My 2016 Bitcointalk Account Is Alive Again After Years of Forgetting the Passwrd

[sopiandi]

Hello everyone! How are you all doing?
In this post, I’d like to share an interesting story that might be useful for those of you who still have old Bitcointalk accounts.

My account was created around 2016, and back then, I was quite active in participating in various campaigns and airdrops using it.
Things went wrong when the phone I used to log in died completely and couldn't be repaired. On top of that, my laptop kept malfunctioning, forcing me to reinstall the operating system. My biggest mistake was failing to write down my passwords and the data stored on that laptop.
From that point on, I lost access to all my social media accounts and various other services—including the password for this Bitcointalk account.

However, while tinkering with my wife’s phone, I checked the saved passwords and discovered that I had once logged in from her device. I’m so grateful that I was finally able to regain access to this Bitcointalk account!

Once I got back in, I immediately took three key steps:

- Changed my old password to a new, memorable one and recorded it in a safe, offline location.
- Enabled 2FA (Google Authenticator).
- Participated in "staking" my Bitcoin wallet via the official "Stake your Bitcoin address here" thread.

I also learned an important lesson during that last step: the Bitcoin wallet I had linked to my profile was a Taproot wallet, which lacks a "message signing" feature.
Since my wallet only supported "signatures" for legacy and SegWit types, I switched the Bitcoin wallet in my profile to a Native SegWit wallet. This allowed me to sign messages and verify ownership of the wallet.
In short, a linked wallet is only valid if you can personally sign a message using that specific wallet—proving that you are the one in control of it.

A lesson for anyone with an old Bitcointalk account:

- Never underestimate the importance of a password manager. That might be the only key we have.
- Stake your Bitcoin wallet if you can still access your account. This serves as the strongest proof in the event that your account is locked or hacked.
- Ensure that the wallet you link is one that you can actually use and control.
- And finally, don’t forget to enable 2FA security and keep your backup codes in a safe place.

My account is now active again, and I plan to return to posting regularly, just as I used to.
If anyone else has gone through something similar, please share your experience here.
I’m curious to know how many other old accounts have been recovered thanks to password managers, just like in my case.

[_act_]

Do not underestimate a password manager. It might be the only key you have left.

What kind of password manager? You mentioned Chrome's password manager which is not what I can use. I do not use Chrome password or any browser password managers for anything. It has disadvantages like what happened to LastPass.

I can still consider an offline book password manager, but I can not use any online password managers.

[Alvin_talk]

You've been active in the forum for a while and you don't know ai is prohibited for content generation in this forum.
Pangram ai: 100% ai generated
Stealthwriter.ai: 8% human
Coplyleaks ai: 100% ai generated

[RGBTC]

and was quite active until around 2020. After that I stopped using it for years,

You were active from 2023 through early 2024.

3. Staked a signed Bitcoin address in the official "Stake your Bitcoin address here" thread.

This only needs if you had staked your address before the break; otherwise, staking from a new address does not prove that you are the same person. But from my PoV if your current version is better than just hunting for "free" altcoins like in the past (by just spamming one-line posts), I think even a change of ownership is not a big deal. hahaa

I suggest you take the time to thoroughly re-read the forum rules.

[hugeblack]

If you manage your passwords locally, then using a password manager is useful, but those that are synchronized over the Internet may be a weak point that leads to the loss of all your assets. Encrypt your password locally and keep one decryption password in your memory.

About point 3, there was an extra lesson. The old address in my profile was a Taproot address from a wallet that turned out to have no message-signing feature, and the wallet I have that can sign only supports Legacy and SegWit. In the end I used a Native SegWit (bc1q...) address from the wallet that can sign, updated my profile to match it, and verified the signature first before posting. The point is: a staked address is only useful if you can actually sign a message with it.

You can sign and verify the message if the wallet/tool you are using supports BIP-322.

[LoyceV]

I can still consider an offline book password manager, but I can not use any online password managers.

