Bitcoin-ready linux distro - page 3.

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Quote from: LoyceV on January 31, 2023, 12:44:35 PM

Quote from: Pmalek on January 31, 2023, 12:34:51 PM

Does anyone have any horror stories about airports were they were threated like criminals and terrorists?

Last time, there was a big guy feeling me up before departure, but that's about it.
And when I come back they like to see if they can tax me on something, but my laptop is old.

This! I'm also trying to use my old laptop for travel. When the guys at the airport security see it, they're probably like: ok, let's give this guy some money so he could buy a new laptop, this one is ancient. And for sure, nobody would ever try to steal it! Grin

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If you download a distribution other than from the main source, i.e Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Slackware, Fedora or whatever it might be assume it's compromised, and don't consider it a trusted machine. That's including private key generation, and the Blockchain itself, since ultimately your operating system has control, unless it's been overridden via the hardware itself.

Quote from: takuma sato on January 30, 2023, 03:25:25 PM

Laptops are forced to be handled randomly on airport checkups for instance. Never travel with sensitive information. As far as Wifi in hotels, you can always pick an airbnb with internet if needed.

You can get around a lot of these problems like putting tamper evident or security seals on each component of your laptop. You can make them actually mark the casing if they're removed. You could potentially get these custom made. I've got tamper evident seals on my laptop for use when traveling, as well as a lock pad on it. I've never had an issue, and they've never even asked me to unlock the padlock to see if it turns on or anything. I've got some looks at times, but I've seen other travelers do this as well. As long, as you follow the instructions, and place it outside of a bag they usually don't have a issue. Plus, its usually setup in a way that you can watch how they are handling your stuff.

As for the internet, just use a sim cards internet instead of public Wifi. It's a little better in practice, and obviously continue using a VPN especially on untrusted connections.

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Quote from: Pmalek on January 31, 2023, 12:34:51 PM

Does anyone have any horror stories about airports were they were threated like criminals and terrorists?

Last time, there was a big guy feeling me up before departure, but that's about it.
And when I come back they like to see if they can tax me on something, but my laptop is old.

Pmalek

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Quote from: takuma sato on January 30, 2023, 03:25:25 PM

Laptops are forced to be handled randomly on airport checkups for instance. Never travel with sensitive information.

I have flown across the Atlantic Ocean twice with my personal laptop and once with a brand-new one bought when I was in the US, and nobody cared about it one bit. Maybe they handpick those individuals that look suspicious for any reasons. I was asked once why I am carrying an external hard drive when I have a laptop with me. I explained that the drive was brand-new and I just bought it. The airport security said they will check it, so they took me to some sort of lab, put the drive under a beeping machine that emits some sort of lightning, gave it back to me, and apologized for the disturbance. My guess is that was a test to check if there was any explosive residue because they couldn't care less what was on it.

I have also flown with 3 mobile phones where one of them wasn't even mine and I was taking it back to a friend. Maybe I was just lucky, but no one ever showed interest in the data on my electronic devices.

Does anyone have any horror stories about airports were they were threated like criminals and terrorists?

LoyceV

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Quote from: o_e_l_e_o on January 31, 2023, 10:37:48 AM

Not entirely sure about the phone. How would you be hiding the wallet on it? And what are you going to say under a targeted search when they ask you why you have an airgapped phone with no SIM card in it?

Since we seem to go to extreme measures: crack the screen, drain the battery, and nobody will ask you if there's any Bitcoins on it. Buy a replacement screen on your vacation address, and replace it on your own Cheesy

How many Bitcoins do you need on vacation anyway?

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Quote from: o_e_l_e_o on January 31, 2023, 10:37:48 AM

Not entirely sure about the phone. How would you be hiding the wallet on it?

The wallet software can stay not installed, as an APK. You can even get it with you on another stick or memory card.
You will (re)install it when you arrive. You will put the seed into it only when you arrive or when you actually need it first.

Quote from: o_e_l_e_o on January 31, 2023, 10:37:48 AM

And what are you going to say under a targeted search when they ask you why you have an airgapped phone with no SIM card in it?

It doesn't have to be airgapped, it doesn't have to stay without SIM either if you don't want to. You can reset to factory later.
And you can tell it's for backup, just in case you drop your phone into the swimming pool Cheesy

(of course, I am sure you can prepare a better story for this).

