FAQ for Hodl Privacy for Newbies

[yazher]

Hey Guys, I just found something useful for the newbies to add to their collection of knowledge. This is for someone who wants to hodl some BTC or any other cryptocurrencies in the future or you already doing it now. try to read this short collection and maybe you will find something which you didn't know all along. of course, some veterans here have some better explanations but this time I have read this FAQ and I think this would help us at some point when we want to hodl. The information here is not that much but still, this is useful so I'm sharing it with you. All credits to its Author: 6102bitcoin



Source:

https://github.com/6102bitcoin/FAQ/blob/master/hodl-privacy.md

[yhiaali3]

Thank you I visited the link and found important information especially about Wasabi Wallet, I was interested to know more information about this wonderful bitcoin wallet, there are really great features in this wallet to maintain privacy like using Tor by default and this helps to maintain privacy significantly . Also, there is the advantage of mixing by the method of CoinJoin, where a group of transfers can be sent at once to another group of people at the opposite end, and this works to maintain privacy and anonymity in a big way.
Of course, this is not all there is still much to learn about privacy.

[o_e_l_e_o]

Mostly good advice on that page, but there are a few things I would disagree with or need clarification.

Use incognito/private browsing when doing anything bitcoin related to disable plugins.

Incognito or private browsing doesn't always disable all add-ons. Most browsers now give you the option to turn extensions on or off in private sessions. If you want no extensions, then you'll need to manually check that they are all turned off. I'd argue that turning off all extensions isn't completely necessary, though. Most people have a bunch of pointless extensions which they should just uninstall altogether, but extensions like HTTPS Everywhere and Privacy Badger from the Electronic Frontier Foundation can safely remain enabled.

Avoid email 2FA (use an alternative like Google Authenticator when possible)

Email 2FA is inherently insecure, but don't use Google Authenticator. Use a free and open source alternative which allows the creation of encrypted back ups such as AndOTP, Aegis, or Tofu.

Email Confirmations

Disabling email confirmations doesn't help your privacy from the exchange. They still know your email address, regardless of whether or not you are receiving notifications from them. You need to sign up with a brand new email address and not give them any of your personal details, or you need to mix your coins after withdrawal from the exchange via a process such as ChipMixer or CoinJoin.

[Welsh]

If you really want to take Bitcoin privacy seriously it might be worth considering compartilization either through physical isolation or a operating system such as Qubes OS. There is no compromise when concerning privacy, and you either do it correctly or not at all, because keeping your privacy is actually rather difficult, and can be ruined instantly with a wrong move. For example, the incognito is such a blanket statement, and going into incognito just to disable extensions is a little weird to me. Personally, I'd either recommend using an entirely different web browser so that you don't get mixed up or forget to turn on incognito or as mentioned use some sort of isolation method. Its a common misconception that incognito mode is privacy friendly, when in reality it isn't that much better than just normal browsing mode.

Ideally, physical isolation is best, and if you have a dedicated machine specifically for the use of Bitcoin you don't need most of the ease of use extensions that people use. I rarely have more than 3 extensions on my browsing machine, but I understand a lot of people like to install various different ones. The ones I'd recommend is HTTP everywhere, Privacy Badger, and Noscript if you're lazy, and potentially a ad blocking extension. Preferably you would be using open source extensions, and would know the data they collect, and can make a educated decision on whether its worth using it as opposed to risking your privacy.

However, coming back to physical isolation; I understand that this can be impractical for many people, as its far more cost than simply using a software based isolation method, but it is by the most effective. Using any other method will likely result in human error, and you compromising your privacy over a mistake.  Alternatively, there's ways to do it through software such as Qubes OS which offers a layering system inside the operating system, however for this to use you need virtualization capability on your motherboard which not all computers have especially older systems. Although, the software is pretty neat, and is definitely a step in the right direction for anything involving privacy, and not just to be used with Bitcoin.

[sukbir]

Thank you for sharing. I found it's helpful for me

[20kevin20]

@Welsh

Qubes OS might actually be more expensive than physical isolation if you do not have the required PC components. About half of my laptops don't have CPU virtualization support which basically means I'd need to replace them with newer components. I also think the resources needed are quite high especially if you're looking to run more VMs at the same time.