I use KeePass(XC), with local backups. An offline book isn't ideal for strong passwords, try writing and typing this without mistakes:

Code:

p7P%iN5#j';TJwE(n[P((#D5)6!^O4XOvWB@

[libert19]

If anyone has experienced something similar, please share it here. I am curious how many old accounts were saved by a password manager too.

I was saved by password manager's backup: I was fucked, do not repeat same mistakes as me

[knowngunman]

You've been active in the forum for a while and you don't know ai is prohibited for content generation in this forum.
Pangram ai: 100% ai generated
Stealthwriter.ai: 8% human
Coplyleaks ai: 100% ai generated

I won't be surprised if Op content is AI generated. I can not prove it but a second look on this account reveal it's either bought or hacked account. The previous user of this account was a bounty hunter and their English is not that good. They also made a post in one local board, let see if the present user would continue posting in that local board or switch to a different local board.

Since the forum does not prohibit account selling, there's no point beating the bush coming up with cook stories if you're using a bought account. Nice try Op.

[Russlenat]

I never save my password on my laptop or in any password manager, I just memorize it and I want to type it every time I log in to my account, not something like autofill. Worst thing is if my laptop gets lost or stolen, they could also get my password, I can't let that happen as my account is as important as my crypto assets.

Welcome back!

[LoyceV]

I never save my password on my laptop or in any password manager, I just memorize it and I want to type it every time I log in to my account

Do you only have one account on one website? I have hundreds.
People who don't use a password manager most likely use the same few passwords on many sites, which basically tells all those sites how to access your other accounts.

[Coyster]

An offline book isn't ideal for strong passwords, try writing and typing this without mistakes:

Code:

p7P%iN5#j';TJwE(n[P((#D5)6!^O4XOvWB@

I think it is. I back up my passwords by writing them down on a book, and i have written over hundred passwords on this book, without having any problems whenever i enter each unique password on a website or app.

Now there are certain ways i differentiate it and all, and i wouldn't want to state that here, for obvious reasons. You have around 36 characters in your example above, if i counted correctly, me i try to keep my passwords between 12-14 characters, with a mixture of upper case, lower case, symbols and numbers and i think that's enough to make a very strong password.

[snipie]

I never save my password on my laptop or in any password manager, I just memorize it and I want to type it every time I log in to my account

Do you only have one account on one website? I have hundreds.
People who don't use a password manager most likely use the same few passwords on many sites, which basically tells all those sites how to access your other accounts.

That's it.
In the past when passwords were less limited, people were able to put their cows, pussy and phone numbers as their passwords. Like that they wouldn't forget them even though they do mistakes to recall the right one for that site.
Nowadays, it's almost impossible to not repeat the same password in several sites if you only count to remember them.
I recommend also to avoid giving your codes for free for the other sites especially while using the same username.

[hd49728]

What saved me was something simple: the forum password was still saved in Chrome's password manager on my current phone.

You are lucky this time and recover your account from it but it's not a recommended practice. Saving your passwords, either forum account or email accounts and any other accounts, online like a browser is very risky.

From there I could log in again, and I immediately secured the account:
1. Changed to a new password and wrote it down offline.

Create and back up your passwords with password manager softwares.
How to create a strong password.

2. Enabled 2FA.

If there is an attempt to recover your account password, reset via email, 2FA will be useless.

If you use the forgotten-password function, then there's an option to remove the 2FA. So 2FA does not provide any protection in case of a compromised email. Make sure that your email address is secure. If you don't want to set an email address, use something like yourUserName@invalid.bitcointalk.org; don't use a random nonsense email like y@x.com, since somebody might create that domain/email.

3. Staked a signed Bitcoin address in the official "Stake your Bitcoin address here" thread.

About point 3, there was an extra lesson. The old address in my profile was a Taproot address from a wallet that turned out to have no message-signing feature, and the wallet I have that can sign only supports Legacy and SegWit.

You can sign a message from it, no problem like you describe.

