Chainalysis runs Electrum nodes.

[HCP]

Lesson two is to not look up your own transactions on block explorers.

Given the amount of other people's transactions I've queried on various block explorers from hanging out in the Tech support and Beginners board... ChainAnalysis probably thinks I own more BTC than Satoshi Nakamoto

Seriously tho... I'm loving my little Raspberry Pi full node setup with a block explorer and electrum server running on it.

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[DireWolfM14]

I'm sorry for being a dunce, but I was born that way and have been trying to rectify it ever since.

What is an "Electrum Node" and how do I get one?

This is the kind of report that makes conspiracy theories flourish: Block explorers as honeypots; wallet clients as possible honeypots;  SPV servers as possible honeypots.  Bitcoin does offer some level of privacy, but I don't believe that was highly prioritized function of the concept.  Even if it was, governments and their taxing agencies will think of it as a war to be waged.  The more financial privacy we have the less secure they're grasp on power.  Any efforts we make to bolster our privacy will only lead to more of their resources being spent on thwarting those efforts.  It's a war that will likely never end.

This discussion has made me a bit uneasy about my privacy, would someone be so kind as to grade the privacy of my set up:

I have an Ubuntu server running a full Bitcoin Core node and ElectrumX server.  Both core and electrumx are connected through clear-net and tor, and open to the world.  I connect all my electrum clients to my own server.  How secure and private is this configuration?

One of the important things I've learned from this thread is that I'm still being somewhat insecure by using third party blockchain explorers, and I have not been using VPN or tor when doing so.  I'll have to fix those habits, but also, I think I'll learn about mempool.space and possibly set it up on a VPS.

[Dabs]

@DireWolfM14, your ElectrumX server looks okay to me, and since you only connect to that using your own Electrum clients, then you are not leaking any info to anyone else (unless someone is watching both you and the server, which is unlikely)

I am thinking that Bitcoin Core full nodes work best when connected to clear-net, but there are a few who use it "selfishly" and just don't have as many incoming connections or run it over tor, the performance impact would be negligible for most normal purposes of using the node and wallets.

If you really want it as private as possible, run everything over tor. Any transactions you are waiting for might take an extra second or two to appear, and any transactions you broadcast might take an extra second or two to propagate.

I've been running a regular Bitcoin Core full node over clear-net for the past many years, but I don't use it as a wallet anymore. I'm on a home connection so sometimes the ISP changes my dynamic ip address and my peer-connection count drops from 100 to 10 every now and then.

[ranochigo]

What is an "Electrum Node" and how do I get one?

They are referring to Electrum servers.

I have an Ubuntu server running a full Bitcoin Core node and ElectrumX server.  Both core and electrumx are connected through clear-net and tor, and open to the world.  I connect all my electrum clients to my own server.  How secure and private is this configuration?

I would probably just run it either over clear-net or through Tor but not both because then the privacy benefits would be diminished. Running it through Tor should probably benefit you primarily through eliminating the risk of your ISP having MITM through your traffic. It wouldn't be so much as to the analysis through the nodes that you're connected to, though Tor does still provide certain degree of protection from that.

One of the important things I've learned from this thread is that I'm still being somewhat insecure by using third party blockchain explorers, and I have not been using VPN or tor when doing so.  I'll have to fix those habits, but also, I think I'll learn about mempool.space and possibly set it up on a VPS.

Linking addresses probably isn't ideal. Using a separate Tor identity for every single one of your addresses and transactions would be advisable.

[LoyceV]

This is nice: governments helping the Bitcoin network by running Electrum servers, governments helping the Tor network by running exit nodes.... If enough different governments try to collect data, they all become less likely to actually find what they're looking for!

Seriously though: this shouldn't be a surprise. Give them misinformation: Lookup some random addresses on block explorers and add read-only addresses to your Electrum wallets (but you can't do that with a convenient default HD-wallet).

Lesson two is to not look up your own transactions on block explorers.

