Electrum - Privacy issue (Windows) - page 2.

Lucius

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Quote from: hatshepsut93 on January 30, 2020, 10:36:18 AM

I really don't think it's that big of an issue, if you are sharing your PC with someone you have bigger things to worry about...

Quote from: Abdussamad on January 30, 2020, 02:09:20 PM

mind you if you really want privacy you should create separate user accounts for separate users in your OS

For me personally, this is not a big problem - I have my own PC, but the goal was to warn others who might share a computer with someone. It is just about privacy protection, and I agree that there are many bigger issues that need to be addressed.

Quote from: NeuroticFish on January 30, 2020, 10:46:44 AM

On Windows 10 the tray icon seems to go away as soon as I close Electrum. But I use the portable exe... Is the other one installing some sort of agent for faster start?!

It is not about tray icon, it goes away in my case also - but it can still be found in Notifications area where it shows balance of the last opened wallet. nc50lc is confirmed same issue on W10, but as you say, you use portable version.

Quote from: stompix on January 30, 2020, 11:18:06 AM

Is damn weird.
I wonder, if the notification is still hanging there, does it update your balance if you receive a tx even if you have closed the program?
Anyhow, it seems we all use 3.3.8, ...maybe...

It is still there, after 24 hours I open wallet last time - but it is not updating balance and it shows old BTC price from yesterday. Yes, I am using 3.3.7 with Nano S, but i will make an update to 3.3.8 and select option "Hide icon and notifications" for Electrum, then I'll see if there is any difference.

Quote from: Pmalek on January 31, 2020, 04:48:01 AM

Nice find Lucius, I had no idea this info was displayed in the open like that.

I was thinking this is only related to W7, but some basic things stay the same in all versions. However, I think only one who would really seek it would find such information, Electrum has been around for so many years and no one has ever reported this (at least as far as I know).

Pmalek

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Nice find Lucius, I had no idea this info was displayed in the open like that.
I had some issues finding what you mean on Windows 10 so I found this source that mentions the same problem: https://www.gitmemory.com/issue/spesmilo/electrum/5665/536391267

If you do a search on Windows 10 for "Select which icons appear on the taskbar" it should take you directly to the location where the info about your Electrum wallet is posted. I will check this later on my PC where Electrum is installed.

pooya87

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Quote from: BitMaxz on January 30, 2020, 04:09:38 PM

However, both IconStream and PastIconStream are totally deleted I can't find a way how to put them back.

you have to restart explorer.exe after you deleted those keys. kill it first from task manager and then run it again by typing it in File > New task
there is also this post in SO that could help: https://superuser.com/questions/122774/how-to-clear-the-list-of-notification-area-icons-in-windows-7

BitMaxz

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I tried the method from this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c1-GcaiT_0 and it clears the Icon of Electrum but after I open the Electrum again it shows up again.

However, both IconStream and PastIconStream are totally deleted I can't find a way how to put them back.

The up arrow(Under notification tray) is also gone I can't put them back. I just warn you to don't follow the guide from that video.

Abdussamad

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you should make an issue about it on github

mind you if you really want privacy you should create separate user accounts for separate users in your OS

stompix

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Quote from: Lucius on January 30, 2020, 09:19:41 AM

o_e_l_e_o, I can confirm that even after completely shutting down the computer and run CCleaner (it has zero effect on this issue) that notification is still visible in Notifications Area Icons with a balance of last opened wallet.

As many have said, I've tested it right now cause it sounds really weird and it's not happening on my laptops on my W7 with the storage or on my usual wallets on W10. The icon does indeed show my full balance (which I didn't notice in two years of running it) but it disappears when I close the wallet.

Is damn weird.
I wonder, if the notification is still hanging there, does it update your balance if you receive a tx even if you have closed the program?

Anyhow, it seems we all use 3.3.8, ...maybe...

NeuroticFish

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Quote from: Lucius on January 30, 2020, 06:09:07 AM

I haven't checked yet for the W10.

On Windows 10 the tray icon seems to go away as soon as I close Electrum. But I use the portable exe... Is the other one installing some sort of agent for faster start?!
Indeed it's an unnecessary info on the tray icon, which causes more trouble than help.

Quote from: hatshepsut93 on January 30, 2020, 10:36:18 AM

I just tested, it shows the balance of the latest opened wallet, so you can just open some empty dummy wallet before closing Electrum to show zero balance. Though I don't know if its possible to recover the previous Electrum labels if you dig through some system files.

I believe that the tray icon is not intended to be there after closing Electrum and it may be just something hanging in the app when it should close.

hatshepsut93

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I just tested, it shows the balance of the latest opened wallet, so you can just open some empty dummy wallet before closing Electrum to show zero balance. Though I don't know if its possible to recover the previous Electrum labels if you dig through some system files.

I really don't think it's that big of an issue, if you are sharing your PC with someone you have bigger things to worry about, they could install a keylogger and steal your coins. But if it bothers you, you could probably open an issue on github and ask them to change the description string for notification service.

DireWolfM14

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That's odd, on my PC that icon only appears when I have Electrum running. I'm still running Win7 at work, been putting off the upgrade much to the IT guy's chagrin. I noticed there's a setting that may have an effect: Right click on the taskbar, and select properties, then click on the "Customise..." button. It looks like you can select between three options, one is to hide the icon all together.

Lucius

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o_e_l_e_o, I can confirm that even after completely shutting down the computer and run CCleaner (it has zero effect on this issue) that notification is still visible in Notifications Area Icons with a balance of last opened wallet.

I will try to monitor for how long that info will be visible there without opening Electrum again. I'm sure opening an empty wallet would be the only smart solution, with some possible tweaks in the Windows settings that would make it impossible to remember things like this at all.

o_e_l_e_o

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Quote from: Lucius on January 30, 2020, 06:09:07 AM

I must mention that this is not an icon that is visible only while Electrum is open, but information that remains after you close the program.

What about if you restart your computer and then don't open Electrum at all? Is it still viewable then?

Is it showing the balance of the last wallet you opened? Would creating a "dummy" wallet and opening it reset the value to zero?

nc50lc

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Same thing on Window10:

It's weird that the balance is being displayed on the selection of Taskbar Icons, from:
"Notification and Actions settings->Select which icons appear on the taskbar"

Lucius

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If you use Electrum on Windows OS and if you click on Start menu taskbar -> Properties -> Notification Area -> you can see all icons that appear in that area. One of them is Electrum which in itself is not a problem, but in additional info, that icon also shows balance of your wallet which can certainly compromise your privacy if you share your computer with someone, or need to have it repaired. I must mention that this is not an icon that is visible only while Electrum is open, but information that remains after you close the program.

I have to mention that this is about Windows 7, I haven't checked yet for the W10.

Please no discussion about how Windows is insecure or how we should stop using any version of this OS.

Topic: Electrum - Privacy issue (Windows) - page 2. (Read 639 times)