and it may be just something hanging in the app when it should close.

[stompix]

o_e_l_e_o, I can confirm that even after completely shutting down the computer and run CCleaner (it has zero effect on this issue) that notification is still visible in Notifications Area Icons with a balance of last opened wallet.

As many have said, I've tested it right now cause it sounds really weird and it's not happening on my laptops on my W7 with the storage or on my usual wallets on W10. The icon does indeed show my full balance (which I didn't notice in two years of running it) but it disappears when I close the wallet.

Is damn weird.
I wonder, if the notification is still hanging there, does it update your balance if you receive a tx even if you have closed the program?

Anyhow, it seems we all use 3.3.8, ...maybe...

[Abdussamad]

you should make an issue about it on github

mind you if you really want privacy you should create separate user accounts for separate users in your OS

[BitMaxz]

I tried the method from this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c1-GcaiT_0 and it clears the Icon of Electrum but after I open the Electrum again it shows up again.

However, both IconStream and PastIconStream are totally deleted I can't find a way how to put them back.

The up arrow(Under notification tray) is also gone I can't put them back. I just warn you to don't follow the guide from that video.

[pooya87]

However, both IconStream and PastIconStream are totally deleted I can't find a way how to put them back.

you have to restart explorer.exe after you deleted those keys. kill it first from task manager and then run it again by typing it in File > New task
there is also this post in SO that could help: https://superuser.com/questions/122774/how-to-clear-the-list-of-notification-area-icons-in-windows-7

[Pmalek]

Nice find Lucius, I had no idea this info was displayed in the open like that.
I had some issues finding what you mean on Windows 10 so I found this source that mentions the same problem: https://www.gitmemory.com/issue/spesmilo/electrum/5665/536391267

If you do a search on Windows 10 for "Select which icons appear on the taskbar" it should take you directly to the location where the info about your Electrum wallet is posted. I will check this later on my PC where Electrum is installed. 

[Lucius]

I really don't think it's that big of an issue, if you are sharing your PC with someone you have bigger things to worry about...

mind you if you really want privacy you should create separate user accounts for separate users in your OS

For me personally, this is not a big problem -  I have my own PC, but the goal was to warn others who might share a computer with someone. It is just about privacy protection, and I agree that there are many bigger issues that need to be addressed.

On Windows 10 the tray icon seems to go away as soon as I close Electrum. But I use the portable exe... Is the other one installing some sort of agent for faster start?!

It is not about tray icon, it goes away in my case also - but it can still be found in Notifications area where it shows balance of the last opened wallet. nc50lc is confirmed same issue on W10, but as you say, you use portable version.

Is damn weird.
I wonder, if the notification is still hanging there, does it update your balance if you receive a tx even if you have closed the program?
Anyhow, it seems we all use 3.3.8, ...maybe...

It is still there, after 24 hours I open wallet last time - but it is not updating balance and it shows old BTC price from yesterday. Yes, I am using 3.3.7 with Nano S, but i will make an update to 3.3.8 and select option "Hide icon and notifications" for Electrum, then I'll see if there is any difference.

Nice find Lucius, I had no idea this info was displayed in the open like that.

I was thinking this is only related to W7, but some basic things stay the same in all versions. However, I think only one who would really seek it would find such information, Electrum has been around for so many years and no one has ever reported this (at least as far as I know).

[DireWolfM14]

I'm running 3.3.8 (installed version, not standalone,) on my Win7 machine, and I'm not having the same issue.  My Win10 machine behaves the same way, i.e. the icon goes away as soon as I close the program.

Curious; I can right-click on the Electrum Icon in the tray, and select Exit Electrum, do you have that option, and does the icon go away if you do?  Have you checked your Task Manager to see if Electrum is still running in the background some how?  Does it behave the same way whether your Nano is plugged into the USB port, or not?

[Pmalek]

When I checked this on my laptop there was no notification from Electrum. So, I opened up one of my wallets on Electrum just to make sure and after that the notification appeared. It shows the balance and name of the wallet I opened. After closing Electrum it was still there. I restarted my PC and the info remains. So apparently it stays there for a while but since it wasn't there the first time I checked it probably gets dropped from the notification area after a while. I will check again tomorrow if it changes after the laptop was shut down and not just restarted.

[AltcoinBuilder]

they should change it to a static text like this example (it is in c#):

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/winforms/controls/app-icons-to-the-taskbar-with-wf-notifyicon

[Lucius]

I'm running 3.3.8 (installed version, not standalone,) on my Win7 machine, and I'm not having the same issue.  My Win10 machine behaves the same way, i.e. the icon goes away as soon as I close the program.

Perhaps you misunderstood, it is not about icon you see in the tray (left from clock/date), but it is about an icon which is displayed on in Notification Area Icons - you get there by click on Customize (Taskbar and Start Menu Properties). This is not related to an icon in the tray (it goes away when I close Electrum) or about some Electrum process that is still working in the background.

So apparently it stays there for a while but since it wasn't there the first time I checked it probably gets dropped from the notification area after a while. I will check again tomorrow if it changes after the laptop was shut down and not just restarted.

I just check is it still here today, and it is still there - but it is dropping down on the list as you noticed, and it will probably disappear completely until I start Electrum again.

[pooya87]

they should change it to a static text like this example (it is in c#):

the tooltip is showing the wallet status at all times, for instance when you start the client it shows syncing and how much left to download, your connection status,... then when everything is finished it is changed into "balance + wallet name". it can't be changed to a static text.
the fix is simple, the following lines should be edited to exclude the balance from the tooltip:
https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/blob/a041a0c0755159a7dfe0fd9ca6f30fe50545c8ff/electrum/gui/qt/main_window.py#L854-L868

[Pmalek]

Even after a complete shutdown of the PC and one day later the wallet name and balance is still displayed in the notifications area. I am really curious how long it stays there. Hopefully I wont be needing my Electrum app in the next couple of days so I can check this.
Personally it is not too big of an issue to me. There are other wallets that you can open and see more information than this.

[Lucius]

the fix is simple, the following lines should be edited to exclude the balance from the tooltip:

So fix is simple, but can only be done by Electrum developers in next version/s?

Pmalek, in my case it is still there after 4 days, but for anyone who does not share his PC or sent it for repair, there is no real danger. In some cases, it may be better to live in blissful ignorance than to burden yourself with little things