Topic: Here we go again ...now its Instawallet.org ? (Read 4516 times)

Panic at the Bitcoin Disco!

To the original poster:

I think we should clarify there is no evidence here that Instawallet is acting like Mybitcoin.  Please consider updating the title of the thread or adding a note to the first post.

What has been suggested is that attempts to view/use more than one Instawallet at a time can confuse the site, the browser, or both.  That should be brought to the attention of the Instawallet operator immediately, especially by someone who can provide an exact example.

(This thread may have enough detail already -- experiments might be hazardous to your balance!)

Many new web services exhibit issues when multiple tabs/windows are opened in the same browser, or when the 'Back' button is used, or when a 'Submit' button in a form is pressed repeatedly.  I recently noticed a certain Google service acts erratically or hangs (without any error message) after I open a second browser tab and log into a different Google service with a different user name.  If you have dozens of tabs open, it's hard to avoid these situations.

Where irrevocable transactions are concerned, this sort of issue could conceivably lead to a loss of Bitcoins or payment from an unintended wallet.

https://market.android.com/details?id=de.schildbach.wallet&feature=search_result


Here you go, smartphone app that can scan/create QR codes, has NFC support and does not need to download the entire block chain (although it does grab a very small portion of it)

There is a huge hole in the mobile bitcoin market.

There needs to be a better smartphone app that can hold a wallet. One that does NOT need to download the entire blockchain to work.

One that will instantly creat a QR code of a bitcoin address, and be able to scan a QR of a bitcoin address.

The blockchain download is a major hurdle.

I have not been paying attention to dev lately so this could be a non issue. if so let me know.

Bugs exist, but showing Bitcoin Wallet to people generates a lot of excitement when they see how extremely easy it is to transfer value via QR codes.

(Screenshots in link. App based on the BitcoinJ java library anyone who has any interest in Bitcoin adoption should put effort into supporting)

https://market.android.com/details?id=de.schildbach.wallet

None!

And that the prime flaw with Bitcoin.

This thread is just a bunch of doom and gloom whining. Y'all are not actually looking for solutions IMHO.

"It's too hard!" "Whaa whaa whaa!"

Okay so lets step through this, pretending I am a normal retail customer type person who walks around some town somewhere ready to spend some bitcoin at some shop or other in town that turns out to accept bitcoin.

Lets assume further that I did not know ahead of time that this particular shop accepts bitcoin so I did not bring any "bitcoins that can only spent there and that they will only accept from me not from some mugger who mugged me on the way to the store".

So I am faced with being unable to buy anything at this newly-bitcoin-accepting shop unless I somehow managed to bring with me some non-earmarked bitcoins (that is, bitcoins that are not secured against being spent at this new shop) OR this newly bitcoin accepting shop has some technology itself that I can trust to use to go grab myself some bitcoins I have stashed in some encrypted stash someplace that can be reached by me with the right magic words and so on via the internet.

Fine. So I look through my printed traveller's coin certificates I printed to see which denominations haven't been printed in a "spend only to these whitelisted recipients" mode, and wonder whether to deposit them in this newfangled online wallet this shop's sales clerk is suggesting I use...

Hmm, why do they want me to buy credit on some online wallet instead of buy a sandwich or whatever tangible good the shop purportedly sells?

-MarkM-

I'm not so sure about that. Bank runs were not at all uncommon before the Federal Reserve.

I have a friend who likes to play the lotto, so I convinced him to spend a little $$$ on bitcoins (seems like the better bet to me, despite the lower payout.) I gave him two copies, burned to CD, of a wallet with his bitcoins in it. I've shredded the copy I had, so he has total control over and responsibility for it. It's pretty safe, and until he gets active accepting and spending them, it should be convenient enough.

Should he start actually wanting to make occasional use of the wallet, I'd point him toward his computer and explain how to use the client.

Not until he got to the point where he was walking around and exchanging BTC on the spot would I suggest an online wallet, and describe the risks involved.

And of course, were he... unwise enough to put his entire stash online, and lose it, I'd probably just shrug and say "I told ya so."

People did this in the USA everyday before the formation of the FDIC.  For the most part it was safer than keeping it in your house.

Just deposit to an encrypted offline wallet and use blockexplorer to view your current balance :\

And people wonder why there is no new money coming into Bitcoin...

Really, it's safer to store your wallet on your own computer even without encryption and backups. Would you hand your wallet to a stranger on the street for safekeeping, provided there was no insurance on your money at all? Would it not be safer to keep it in your own pocket, even without security measures such as a chain?

Watch what you say man, you could jinx yourself there .  For a lot of people keeping there wallet online is much safer and convenient.  The fact is more and more people using bitcoin these days aren't tech people, and you can't expect them to know what measures they need to take to protect their money either on a server or on their own computer.  Instead of people pointing and laughing at the people who lost their bitcoins why not make security software to help protect them?

Yep. I like the idea. I've been looking at a cheap, tiny little laptop that I'm planning to get soon. I'm still debating whether or not to install Linux on the thing (I know folks, I know, not this thread though, please?)

I just see two little problems.

First is that I'll either need to have a cellular modem for the thing, or make sure I have wifi access when sending (not a guarantee in my area.) Fortunately, my smartphone can take care of this, but now should I want to spend bitcoins someplace, I'll be juggling the laptop AND the smartphone.

Second, is that now I'm carrying a laptop around with me. The one I'm looking at is small, but it's not pocket-sized. Encryption and backups let me keep my bitcoins secure if anything happens to the laptop, but still, the laptop itself is a bit of a concern: it costs more than I'd ever keep online.

Obviously, neither of these two issues is insurmountable. In fact, I'll probably go ahead and experiment with this. But for now my only real answer to having portable bitcoins is to use an online wallet, keep the amount stored in there VERY low (ideally only shove coins in just before heading out the door, and transfer them back as soon as I get home), and to NOT trust the site, instead behaving as if they will eventually disappear.

If you don't have a laptop, there are cheap ones I believe (like eeepc or so maybe?)
It's better to buy a laptop than lose all your coins online

No, they are all for Android, I don't have one

Which is exactly why anyone who doesn't need to use an online wallet SHOULD NOT USE ONE.

OK. (I'll move your first example to the bottom of the list, because it's the best one.)



I suppose I should have been more clear. I'm looking for a solution when the home computer simply won't be online and running code for you whenever you're not home.



How do you spend from it?



I've been looking, and am hoping better solutions present themselves. For now a few coins in an online wallet I can access from my smartphone seems to be the best choice to suit my needs, even including the virtual certainty of those coins eventually disappearing.



Now this would be the holy grail, although from what I've been reading so far, there are going to be major issues getting it to work properly. Last I checked, some folks had lost coins on the actual Android-phone wallet clients that are in use; I'll just let the bugs get worked out for now.

Have you tried any of the bitcoin smartphone apps that don't require a home system setup for remote access?

how do you people not realise that the only reason it "still works fine" is that the total amount of stored BTC is still under the planned target at which the service owner will run with all your money?

sometimes the sheer stupidity of some people amazes me.