BitcoinTalk

Repost: Request: Make this anonymous?

4
Satoshi-only
BitcoinTalk
#1
From:
satoshi
Subject:
Repost: Request: Make this anonymous?
Date:
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anonguy54:
Request: Make this anonymous?
Posted:Thu 15 of Oct, 2009 (19:58 UTC)

Are there any plans to make this service anonymous?

e.g; Being able to route BitCoin through Tor.
BitcoinTalk
#2
From:
satoshi
Subject:
Re: Repost: Request: Make this anonymous?
Date:
There will be a proxy setting in version 0.2 so you can connect through TOR.  I've done a careful scrub to make sure it doesn't use DNS or do anything that would leak your IP while in proxy mode.
BitcoinTalk
#3
From:
Suggester
Subject:
Re: Repost: Request: Make this anonymous?
Date:
Quote from: satoshi on November 22, 2009, 06:32:00 PM
--------------------
anonguy54:
Request: Make this anonymous?
Posted:Thu 15 of Oct, 2009 (19:58 UTC)

Are there any plans to make this service anonymous?

e.g; Being able to route BitCoin through Tor.

Someone correct me people, but I thought it IS already anonymous! Can the person I'm transferring money to know my IP or something?
BitcoinTalk
#4
From:
satoshi
Subject:
Re: Repost: Request: Make this anonymous?
Date:
When you send to a bitcoin address, you don't connect to the recipient.  You send the transaction to the network the same way you relay transactions.  There's no distinction between a transaction you originated and one you received from another node that you're relaying in a broadcast.  With a very small network though, someone might still figure it out by process of elimination.  It'll be better when the network is larger.

If you send by IP, the recipient sees you because you connect to their IP.  You could use TOR to mask that.

You could use TOR if you don't want anyone to know you're even using Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is still very new and has not been independently analysed.  If you're serious about privacy, TOR is an advisable precaution.
BitcoinTalk
#5
From:
giik
Subject:
Re: Repost: Request: Make this anonymous?
Date:
Quote from: satoshi on February 06, 2010, 09:06:32 PM
You could use TOR if you don't want anyone to know you're even using Bitcoin.

Bitcoin is still very new and has not been independently analysed.  If you're serious about privacy, TOR is an advisable precaution.

Tor is a extra layer of privacy and anonimity, but it isn't the ultimate answer. Check out http://www.torproject.org/download.html.en#Warning, to understand what Tor does and doesn't do for you.
BitcoinTalk
#6
From:
Xunie
Subject:
Re: Repost: Request: Make this anonymous?
Date:
Tor can be dangerous, like exit nodes that log information like passwords and the like.
So a major question about the security of Bitcoin when using it with Tor (or any other proxy service) arises:

  • So what exactly does Bitcoin send when it connects to an IP?
  • Is everything encrypted that we send over the line?
  • Can someone 'steal' bitcoins by listening at the end of a proxy (or in Tor's case an "exit node")?

Speaking of security, we might just want to add a simple version checking procedure in bitcoin that will alert a user if s/he is running an "insecure version of bitcoin".
BitcoinTalk
#7
From:
satoshi
Subject:
Re: Repost: Request: Make this anonymous?
Date:
True, sending by IP through Tor trades one problem for another.  The Tor exit node can see the text of your message and potentially MITM you.

Best to only send to bitcoin addresses then.  Payments by bitcoin address are broadcast over the network as part of the normal network traffic.  All communications with the network are broadcasts of public information.