Silk Road forums
Discussion => Newbie discussion => Topic started by: buttonboy1234 on July 04, 2013, 01:44 am
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hey guys
just joined. im interested in buying some items from SR but I want to ask a few things;
firstly regarding the PGP code to encrypt my address, how does this work? I read the sticky in this forum but I'm still non the wiser.
also, I've created a wallet but how do I transfer money into it? I heard you shouldn't use your bank account to purchase from mtgox (etc) but how else can I pay?
also any other bits of advice would be good, especially as I'm hoping to buy on SR within the next hour or so.
thanks
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Do not be in a rush to order. Very literally your freedom is at stake. Please take the time to familiarize yourself with pgp, there are some good youtube tutorials that I would watch (a general youtube search of pgp should return a wealth of sources). In addition it appears that you are unfamiliar with the "mechanics" of bitcoin. The bitcoin subreddit has some great info on them including how/where to go about purchasing them, there are many many ways to but coins but the best/safest depends alot on your location amongst other things.
*All sources mentioned are in the clearnet
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Okay, I've taken some time to familiarize myself with PGP.
I've watched a few youtube tutorials and I'm quite sure I know how to encrypt my address.
But to clarify, do I just need their public key in order to encrypt? they don't need mine do they?
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That is correct you only need their public key to encrypt. But here is a tip. If you send them your public key many vendors will understand this to mean that you want them to reply to you encrypted. Whether you want to do that or not is up to you. I like to see people encrypt their shipping address since that is highly sensitive information.
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That is correct you only need their public key to encrypt. But here is a tip. If you send them your public key many vendors will understand this to mean that you want them to reply to you encrypted. Whether you want to do that or not is up to you. I like to see people encrypt their shipping address since that is highly sensitive information.
Okay, well as a beginner I'll stick with just sending my address encrypted - is there a way to check the encryption has been done correctly (ie) decrypt it to make sure the details are correct. also is it wise to put a real name down, or a fake one? or does it not matter.
One last thing, it seems that the main option for buying BC here in the UK is bank transfer. What are the risks of being caught doing this, if theoretically I bought something illegal?
Thanks
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Unfortunately you can not decrypt it to check it because you would need the recipient's private key to do that. If for some reason the vendor can not read it it is pretty likely that they will let you know so you can try again. Also there are threads on this forum for practice if you want to encrypt a short message and get confirmation that the recipient can read it in order to gain confidence in the process.
I can't recommend a method to buy bitcoins in the UK, sorry.
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Unfortunately you can not decrypt it to check it because you would need the recipient's private key to do that. If for some reason the vendor can not read it it is pretty likely that they will let you know so you can try again. Also there are threads on this forum for practice if you want to encrypt a short message and get confirmation that the recipient can read it in order to gain confidence in the process.
I can't recommend a method to buy bitcoins in the UK, sorry.
Okay, I appreciate you cannot recommend a method, but I'd just like to know the tangible risks associated with bank transfers - (ie) your details being out there... because surely if I transferred bitcoin to my wallet there's nothing that links my wallet to the purchase on SR?
Thanks again for all the help.
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Let's say I am a bitcoin vendor and I take a bank transfer to my account and send you bitcoins. If LE pressures me to reveal your personal details and the wallet address that you gave me, they can see the coins move into and out of your wallet. This is of limited use to them unless they have information from a honeypot account that they are running on Silk Road that you bought from. One man's "careful" is another man's "paranoid". The more you read here on the forum the more you will learn and theoretically the better you will be able to evaluate the risks.
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Lots of good advice, thanks.
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Thanks for the reply spunjtom you've been absurdly helpful.
I think I'm finally ready to purchase... just need to find a site to buy bitcoin from for UK :)
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Try Bitstamp. They do bank transfers for people with £s.
Back to the address encryption process, do I need to download anything to be able to do this or do I just need the vendors' public key?
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Thanks for the reply spunjtom you've been absurdly helpful.
I think I'm finally ready to purchase... just need to find a site to buy bitcoin from for UK :)
localbitcoins.com
t
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Try Bitstamp. They do bank transfers for people with £s.
Back to the address encryption process, do I need to download anything to be able to do this or do I just need the vendors' public key?
Yeah, you need software for PGP. Kleopatra works for Ubuntu, but I am not sure what to recommend for Windows or Mac.
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By the way this is a good thread if you want to get some practice with PGP:
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=107219.0
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So I can't use the vendors' public key without first having downloaded PGP software?
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Call me unsafe but if it's a small purchase I rarely waste time encrypting my address.
If the DEA wants to bust an end user for $100 worth of drugs then by all means