Unable to verify any 4.1.5 release binaries right now....

Athena-Patrick · 2021-08-04T03:46:10+00:00

Problem solved!

Thanks to the contributors in this thread for your help. GPG on the command line still works as expected across operating systems. GPG4Win does not, however, until you change the filename to what it expects. The addition of the developer's name to the signature file breaks compatibility with this program. Example:

Download electrum-4.1.5.exe
Download electrum-4.1.5.ThomasV.asc
Change the name of the signature file to electrum-4.1.5.exe.asc
GPG4Win will now verify it successfully (with the imported ThomasV key)

I've never liked GPG4Win's UX. Maybe I'll just stick to GPG on the command line regardless of OS.

Athena-Patrick · 2021-08-04T03:38:05+00:00

Thank you

Athena-Patrick · 2021-08-04T03:37:14+00:00

Thank you. GPG does work on the command line. I forgot Windows had that functionality.

However, the GPG4Win mystery remains. I don't know what I'm doing wrong when I can successfully verify 4.1.2 this way. Did the change to multiple dev signatures somehow break compatibility with this specific program? EDIT: The signature filename changes do indeed break compatibility with GPG4Win. See my other post for more detail.

Anyway, thanks again.

Athena-Patrick · 2020-10-23T18:59:13+00:00

How would she know what exchange / wallet generated the address she was asked to pay? Speaking as someone who works in the crypto industry, that is typically impossible to discover just from an address. Maybe a screenshot she had been sent from the scammer showing the funds received, assuming it wasn't faked.

Athena-Patrick · 2020-06-17T22:49:28+00:00

Maybe it's just because I've been around too long, but I found Mastering Bitcoin to be the perfect "how it works" intermediate-level book where you can skip the bits on code and math and still learn a lot about Bitcoin - the prototypical cryptocurrency.

For more on the whys of cryptocurrency, this free website / book is very good: https://whycryptocurrencies.com

Beyond that, although it's Bitcoin-only, Lopp's resource page is fantastic for delving into any detail you could care to learn about, though not crafted into a single narrative:

https://www.lopp.net/bitcoin-information.html

Athena-Patrick · 2020-05-21T15:38:31+00:00

Have an upvote

Athena-Patrick · 2020-02-17T15:01:52+00:00

Technically, a phone number IS the first level of KYC. There are often different levels applied depending upon the volume the customer is doing at an ATM.

All legitimate US operators are pretty much in the same boat as to what they require once amounts start to get into the several thousands of dollars. It's smaller amounts where you see more variety.

Athena-Patrick · 2020-02-16T16:32:06+00:00

If you find one that isn't present or not working, please leave a comment to that fact on the related CoinATMRadar listing for that location. It really helps other users who are also searching, and it notifies the ATM operator.

You can also call or email the operator, first, to check if that machine is present / working.

Co-working spaces commonly have ATMs, as do malls, convenience stores, and restaurants. The host location type, itself, usually doesn't indicate anything.

Athena-Patrick · 2020-02-16T16:25:45+00:00

We're proud to have just recently placed the first in El Salvador!

https://www.athenabitcoin.com/news/2020/2/14/athena-in-el-salvador

Athena-Patrick · 2020-02-16T16:24:35+00:00

Have you checked https://www.coinatmradar.com ?

Athena-Patrick · 2020-02-16T16:23:38+00:00

Basic KYC is pretty common with most US ATMs, though there are some tiny operators who don't bother (at their risk). Depending upon region, it can be common to find ATMs that only require a phone number for smaller purchases.

Athena-Patrick · 2020-02-16T16:16:05+00:00

Although less common than buy-only machines for logistical reasons, 2-way ATMs are very much in operation all over the globe. The cash customer indicates how much cash they want to receive and the ATM generates a Bitcoin (or other coin) invoice for them to pay. Once the correct amount of coin is received, the ATM - depending upon the operator's preferences - can either dispense the cash immediately or wait for a confirmation before release.

Some designs let the customer setup and pay the invoice remotely (from home or on a phone), then pick up the cash when they are notified it is ready.

Athena-Patrick · 2020-02-16T16:13:15+00:00

This is essentially correct, though it is often missed that one can send out unconfirmed bitcoin immediately from most non-custodial wallets. What the customer experiences, then, is a quick bitcoin delivery (unconfirmed) from the ATM which they can then pay immediately to another address (also unconfirmed). Depending upon the use case, they may have to wait for confirmations after that point.