Quote from: o_e_l_e_o on January 31, 2023, 10:37:48 AM

The seed phrase can be easily obfuscated in a stack of academic/professional/employment related documents, notes, books, etc. Alternatively, it is easy to hide in a hidden volume on your laptop, which you could decrypt to show copies of sensitive documents such as your passport or travel insurance. Impossible to prove the hidden volume even exists.

But yes, I would just use Electrum and point it at my own server which is running at home.

Exactly!

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Quote from: NeuroticFish on January 31, 2023, 09:10:32 AM

In this case Tor remains, maybe an old phone as cold (enough) storage and the seed fragmented and scattered on multiple pieces of paper.
Still SPV wallets are the way to go given the size of the blockchain..., right?

Not entirely sure about the phone. How would you be hiding the wallet on it? And what are you going to say under a targeted search when they ask you why you have an airgapped phone with no SIM card in it?

The seed phrase can be easily obfuscated in a stack of academic/professional/employment related documents, notes, books, etc. Alternatively, it is easy to hide in a hidden volume on your laptop, which you could decrypt to show copies of sensitive documents such as your passport or travel insurance. Impossible to prove the hidden volume even exists.

But yes, I would just use Electrum and point it at my own server which is running at home.

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Quote from: takuma sato on January 29, 2023, 03:06:29 PM

Is there such a thing being developed and kept updated? What I mean is a distro that comes with preinstalled software that you would need for any Bitcoin related business

yes

but don't do it. It's much too tempting for some employee(s) to abuse the situation and ship something that steals BTC or other data.

just get a standard distribution and figure it out, anything else is going back to "be my bank", not "be your own bank"

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Quote from: o_e_l_e_o on January 31, 2023, 08:26:25 AM

Quote from: NeuroticFish on January 31, 2023, 03:02:26 AM

Actually this is mostly incorrect. At least the HW I have doesn't write anywhere it's a HW and also doesn't write Bitcoin on it. So your HW is just another electronic device most will not even know what it is and for what (I don't know how all HWs look like, do you..? And then what you expect from the customs employee?)

If you are being searched and they find an electronic device they do not recognize, then I expect them to ask you what it is, or even plug it in and show them what it is. Lie to them at your own risk.
[...]

Quote from: NeuroticFish on January 31, 2023, 03:02:26 AM

Arguably even Tor you may not need since you're not from home, since you don't necessarily need to hide your IP.

Using Tor in this scenario also prevents the hotel (or whoever owns the WiFi you are using) from seeing which websites you are connecting to. I would definitely still use it, unless you are happy with the hotel staff knowing you are connecting to bitcoin.org, electrum.com, etc.

Both are valid (and very good) points, thank you for that.
In this case Tor remains, maybe an old phone as cold (enough) storage and the seed fragmented and scattered on multiple pieces of paper.
Still SPV wallets are the way to go given the size of the blockchain..., right?

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Quote from: NeuroticFish on January 31, 2023, 03:02:26 AM

Actually this is mostly incorrect. At least the HW I have doesn't write anywhere it's a HW and also doesn't write Bitcoin on it. So your HW is just another electronic device most will not even know what it is and for what (I don't know how all HWs look like, do you..? And then what you expect from the customs employee?)

If you are being searched and they find an electronic device they do not recognize, then I expect them to ask you what it is, or even plug it in and show them what it is. Lie to them at your own risk.

I tend to agree with takuma sato on this point. If you want to hide the fact that you are taking bitcoin across a border, then using a hardware wallet and simply hoping no one recognizes it is not a good plan. There are plenty of better ways to hide a seed phrase, which is all you actually need to carry across a border, and you can download all the necessary software once you reach your destination.

Quote from: NeuroticFish on January 31, 2023, 03:02:26 AM

Arguably even Tor you may not need since you're not from home, since you don't necessarily need to hide your IP.

Using Tor in this scenario also prevents the hotel (or whoever owns the WiFi you are using) from seeing which websites you are connecting to. I would definitely still use it, unless you are happy with the hotel staff knowing you are connecting to bitcoin.org, electrum.com, etc.

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Quote from: Pmalek on January 30, 2023, 02:46:23 PM

Setting up a full-node to use during a week or two of holiday seems excessive.

I agree, although it's less excessive if you create your own or use someone's else snapshot of pruned node (such as https://prunednode.today/).