That's not very convenient: even if I run Bitcoin Core, I can't just lookup any txid, right? Block explorers (for various coins) are just very convenient tools. Tor quickly shows a captcha, which is just annoying.

How many of you actually tried to run your own explorer?
With the way how world is going right now, I think we are soon going to have to host everything on our own.

I haven't tried it: it's resource consuming, so it takes an expensive VPS, one way or another it's a lot more work than using an existing explorer, and in the end my webhost could still access everything if they want.

If you really need a block explorer, then you can run your own instance of mempool.space. All the code is open source, and they even give you instructions: https://github.com/mempool/mempool

How cool would it be: explorer.loyce.club But it takes more resources than my current posts archive, and to me it's not worth the cost of a powerful VPS (or VDS).

What a perfect time to purpose the new 64GB RAM server I rented recently with RAID0 SSDs as an electrum node! (Of course, it's supposed to be running other things, but Electrum nodes are dead cheap to host).

Would it be better or worse for privacy to only connect to a certain node? Pro: you know it's probably not a 3-letter agency. Con: you don't get to hide parts of your transactions by using random servers.

[DaveF]

If you really need a block explorer, then you can run your own instance of mempool.space. All the code is open source, and they even give you instructions: https://github.com/mempool/mempool

How cool would it be: explorer.loyce.club But it takes more resources than my current posts archive, and to me it's not worth the cost of a powerful VPS (or VDS).

<cough> Node in a box </cough> and run it at home. Yes I am making assumptions about your home internet, and that you have an RPi and drive handy but still.

Seriously, for the most part it's just storage. The explorers do not take that much CPU / RAM to run till you get dozens of hits a minute.

-Dave

[pooya87]

What is an "Electrum Node" and how do I get one?

Any Electrum node or server is simply a bitcoin full verifying node that has a searchable database.

One of the important things I've learned from this thread is that I'm still being somewhat insecure by using third party blockchain explorers, and I have not been using VPN or tor when doing so.

Keep in mind that TOR or VPN don't magically give you 100% privacy, there are still many ways you can decrease your privacay.
For example imagine you have 2 addresses: addr1 and addr2
If a block explorer or a SPV server sees IP address 1.2.3.4 is asking the balance for addr2 and addr2 then some time later IP address 5.6.7.8 is asking the balance for same addresses then IP 9.10.11.12 is doing the same, ... it is safe to assume addr1 and addr2 are linked even though the IP changed.
Now imagine you send coins from addr1 to a KYC exchange, now they can also know the identity of the one who owns addr1+addr2.

[o_e_l_e_o]

That's not very convenient: even if I run Bitcoin Core, I can't just lookup any txid, right? Block explorers (for various coins) are just very convenient tools. Tor quickly shows a captcha, which is just annoying.

Why do you need to look up your own transactions on a block explorer, though? Since we are mostly talking about Electrum here, then just view your transactions in your own wallet which is hopefully connected to your own Electrum server, or at least connected to someone else's Electrum server over Tor. No need to involve yet another third party. I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I looked up one of my own transactions.

Keep in mind that TOR or VPN don't magically give you 100% privacy, there are still many ways you can decrease your privacay.

Just as you need to use a new Tor circuit with every different Electrum wallet you open, so the same server doesn't see the same IP address querying a bunch of different addresses within a few minutes, you need to use a new Tor circuit with every address or transaction you look up on a block explorer. Even better if you don't look up more than one address or transaction you are interested in at the same time, and if you must, then look them up on different explorers.

[LoyceV]

<cough> Node in a box </cough> and run it at home. Yes I am making assumptions about your home internet, and that you have an RPi and drive handy but still.

Seriously, for the most part it's just storage. The explorers do not take that much CPU / RAM to run till you get dozens of hits a minute.

Too many assumptions indeed: I don't have a RPi, but more importantly, I wouldn't want to host anything at home. A "simple" VPS wouldn't allow the load caused by syncing Bitcoin Core, and a more dedicated server isn't worth it to me.

