Electrum - Privacy issue (Windows) | Bitcointalksearch.org

Pmalek

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Quote from: Kakmakr on February 12, 2020, 08:29:36 AM

Snip

Close your Electrum software.

If you are using Windows 7/10 click on the search bar at the bottom of your desktop and enter Select which icons appear on the taskbar.
Now click on the system settings that appear and you will see you last opened wallet name and its balance in the notification area.
It remains there even after a restart and after you shut down your computer. Someone reported it was there 4 days after he used his Electrum wallet the last time.

pooya87

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Quote from: Kakmakr on February 12, 2020, 08:29:36 AM

I wonder why the developers added this in the first place or is this a cached notification from the last transaction that you made that adjusted your balance?

it is a windows feature that is added by Microsoft!
whenever you have any application that shows up in your "Notification Area" (which is the space beside the clock in windows 7) your windows stores its "description". for example for volume it shows a speaker icon and it stores the description of it as something like "Speakers: 50%".

Lucius

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Quote from: Kakmakr on February 12, 2020, 08:29:36 AM

I tested it on my computer and it only showed it whilst the wallet was opened. So I doubt that you would send your computer for repairs with the wallet being open. Huh

I do not launch the wallet every time I use the computer.

Any experienced hacker can remote your desktop and watch you while you work with your wallet and then see your balance and even use a key logger to capture your password for the wallet. Angry

I wonder why the developers added this in the first place or is this a cached notification from the last transaction that you made that adjusted your balance?

I think you should read from the beginning, you are very likely referring to the icon that appears in tray when your wallet is open. It is not about that icon, but about icon "which is displayed on in Notification Area Icons - you get there by click on Customize (Taskbar and Start Menu Properties).

I really don't know what kind of automatic logging in your wallet you're talking about? Wallet is not open, but Windows is keep information about last open wallet in Notification Area Icons.

Kakmakr

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Quote from: Lucius on February 02, 2020, 09:44:49 AM

Quote from: pooya87 on February 01, 2020, 10:53:27 PM

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 Wink

I tested it on my computer and it only showed it whilst the wallet was opened. So I doubt that you would send your computer for repairs with the wallet being open. Huh

I do not launch the wallet every time I use the computer.

Any experienced hacker can remote your desktop and watch you while you work with your wallet and then see your balance and even use a key logger to capture your password for the wallet. Angry

I wonder why the developers added this in the first place or is this a cached notification from the last transaction that you made that adjusted your balance?

HCP

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Quote from: DireWolfM14 on February 06, 2020, 10:24:02 AM

Are you using Visual Basic to modify the code and build binaries?

Quote from: pooya87 on February 06, 2020, 11:54:50 PM

... you need an Integrated development environment (IDE) to modify the code and build it.

IDE? Nope...

I simply used a text editor (notepadqq) within an Ubuntu 18.04 VM... and edited the following files after cloning the git repository:

/electrum/gui/qt/main_window.py
/electrum/gui/qt/settings_dialog.py

I basically just copied "similar" code in each file to add in the checkbox into the settings window and then adjust the statusbar to say "synced" if the checkbox is checked. Wink

Then I followed the instructions here to build the Windows binaries: https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/tree/master/contrib/build-wine

Quote from: DireWolfM14 on February 06, 2020, 10:24:02 AM

Apparently, lol. That's a great hack, you should submit a pull request to have that feature added to the next release.

I'll have to tidy up the code a bit first... and probably do some "proper" testing to make sure I haven't broken anything... but a pull request probably isn't completely out of the question.

pooya87

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Quote from: DireWolfM14 on February 06, 2020, 10:24:02 AM

Are you using Visual Basic to modify the code and build binaries?

Visual Basic is a programming language, you need an Integrated development environment (IDE) to modify the code and build it. both Visual Studio (for windows only but more powerful) and Visual Studio code (open source multiple OS) are capable of doing this, there is also a bunch more IDEs available here: https://wiki.python.org/moin/IntegratedDevelopmentEnvironments

DireWolfM14

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Quote from: Lucius on February 01, 2020, 06:07:45 AM

Quote from: DireWolfM14 on January 31, 2020, 10:47:02 AM

~

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.