Quote from: NeuroticFish on January 31, 2023, 03:02:26 AM

Quote from: takuma sato on January 30, 2023, 03:25:25 PM

HW's are anti privacy because it already reveals by default you are holding Bitcoin.

Actually this is mostly incorrect. At least the HW I have doesn't write anywhere it's a HW and also doesn't write Bitcoin on it. So your HW is just another electronic device most will not even know what it is and for what (I don't know how all HWs look like, do you..? And then what you expect from the customs employee?)

But with recent "crypto travel rule" from FATF which followed by some country, there's higher chance border employee would know existance of cryptocurrency HW.

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Quote from: takuma sato on January 30, 2023, 03:25:25 PM

HW's are anti privacy because it already reveals by default you are holding Bitcoin.

Actually this is mostly incorrect. At least the HW I have doesn't write anywhere it's a HW and also doesn't write Bitcoin on it. So your HW is just another electronic device most will not even know what it is and for what (I don't know how all HWs look like, do you..? And then what you expect from the customs employee?)
And if you don't want to use a HW for the job then you can use an older smartphone for that, just make sure it indeed stays always offline (see this topic).

Plus, you've missed the whole point. The point was that you can easily install (and check!!) a SPV wallet while you're away, you can easily restore your seed on a hardware device and you're fine. If you don't get your laptop with you, then where will you install the ISO anyway? Plus, again, how will you do Bitcoin Core's IBD there?
Arguably even Tor you may not need since you're not from home, since you don't necessarily need to hide your IP. Or you can just use a Tails USB which you already know.

Imho you either don't tell something, either you're overthinking something.

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Quote from: takuma sato on January 30, 2023, 03:25:25 PM

Laptops are forced to be handled randomly on airport checkups for instance. Never travel with sensitive information. As far as Wifi in hotels, you can always pick an airbnb with internet if needed.

I think it's much more likely for someone to steel your laptop while you're chilling in the pool, than for airport checks to steal your Bitcoin.
How are you going to bring your wallet.dat anyway? I hope you're not planning to use cloud storage....

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Quote from: takuma sato on January 29, 2023, 03:06:29 PM

Is there such a thing being developed and kept updated? What I mean is a distro that comes with preinstalled software that you would need for any Bitcoin related business (full node software like Core, another lightweight software like Electrum, all libraries pre-installed, Tor, some other useful tools and everything else declutted)

I ask this because if you were to for instance land in another country, and you needed to install everything from scratch, it would take a ton of time. If you could have everything in an .iso more or less ready to run, you would just get your laptop (which you wiped before crossing any borders) and install your linux Bitcoin distro, and leave it there installing everything while you chill on your hotel's swimming pool or something. After a while everything is ready so you just enter your passphrase or recover your wallet.dat which you temporarily left somewhere in the cloud encrypted and get your coins ready.

I know Tails has Electrum but it doesn't have Bitcoin Core. It also has a ton of stuff I don't need and Electrum is always outdated.

The idea would be a minimalist setup, with some sort of system that automatically downloads, verifies and compiles the required software and libraries during the installation process.

Oh no, sounds like a terrible idea and heaven for cybercriminals. There are just so many things that could go wrong potentially: phished distro's website, hacked distro's website, phished repo, hacked repo, malicious developers, backdoor/trojan in OS, backdoor in wallet software etc etc etc... I mean such a distro, once launched will become a bullseye and a magnet for all sorts of crypto criminals. Easy way to lose your hard earned coins... Sad

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Quote from: takuma sato on January 29, 2023, 03:06:29 PM

Is there such a thing being developed and kept updated? What I mean is a distro that comes with preinstalled software that you would need for any Bitcoin related business (full node software like Core, another lightweight software like Electrum, all libraries pre-installed, Tor, some other useful tools and everything else declutted)

There was one bitcointalk member MagnumOpus3kwho created Linux distro preloaded with Bitcoin related software and it's called LockBox Linux OS.
He created topic about that OS in bitcointalk forum, but I don't know how often he updates it.
Second option is Tails OS, this is minimalist Linux OS you can use with USB stick, but I think it comes only with Electrum wallet.
You don't need to install Bitcoin Core because it's unrealistic to use it minimalist like you want and you would have to wait a long time to sync.

I would rather install Fedora CoreOS or Debian myself (they are both coming without any bloatware) and than add Electrum or any other wallet or software later.

Quote from: takuma sato on January 30, 2023, 03:25:25 PM

HW's are anti privacy because it already reveals by default you are holding Bitcoin.