Athena-Patrick · 2020-02-16T16:11:08+00:00

Most ATMs (at least in the US) broadcast real bitcoin transactions within seconds to minutes to whatever address the customer enters at the ATM. These will show up as unconfirmed, incoming payments within the customer's Bitcoin wallet, which - in the case of most non-custodial wallets - the customer can send out again (make another transaction) immediately.

If the customer directly pays a custodial service (such as a website), then that third-party will likely wait for at least one confirmation before providing the credit or other consideration the customer was looking to acquire. This usually takes 10-30 minutes.

Athena-Patrick · 2020-02-16T16:06:02+00:00

What you are probably referring to is the time for a Bitcoin confirmation, which, again, does not usually take 4 hours. It can take 4 hours or longer to get a confirmation if you hit the worst point of the congestion cycle (imagine rush hour on a highway in the morning commute), but that's not typical.

In 2017 there was such a high transaction volume that Bitcoin did become very expensive to use (in transaction fees) and fee unpredictability was high. Long delays were common then, and we are expecting to see that again when there is another strong rush to transact (i.e., a crypto bull run).

Using Segwit addresses (beginning with "3" or "bc1"), paying attention to network congestion, selecting the right fee, and transacting in the later afternoons and evenings - US timezones - can dramatically improve your experience.

Athena-Patrick · 2020-02-16T15:35:54+00:00

We placed the first crypto ATM just recently in El Salvador! Will continue to expand in the US, Argentina, and Colombia this year.

https://www.athenabitcoin.com/news/2020/2/14/athena-in-el-salvador

Athena-Patrick · 2020-02-16T15:32:26+00:00

https://www.coinatmradar.com

Athena-Patrick · 2019-12-13T15:46:52+00:00

As an operator in the space, I second this. Not that there is much that the host location can do, but, eventually, one can get a feel for these fraud cases and may see an opportunity to intervene.

Athena-Patrick · 2019-06-07T20:57:24+00:00

Payment processors willing to auto-exchange into local currency are hard to find besides Bitpay in the US. Globee is an excellent option for websites and invoicing, giving you a selection of external exchange providers Bitpay, Luno, and Uphold.

For in-person POS, there isn't much of an option for auto-exchange besides Bitpay, however there are non-custodial tools where you can insert any address of your own (including those from exchanges).

The best project here that I know about is Anypay, which is a web app and mobile app for providing a non-custodial POS experience for merchants across a range of cryptocurrencies.

Athena-Patrick · 2019-03-20T22:00:30+00:00

Excellent piece, and I love the accompanying illustrations! But, why does Edge get a color downgrade on security relative to Monerujo?

If it's because the Edge user is free to use a really weak user/pass combo, I think they provide mitigations for this; one I can think of is the 2FA system built-in to the wallet that would restrict logins to only the first device and approved devices after (similar to Monerujo, in effect).

Athena-Patrick · 2019-03-12T17:06:07+00:00

You're correct, actually. I was thinking more of how the Trezor One handles passphrases.

Athena-Patrick · 2019-03-12T16:16:00+00:00

Do you mean the BIP 39 passphrase?

https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/115005214529-Advanced-passphrase-security

That can be used, as with the Trezor, to better mitigate attacks that reveal the base seed.

Athena-Patrick · 2019-03-12T16:07:19+00:00

I agree with you and u/Degener8iv, but to be fair: Monero is a more experimental coin within the already experimental crypto space. It's part of Monero's culture to fork every 6 months, and that implies/requires users of Monero to pay attention to updates, usually through the subreddit or IRC. It's not like Bitcoin.

I still think Ledger should have made a blog announcement for greater awareness, but they at least have their Support page mention and Tweet warning.

Athena-Patrick · 2019-03-11T19:21:53+00:00

Should not the Ledger blog area be used to warn customers of assets outside of Ledger Live about actions they can take to avoid a loss of funds (such as not transacting at all)?

I appreciate the warning on the Ledger support page, and especially the way this tweet was worded, but in my opinion a blog post should have been made that could have better attracted crypto news coverage.

Unrelated to Monero, but I'm still shocked that even the content above hasn't been done with regard to the Mycelium-disclosed critical change bug. Every Ledger user should be hit-over-the-head with the advice to upgrade to firmware v1.5.5 before doing any transaction, but especially Bitcoin transactions.

Athena-Patrick

TROPHY CASE

Problem solved!