Why do you need to look up your own transactions on a block explorer, though? Since we are mostly talking about Electrum here, then just view your transactions in your own wallet which is hopefully connected to your own Electrum server, or at least connected to someone else's Electrum server over Tor. No need to involve yet another third party. I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I looked up one of my own transactions.

I find myself looking at addresses or transactions on block explorers for various reasons, and now that you mention it: I should probably change that.

[DaveF]

What is an "Electrum Node" and how do I get one?

Any Electrum node or server is simply a bitcoin full verifying node that has a searchable database.

An electrum server, is a bitcoin node with a separate database server that allows any lite wallet that follows the protocol to query and send BTC transactions.

There are several implementations of it in a few different programming languages that fulfill different roles.

There are ones that run on a lot less resources but are only really suitable for one person running a small wallet and others that can handle 1000s of queries from dozens of people at the same time.

Not saying one is better then the other, as always use the right tool for the job.

-Dave

[Dabs]

About Electrum Servers.

These are the ones I am aware of:

1. Original Electrum X Server (this is a fork from the original ElectrumX). The current version is ElectrumX 1.16.0.
https://github.com/spesmilo/electrumx

2. Electrum Personal Server
https://github.com/chris-belcher/electrum-personal-server

3. Electrum Server in Rust
https://github.com/romanz/electrs

4. Fulcrum Electrum Server
https://github.com/cculianu/Fulcrum/releases

[NeuroticFish]

Nice list!

And since o_e_l_e_o came with very valid points for having own server and block explorer, I tried my luck and... it's not easy. I didn't manage yet to make any of those work on Windows (heh) and I am a bit undecided about trying out fulcrum, since I didn't find much of discussion about it here on bitcointalk.

I've also looked about using Bitcoin core with HW and.. hmm.. it looks unfinished and far from straightforward, so I pass that.

Any ideas?

[DaveF]

Nice list!

And since o_e_l_e_o came with very valid points for having own server and block explorer, I tried my luck and... it's not easy. I didn't manage yet to make any of those work on Windows (heh) and I am a bit undecided about trying out fulcrum, since I didn't find much of discussion about it here on bitcointalk.

I've also looked about using Bitcoin core with HW and.. hmm.. it looks unfinished and far from straightforward, so I pass that.

Any ideas?

The easiest way is to use virtualbox: https://www.virtualbox.org/
And then deploy the virtalbox version of mynode: https://www.mynodebtc.com/download

The upsides: it's easy, you don't have to install or learn anything, and there is a lot of support out there.
The downsides: You have to trust the people involved.
But, you do get a BTC node, a lightning node, an electrum server and a basic block explorer.

Keep in mind you are going to need enough free RAM & disk space on your PC to run it. And you are going to have to keep your machine running 24/7 to get access to it.

-Dave

[NeuroticFish]

The easiest way is to use virtualbox: https://www.virtualbox.org/
And then deploy the virtalbox version of mynode: https://www.mynodebtc.com/download
~
Keep in mind you are going to need enough free RAM & disk space on your PC to run it. And you are going to have to keep your machine running 24/7 to get access to it.

I've tried that too yesterday, and didn't work out because the disk for the blockchain is connected though USB and VBox/myNode didn't like that.

In VBox my last attempt was with a proper Debian. I managed to get Bitcoin Core run and use that USB drive for the data, but I completely failed in making it start with the system. I suck at Linux and I know it  

And on Windows, bitcoind is fine, but the Electrum Personal Server just doesn't do anything. Whatever I do it just tells "press any key to continue" and Electrum doesn't see it.

[DaveF]

The easiest way is to use virtualbox: https://www.virtualbox.org/
And then deploy the virtalbox version of mynode: https://www.mynodebtc.com/download
~
Keep in mind you are going to need enough free RAM & disk space on your PC to run it. And you are going to have to keep your machine running 24/7 to get access to it.