This is so wrong....with your logic if you carry a knife or axe with you than you are already a killer right?
On your laptop or phone you can carry much more than bitcoin keys, including bunch of your sensitive information.

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Quote from: LoyceV on January 30, 2023, 03:47:26 AM

Quote from: takuma sato on January 29, 2023, 03:06:29 PM

I ask this because if you were to for instance land in another country, and you needed to install everything from scratch, it would take a ton of time.

Why don't you bring your laptop Wink

Quote

you would just get your laptop (which you wiped before crossing any borders)

Why would you do that? I've crossed many borders with my laptop, and nobody cares. It's normal.
Which problem are you trying to solve?

Quote

while you chill on your hotel's swimming pool

Chances are the hotel is going to complain about your 500 GB download.

Laptops are forced to be handled randomly on airport checkups for instance. Never travel with sensitive information. As far as Wifi in hotels, you can always pick an airbnb with internet if needed.

Quote from: NeuroticFish on January 30, 2023, 05:26:30 AM

Quote from: takuma sato on January 29, 2023, 03:06:29 PM

I know Tails has Electrum but it doesn't have Bitcoin Core. It also has a ton of stuff I don't need and Electrum is always outdated.

I'm not sure I understand your point. Installing a new Bitcoin Core is usually not enough. And I'm not sure you'll want to download the whole blockchain via the hotel's network (or WiFi).
And getting and installing Electrum and Kleopatra takes, what, 1-2 minutes?

I'll extrapolate what you said about Tails: any iso you'd have, it's more work than usefulness, since the things will soon get outdated. Plus there will be a trust issue.

Get with yourself a HW, maybe some paper notes spread here and there with the seed backup and you'll be fine. If you need more, just get your laptop with you, with everything already installed.

HW's are anti privacy because it already reveals by default you are holding Bitcoin.

Pmalek

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The whole idea of a bitcoin full node is you being able to download and verify the entire blockchain locally on your machine and not having to trust that someone else did it for you. If you already operate a full node, then the rules don't change just because you are on holiday. If you want to use bitcoin when on holiday, prepare some UTXOs before the holiday starts, move them to a software, hardware, or different paper wallets, and backup the seed words any way you are comfortable with.

Setting up a full-node to use during a week or two of holiday seems excessive.

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Quote from: takuma sato on January 29, 2023, 03:06:29 PM

I know Tails has Electrum but it doesn't have Bitcoin Core. It also has a ton of stuff I don't need and Electrum is always outdated.

I'm not sure I understand your point. Installing a new Bitcoin Core is usually not enough. And I'm not sure you'll want to download the whole blockchain via the hotel's network (or WiFi).
And getting and installing Electrum and Kleopatra takes, what, 1-2 minutes?

I'll extrapolate what you said about Tails: any iso you'd have, it's more work than usefulness, since the things will soon get outdated. Plus there will be a trust issue.

Get with yourself a HW, maybe some paper notes spread here and there with the seed backup and you'll be fine. If you need more, just get your laptop with you, with everything already installed.

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Quote from: LoyceV on January 30, 2023, 03:47:26 AM

Why would you do that? I've crossed many borders with my laptop, and nobody cares. It's normal.

You can also just encrypt your bitcoin related stuff (although obviously not the data to support a full node) in a hidden volume somewhere, disguised as something less sensitive you can decrypt if coerced.

Quote from: LoyceV on January 30, 2023, 03:47:26 AM

Chances are the hotel is going to complain about your 500 GB download.

Maybe you'll just have managed to sync everything when your vacation ends. Tongue

Why not just leave your full node running at home and connect to it remotely from Electrum or similar at your holiday destination? You can do all this with Tails if you want to keep all traces of bitcoin off your laptop until you arrive.

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Quote from: takuma sato on January 29, 2023, 03:06:29 PM

I ask this because if you were to for instance land in another country, and you needed to install everything from scratch, it would take a ton of time.

Why don't you bring your laptop Wink

Quote

you would just get your laptop (which you wiped before crossing any borders)

Why would you do that? I've crossed many borders with my laptop, and nobody cares. It's normal.
Which problem are you trying to solve?

Quote

while you chill on your hotel's swimming pool

Chances are the hotel is going to complain about your 500 GB download.

Topic: Bitcoin-ready linux distro - page 3. (Read 908 times)