Only Legacy wallets and addresses were no longer support by default setting of many wallet softwares. With Segwit or Taproot, there is good support and it's strange that a wallet you use does not allow you to sign a message with a Taproot address.

Stake your Bitcoin address here.
How to sign a Bitcoin message.

[Sandra_hakeem]

You have around 36 characters in your example above, if i counted correctly, me i try to keep my passwords between 12-14 characters, with a mixture of upper case, lower case, symbols and numbers and i think that's enough to make a very strong password.

Anything below 35 string character is not my password. And of course the mixture of upper and lower case, numbers, signs (especially signs ) are all part of the combination. I make it in a way that I can decide to allow you watch me input it, but can't still get 4 characters right. Lol

~snip which basically tells all those sites how to access your other accounts.

Is that so?
Do sites manipulate information from their backends??

[Crypto Library]

I never save my password on my laptop or in any password manager, I just memorize it and I want to type it every time I log in to my account

Do you only have one account on one website? I have hundreds.
People who don't use a password manager most likely use the same few passwords on many sites, which basically tells all those sites how to access your other accounts.

No offense, but is there a guarantee that our passwords will never be compromised or leaked from the password manager we use? In case I save all my passwords even if I use different passwords for different websites but store in one place like password manager and by any chance if our passwords get hacked and leaked all the password then we will be in even bigger danger, right?
I basically don't use password managers because of this fear.

[LoyceV]

Do sites manipulate information from their backends??

Maybe, maybe not. Most sites are probably honest. But do you really want to risk it?

is there a guarantee that our passwords will never be compromised or leaked from the password manager we use?

No. My password manager is distributed under the GPL:

For the developers' and authors' protection, the GPL clearly explains that there is no warranty for this free software.

But you won't find any guarantee in Bitcoin Core, Electrum, or almost all other software either. And that's okay
If your computer gets compromised, chances are your password manager can get compromised too. But if your computer is compromised, anything you enter is at risk anyway.

In case I save all my passwords even if I use different passwords for different websites but store in one place like password manager and by any chance if our passwords get hacked and leaked all the password then we will be in even bigger danger, right?
I basically don't use password managers because of this fear.

It's good to realize absolute safety doesn't exist, it's always a compromise. And I'm confident a password manager is the best compromise for me.

[MisFoxie]

I can still consider an offline book password manager, but I can not use any online password managers.

I use KeePass(X), with local backups. An offline book isn't ideal for strong passwords, try writing and typing this without mistakes:

Code:

p7P%iN5#j';TJwE(n[P((#D5)6!^O4XOvWB@

I don't use any password manager. For better security I'm thinking about using KeePassX but when I visited their website I saw that they have discontinued it. They even recommend using KeePassXC. What's your opinion about this new password manager? Which version is safe to use?

[libert19]

If your computer gets compromised, chances are your password manager can get compromised too. But if your computer is compromised, anything you enter is at risk anyway.

Suppose, computer is compromised but password manager app you use doesn't require Internet access, plus for further safety you have also restricted Internet access to it via firewall — then do you think when you use password manager, the information will still be conveyed to attacker?

I don't have in-depth idea, so this vague question on vague understanding of things.

[LoyceV]

They even recommend using KeePassXC. What's your opinion about this new password manager?

That's the one I'm using. I think "KeePass" is the Windows version, "X" used to be the Linux version, and indeed, it's now called "XC".

[decodx]

If your computer gets compromised, chances are your password manager can get compromised too. But if your computer is compromised, anything you enter is at risk anyway.

Suppose, computer is compromised but password manager app you use doesn't require Internet access, plus for further safety you have also restricted Internet access to it via firewall — then do you think when you use password manager, the information will still be conveyed to attacker?

I don't have in-depth idea, so this vague question on vague understanding of things.

If you think that your system has been compromised and it might contain malware , then anything is possible. The biggest problem is concerning keylogging and screen capturing. The moment you unlock that password manager app and copy a password in your clipboard or autofill it into a browser, the malware reads the plaintext entry or screen buffers right there. It doesn't even have to get the password from the password app.