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Topic: Trust No One - page 27. (Read 161312 times)

newbie
Activity: 32
Merit: 0
March 30, 2013, 07:38:01 PM
Loved the comic strip.
newbie
Activity: 6
Merit: 0
March 30, 2013, 07:34:46 PM
Be Careful would be the best advice instead of trust no one.
newbie
Activity: 6
Merit: 0
March 30, 2013, 07:32:31 PM
Nice Post, it would helpful for me for online online transactions.
thanks for sharing
newbie
Activity: 10
Merit: 0
March 30, 2013, 07:28:01 PM
I'm good at that most of the time, but when I slip up !!!!
newbie
Activity: 9
Merit: 0
March 30, 2013, 07:23:26 PM
heatware could be a very useful tool when dealing with people online, i don't think its popular on bitcointalk but it could proove useful, or a similar alternative
newbie
Activity: 6
Merit: 0
March 30, 2013, 07:16:56 PM
I cannot agress you more lol  Tongue
newbie
Activity: 6
Merit: 0
March 30, 2013, 06:12:24 PM
nice info thanks
newbie
Activity: 6
Merit: 0
March 30, 2013, 05:56:28 PM
I only trust my wallet to my cat.
member
Activity: 112
Merit: 10
We are connected. you are me I am you.
March 30, 2013, 05:54:21 PM
butterfly labs.  i'm gathering dirt.  who's got the dirt.  or who can ressurect their trustworthiness with anything?  I'm trying to establish a valid source for the allegation that the CEO is a mail fraud felon.  for 25 million.  butterfly labs might be a 100 million dollar scam.  who can prove me wrong?
member
Activity: 84
Merit: 10
March 30, 2013, 05:53:53 PM
Some really good advice - and much appreciated!
Anyone have any thoughts on Mpex and the trustworthiness of the person who runs it?
newbie
Activity: 4
Merit: 0
March 30, 2013, 05:48:25 PM
Very helpful points by the OP. I am still new to Bitcoin so I am learning how to be secure with my wallet
newbie
Activity: 15
Merit: 0
March 30, 2013, 04:16:41 PM
Seriously. Don't trust the exchanges, don't trust online wallet services, don't trust your anti-virus software, and don't trust anybody online.

If you absolutely must trust someone with your bitcoins, for the love, choose carefully!

  • Do you know their full name?
  • Do you know where they are located?
  • Have they demonstrated trustworthiness in the past?
  • Are they asking you to trust them? (red flag)
  • Do they have insurance?

Insurance? Impossible, you say. Not so!

When I needed people to trust me to hold bitcoins for a contest, I deposited 50 bitcoins as a bond with a well-respected forum member, so that even if I did something stupid and lost people's money, they would still be reimbursed. You can read about it here: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/finished-bet-on-bitcoin-future-price-here-july-1st-2011-10008

Consider carefully who you will trust. With bitcoins, elaborate scams may be profitable. For instance, someone may develop trust for their user name over many months with small transactions on this forum, then take advantage of that trust to make off with a lot of money. Such a scam would only be worth doing on this forum. No other forum in the world would be worth the effort.

If you want someone to hold your bitcoins for you, there are NO online services that have the transparency and security to make me comfortable using them for storing bitcoins for more than a short time in small amounts. The only way to do it is like I did - choose someone whom you believe to be trustworthy, and approach them. If they approach you, or in any way say or insinuate that they are a trustworthy person to hold your coins, STAY AWAY.

If you are thinking that I might not be trustworthy, since I am writing this post about the issue, you are approaching the appropriate level of paranoia.

If you want to store your bitcoins with maximum security, there are lots of resources about how to do it, such as this: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Securing_your_wallet

Here's my summary:

1. Put all your coins in a new wallet that has never connected to the network
2. Encrypt that wallet with the maximum security you can find, using the most secure password you can keep track of
3. Delete the plaintext wallet, and distribute the encrypted wallet to every piece of physical media you own, store it online, and send it to several people you trust

Don't think you can generate and remember a secure enough password? Create a super-long password, and store clues to help you remember it. For instance, your password clue file might say:

My standard password + My throwaway password (backwards, all caps) + &#$%@ + First two sentences of first paragraph of page 19 of my favorite book (include all capitalization and punctuation) + My wife's mother's middle name + My son's favorite superhero + My favorite number times 8734 + food my wife hates (backwards, all caps) + 9-digit number stored with my paper will + 10-character password stored in my safety deposit box + . . . .

You can go on in this way to create as long a password as you want. Store this password clue file with your encrypted wallet, and optionally encrypt both with a simple standard password to keep out snoopers.

In this way, not only can you recover your coins from your "savings account" at a later date, if you get hit by a chicken truck tomorrow and die, your loved ones can probably piece together your password and recover the coins too (better make sure you trust them, and that between them they have or can get the answers to those clues).

I recommend that you practice your wallet encryption and recovery a few times with a small number of coins, until you are very comfortable with the process before you try it with the bulk of your savings.

And remember, this is how most bitcoins services get started:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-lgm4poF3JWE/TgsHwby-BlI/AAAAAAAADwQ/twan94HT6p4/020.jpg

Comic from: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/new-bitcoin-comic-13903

Excellent advice!
full member
Activity: 172
Merit: 100
March 30, 2013, 02:23:11 PM
Who trusts people online anyway? 
newbie
Activity: 24
Merit: 0
March 30, 2013, 12:54:11 PM
Very interesting.
newbie
Activity: 14
Merit: 0
March 30, 2013, 12:48:07 PM
yeah  Cheesy
newbie
Activity: 21
Merit: 0
March 30, 2013, 12:12:11 PM
im hoping to try ripple soon, i guess these tips will apply too
full member
Activity: 184
Merit: 103
March 30, 2013, 11:45:20 AM
precious advice, i started to follow this rulle when scammed several time.
newbie
Activity: 7
Merit: 0
March 30, 2013, 11:12:07 AM
The BTC community is great, but can be sketchy as hell.  Great post, would read again.
newbie
Activity: 19
Merit: 0
March 30, 2013, 10:35:29 AM
Sell an Amazon gift card at a discount.  And use escrow.
member
Activity: 66
Merit: 10
March 30, 2013, 09:00:44 AM
If you don't like MtGox and live in a large city you should try localbitcoins.com. Plenty of people there willing to do cash-only transactions.

What's your experience been with this? I'm meeting someone tomorrow .. any tips?
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