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Posted by: Rsthothothal May 17 2011, 02:04 PM

Well, I suppose you'd have to put them on a flash drive or something, but http://launch.is/blog/l019-bitcoin-p2p-currency-the-most-dangerous-project-weve-ev.htmlare untraceable electronic currency.

So that's pretty cool.

Posted by: Summerstorm May 17 2011, 02:18 PM

Hm hm... interesting.

I have to investigate this more thoroughly.

Posted by: hobgoblin May 17 2011, 04:34 PM

Only really untraceable in that you do not need to present an id to start using the network. As such you can run the program to generate a key pair, trade for a while and then retire the key pair.

The last step because every transaction is signed by the public key, and so it is fully possible to backtrack the history of the individual coin to its origin.

Another interesting part is that the whole network acts as a single big ledger, so every time a transaction is done a selection of the network is asked to verify said transaction.

The last bit reminds me of how SR nuyen hacking can be a pain even without strong encryption. This because every damn bank and credit company will have a extensive ledger, and may even be called on to verify transfers. So when you do a transfer the entity your transferring to may work backwards in your transfer history and ask them to verify said history (or in the case of a certified stick, the transactions the stick has on file).

And the same with doing a SIN check, connecting to various legal offices and going "got this SIN on file?". The more that give a positive response, the more likely that the SIN is legit.

Posted by: Sengir May 17 2011, 06:22 PM

Yep, Bitcoins are only pseudonymous and the means to link anonymous information to names are becoming more and more sophisticated. Just two examples:
http://www.cs.utexas.edu/~shmat/shmat_oak08netflix.pdf
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/may/11/police-software-maps-digital-movements

But what I'm really wondering about is where the whole buzz suddenly comes from. Anonymous payment systems are nothing new (and up to now never came to anything), and Bitcoins also is a couple of years old...

Posted by: TheOOB May 18 2011, 08:24 AM

Wow, that is quite the sensationalist article.

When dealing with computers, there are pretty much two rules: everything can be hacked, and everything can be traced. While it may not be easy/worth the edit to do so, it can be done. Aside from that, a new currency isn't going to destabilize the worlds economy. Even today people find hauls of gold and precious metals that exceed the value of the number of Bitcoins out there, and they are just as easily transferable, and our economy is still around.

Posted by: hobgoblin Jul 17 2011, 03:21 PM

http://bitbills.com/index.html

Now we can really talk about certified cred

Posted by: CanRay Jul 17 2011, 03:29 PM

Why is my everything dreading this situation and just how much certain groups would love to be able to track *EVERYTHING*?

Posted by: Draco18s Jul 17 2011, 03:42 PM

They already do. Visa is starting to partner deals with stores, such that Visa knows what you buy and where you are (they have to, to do their job) and will start targeting you for advertisements via SMS.

You might buy a drink in Starbucks and 30 seconds later get a text message offering you 50% off one item at the GAP two blocks away, but for only the next hour.

Posted by: KarmaInferno Jul 17 2011, 03:50 PM

Hell, the largest seller of tracked buying habits and personal info in the world is... the US Postal Service.





-k

Posted by: CanRay Jul 17 2011, 04:02 PM

Yet another reason I never order anything from the US. That, and customs is a royal pain.

*Sighs* Damnit, I'm not supposed to be feeling so old and paranoid yet...

Posted by: Tymeaus Jalynsfein Jul 17 2011, 04:25 PM

Indeed Canray, you're starting to sound like Fastjack... What with getting all old and all...

Posted by: Rubic Jul 17 2011, 04:30 PM

Neither am I, but look where we find ourselves (me, for instance, in the US).

Posted by: hobgoblin Jul 17 2011, 04:43 PM

I recall reading that banks had found a way to sell customer data without actually breaching any privacy laws. This by setting up a advertisement provider of their own. Basically the banks will be competing with Google, using the customer data they collect anyways as part of their existing services.

It is kinda ironic that big biz is becoming more of a big brother then government, thanks to their need to continually push more products and services.

Posted by: CanRay Jul 17 2011, 05:03 PM

FastJack is in his early 70s and made of epic. I'm in my early 30s and far less epic.

Don't insult FastJack like that, he's looking for someone to punch in the junk, remember?

Posted by: Tymeaus Jalynsfein Jul 17 2011, 05:28 PM

Heh... I was confused, Must have been the Old Man Comments...

Posted by: CanRay Jul 17 2011, 05:31 PM

I'm not old, I just feel that way sometimes... Also partly a wish for a shotgun...

Posted by: Tymeaus Jalynsfein Jul 17 2011, 05:49 PM

I can sure understand both sentiments... Especially the wish for a Shotgun (Mine is still in Texas)...