I was indeed mistaken, sorry for the confusion. I see that your concern is now mine as well, my menu also shows my balance, even when Electrum isn't running. I don't share my computers, nor send them out for repair, but it's still something that should be addressed in my opinion.

Quote from: HCP on February 03, 2020, 08:28:47 PM

just enough to be "dangerous" Tongue

Apparently, lol. That's a great hack, you should submit a pull request to have that feature added to the next release.

Are you using Visual Basic to modify the code and build binaries?

Quote from: Lucius on February 05, 2020, 08:37:01 AM

HCP, so you played around with the code and you add this option to Electrum? I am asking this because I check settings in 3.3.7 and I do not see that option. I still haven't updated to 3.3.8, it doesn't really matter to me since I only use Electrum in combination with Ledger.

Like TryNinja said, those are features that HCP added himself. That checkbox is not a feature in version 3.3.8.

TryNinja

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Quote from: Lucius on February 05, 2020, 08:37:01 AM

HCP, so you played around with the code and you add this option to Electrum? I am asking this because I check settings in 3.3.7 and I do not see that option. I still haven't updated to 3.3.8, it doesn't really matter to me since I only use Electrum in combination with Ledger.

Electrum shows your balance on your Windows notification center for everyone to see, so he commented that part of the code and made it only show a "Synced" text instead of the balance (for privacy reasons).

Edit: oh, you are talking about the checkbox. Yes, he probably did that as I also couldn't find anything in the code (and the "I can't figure out how to..." part). Cheesy

Lucius

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HCP, so you played around with the code and you add this option to Electrum? I am asking this because I check settings in 3.3.7 and I do not see that option. I still haven't updated to 3.3.8, it doesn't really matter to me since I only use Electrum in combination with Ledger.

HCP

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Quote from: pooya87 on February 01, 2020, 10:53:27 PM

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

As per pooya87's instructions...

Compiled it up on my Ubuntu VM... and we end up with:

and this:

I'm wondering if maybe a "privacy" switch of some sort in the settings might be one way to deal with this...

EDIT: Indeed... it's fairly simple to add one in Wink

:

Currently requires a restart (or the closing and re-opening of wallet files) if you change the setting though... as I can't figure out how to force the main window to "update" the statusbar info immediately... I'm guessing there is probably a way to do it, but I'm not overly familiar with the Electrum code base... just enough to be "dangerous" Tongue

Pmalek

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Quote from: Lucius on February 02, 2020, 09:44:49 AM

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 Wink

I don't see it as a burden but it is still an interesting case that makes me thing how long the notification will remain visible there. Those who see it as a burden can just create a new wallet and open that new wallet before closing Electrum, like someone already suggested. That way the notification will show an empty wallet.

pooya87

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Quote from: TryNinja on February 02, 2020, 10:52:43 AM

Quote from: Lucius on February 02, 2020, 09:44:49 AM

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

You can also edit the code and build your own version yourself. Cheesy

I'm not sure if you can simply just edit and run it through python, but building the binaries look simple anyways.

that's true but don't go messing around in the code by changing it if you are not familiar with python and Electrum's source code, you may end up messing things up.

TryNinja

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Quote from: Lucius on February 02, 2020, 09:44:49 AM

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

You can also edit the code and build your own version yourself. Cheesy

I'm not sure if you can simply just edit and run it through python, but building the binaries look simple anyways.

Lucius

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Quote from: pooya87 on February 01, 2020, 10:53:27 PM

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 Wink

Pmalek

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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.

pooya87

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Quote from: AltcoinBuilder on February 01, 2020, 02:50:36 AM

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

Lucius

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Quote from: DireWolfM14 on January 31, 2020, 10:47:02 AM

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.

Quote from: Pmalek on January 31, 2020, 05:43:29 PM

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.

AltcoinBuilder

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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

Pmalek

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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.

DireWolfM14

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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?

Topic: Electrum - Privacy issue (Windows) (Read 646 times)