Topic: Trust No One - page 77. (Read 161317 times)
Escrows and middlemen have solved the trust issues by being equally responsible for all the transactions.
Agreed. Trust no one
Trust#1 thebitbabe. You redhead? I like how you quoted a year old wisdom, only to add a sentence to it. Naah .. definitely not redhead 
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!
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
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
I really liked your post you hit a lot of points and it was very informative
You can trust me. I don't feel like explaining why at this time, but you can.
you always need to start somewhere - just find who you think is the most trustworthy, invest a little trust in them and it will either grow from there or not - is that not just a basic lesson in life?
dont be paranoid, be creative.
I have no problem to trust keeping my wallet on online site, if I know it will never have more then 5 BTC in it
I have no problem to trust keeping my wallet on online site, if I know it will never have more then 5 BTC in it
Great information, I wish to sell some silver, lets see how it goes for me on here.
And Escrow is wonderful!
there is good escrow service in bitcoin channel bitcoin-escorw.
thanks for informations sir. this fora website is full of them!
And Escrow is wonderful!
there is good escrow service in bitcoin channel bitcoin-escorw.
And Escrow is wonderful!
Thank you for the informative post!
This was helpful to understand feelings of memebers on this website i personally want to buy bitcoins with USD thats why i signed up thats why im here ile do whatever seller asks in order for him to feel safe. i genuinly want to simply purchase bitcoins and i want to speed up the process to get to the point on here where i will be able to do so. it seems difficult to make even simpliest transactions i will give up information if it means the seller will go threw with it my main issue is i am using paypal and its come to my attention that alot of people use itys resolution center to scam sellers is there a way to prove im not doing this? any help with that would be great. thanks
Very informative. thanks
It is a sad state of the world when you have to adopt the attitude "don't trust anyone", but it is also reality because the even worse than being cynical is being ignorant.
Very good advice, I'm really glad I read this post and I'll be very careful with whatever bitcoin I acquire. Linux user here and I'm very very protective of my system (granted not impervious to keyloggers etc., but I'm no MS user happily clicking on whatever email that drops in my box with a funny monkey video etc.).
Thanks for the post OP!
Thanks for the post OP!
All good advice, thanks.
kind of a bad spot. if we cant trust, we cant invest heavily. if we cant invest hravily nothing can develop
No risk, no gain, right?
The exchanges are all sketchy IMO. When I buy coin I don't send off any more money than I can bear to lose. Kind of like Vegas. We can't trust anyone but ourselves these days. I know what you're saying how things can't grow and develop without trusting someone but it almost has to be a situation where you have mutual collateral on the other party. Maybe that's why married people like to cheat with other married people. 
kind of a bad spot. if we cant trust, we cant invest heavily. if we cant invest hravily nothing can develop
true,
but still. there is always people trying to exploit everything, every system etc.
you can never be 100% sure, but with no trust in other people, nothing would ever work.
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