I've tried that too yesterday, and didn't work out because the disk for the blockchain is connected though USB and VBox/myNode didn't like that.

In VBox my last attempt was with a proper Debian. I managed to get Bitcoin Core run and use that USB drive for the data, but I completely failed in making it start with the system. I suck at Linux and I know it  

And on Windows, bitcoind is fine, but the Electrum Personal Server just doesn't do anything. Whatever I do it just tells "press any key to continue" and Electrum doesn't see it.

Getting a bit OT, but you moved the

Code:

mynode_vm-disk002.vdi

file to your USB dive and then told virtual box where it was and it still gave you problems?



Remember that vdi has more then just the blockchain on it. So, it will get much larger then just the blockchain.
If you really want to keep the data external, you might want to just get another external drive and put all of the mynode files on there. This way you can pick it up and move it to another PC with no real effort.

-Dave

[NeuroticFish]

Since this indeed went off topic (sorry!) and it may get longer, I've moved the things to a new topic: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5362554

[Kakmakr]

We have known for years that 3Letter Agencies have been running Exit nodes on Tor to help them to identify wannabe "private" individuals... so why do you think a company like Chainalysis that are being paid millions to "identify" people behind transactions.... will not run their own Electrum nodes/Servers?

Chainalysis helps government agencies, cryptocurrency businesses, and financial institutions to track Blockchain traffic ....so this should not come as a surprise. 

[LoyceV]

are being paid millions to "identify" people

Say.... If someone is running several Electrum servers.... what are the odds of (a) government(s) putting them on the payroll for this?

[DaveF]

are being paid millions to "identify" people

Say.... If someone is running several Electrum servers.... what are the odds of (a) government(s) putting them on the payroll for this?

Zero, since they can do it themselves.
But, what are the odds that many things we connect to are run by some of the 3 letter government departments. Probably good.


Might be a bit of a tangent here, but keep in mind with all the hacks recently of 'secure' 'private' hosting and seeing how badly things were run (epikfail) the fact that proton mail more or less gave up the ID of a user.
Keep in mind ust because some place claims to be secure and will keep your private stuff private, it does not mean they will or can.

If you trust enough people with private info Chainalysis is the lease of your problems. Because someone else probably already leaked it.

And that is just a depressing Monday thought.

-Dave

[o_e_l_e_o]

the fact that proton mail more or less gave up the ID of a user.

I think it's worth expanding on this a little. ProtonMail received a legally binding request from Swiss federal authorities which they were unable to challenge. They had no IP logs to provide, but were forced to start collecting IP logs after receiving the request or shutdown completely and face criminal charges themselves for acting illegally. It has always been spelled out quite clearly in their Transparency Report that they would have to comply with legally binding requests from Swiss law enforcement, which is exactly what happened here. Here is an archived copy of their Transparency Report from way before this incident that says all that: https://archive.is/pCZ03

Therefore, ProtonMail only complies to two types of orders: (1) orders from the Swiss authorities and (2) foreign requests that have been duly instructed and validated by Swiss authorities through an international legal assistance procedure and determined to be in compliance with Swiss law.

In addition to the items listed in our privacy policy, in extreme criminal cases, ProtonMail may also be obligated to monitor the IP addresses which are being used to access the ProtonMail accounts which are engaged in criminal activities. Under no circumstances will ProtonMail be able to provide the contents of end-to-end encrypted messages sent on ProtonMail.

If the user in question had used Tor, they would not be in this situation. Interestingly, also a VPN would have been sufficient in this scenario since Swiss law does not permit VPN providers to log IP addresses in the same way it allows email providers to log IP addresses.

So yeah, it's shit for the individual in question, but ProtonMail were only behaving in the way they said they would. But having said all that, I still wouldn't trust a third party provider not to decrypt your information (or at least try to) if they were forced to. Tor and PGP should be a must.