I'd like to add to your reply that offline, encrypted physical isolation is even better. I have removed the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules from the laptops I'm using QT wallets on because I often found my laptop randomly connecting to my home connection when it was supposed to be in Airplane mode, so I'm relying on Ethernet if I ever need internet connection on it again.

For offline airgapped PCs there are a lot of options including purchasing a second-hand computer from some nearby store. As long as it's completely offline, you can do this for under $100 (here I can buy a refurbished PC for as cheap as $20). If you don't trust it, I think you can build your own cheap Linux-running computer specifically for cryptocurrencies using a Raspberry Pi.


Learning to have complete privacy with no backdoors is a lengthy process of mistakes to be honest. In order to be 99% sure there is no data leakage, there are so many precautions you need to take before turning on your PC it actually becomes exhausting at one point. I have a HDD in my drawers with some Linux distro on it that is supposed to be always offline and I plugged it in my PC once, completely forgetting that I had the Ethernet cable plugged in too, after months of fully offline usage. This alone could've spoiled everything I've done so far.

If one is looking to go off the grid, I'd personally advise to first do it just for usual tasks such as simple internet browsing and so on. When you feel you are ready to go off the grid without mistakes, do it.

[Welsh]

Yeah, due to the compatibility of QubesOS, and various different hardware out there it can be difficult sourcing an affordable option, and it may be easier for physical isolation as you mentioned. Although, I've never really sat down, and found out the specifics since most of my computers are currently have the required virtualization capability, and are on the certified hardware list. There are some ThinkPads out there that you can get for a fairly decent price considering the hardware present, but considering most people won't use the virtualization capability for anything other than this it might be a big compromise to make. Physical isolation might be better in that regard, although then there's the issue of having two separate computers for two different things, and really the Bitcoin one if you're going to that extent should only be used for limited things involved with Bitcoin.

Privacy is a massive ball ache as to keep it realistic, and not annoying you are going to compromise on certain things. I've had this debate in my head for many years, and I almost always end up compromising on some front. Obviously, an offline computer is a great option for privacy, although factoring into equation what you're going to be using Bitcoin for. If its just for Holding as per this thread, then a offline computer is perfect. However, if you want to use Bitcoin more like the currency it is, and send transactions you're unfortuantly going to need to compromise on privacy at some point. That's where the isolation comes into play, and physicial isolation would be the go too as pointed out above. However, depending on your situation an operating system such as QubesOS (Others are available) might be worth looking into if you're frequently needing to access Bitcoin related things. Then comes into the whole debate whether a hardware wallet would be good for security sake if you're wanting to access your funds regularly on a live computer, and then you trusting a third party through their software, and hardware.

Privacy, and security is a massive worm hole that you could delve in for weeks. Every now, and again I have a complete revamp of my security, where I look to improve upon it, and there's currently many many things I want to get sorted. As an example of someone looking into privacy. and security considerations; You've decided upon using two computers, that both will access the internet, but one of them is using isolation through software. Then you would need to trust the very manufacturers of the hardware. This is where you start to enter the world of tinfoil hats, but its probably a legitimate consideration if you want to take privacy that seriously. The easiest example I can give, is when people store Bitcoin on their phones (which I would recommend against not only for the following reasons) you are trusting the operating system designed by either apple or android. Android is partly open source, but there are large parts of the operating system which is closed source. So, whatever operating system you choose whether its android, windows 10, Ubuntu, or QubesOS you need to be able to trust it. Luckily, completely open source software does exist, but the most popular operating system as of today (Windows 10) is not.

[TheGreatPython]

This is a good article for anyone to read, whether you have been here for a long time or you’re just a newbie. I have been here for long and I have been seeing people comment wasabi wallet and I still don’t know about it till now. Although ever since I got here I have never really worried about privacy, because my main motive for making use of bitcoin was just to send and receive money with my family who stay on different country.

But, after reading this article I decided to check wasabi out for once. It seems to me it would be a good wallet for my needs to use and for the fact that they offer high level of privacy is really good. I must mention here that I like the fact that the author addressed a lot of things in his article which makes the time worth for it .