How was the magic network ID value chosen?
Messages on the Bitcoin network are identified by the magic value 0xD9B4BEF9, and on the testnet by 0xDAB5BFFA. Why were these values chosen?
Messages on the Bitcoin network are identified by the magic value 0xD9B4BEF9, and on the testnet by 0xDAB5BFFA. Why were these values chosen?
I want to buy some bitcoins. Ideally, I would like to buy them on the MtGox exchange (because the consensus seems to be that this is the most reputable exchange), however I have found the system for transferring USD to MtGox to be very disappointing. I would have liked to be able to add funds with PayPal or directly with a credit card, however both of these are not possible.
My question has two parts:
Strongcoin claims it is "The Safest way to store your Bitcoins. The only Bitcoin e-wallet service that’s not vulnerable to security breaches. Your Bitcoin keys are encrypted in the browser."
As I understand it, with their system your private keys are essentially encrypted by your browser before they are sent to the website. They also appear to have a method of creating an encrypted paper copy of your wallet so you can restore your wallet if the website disappears.
Even so, it seems you’re still potentially vulnerable if you access your wallet from an infected computer (i.e. through keystroke loggers and more advanced logging techniques).
What other risks are there in using such a service?
Note: I have not used Strongcoin, and have no affiliation with them in any way.
Bitcoin newbie here. I recently installed the Bitcoin client, and purchased some bitcoins from Mt.Gox. My problem is that my client is constantly synchronizing. I’ve checked charts and seen that my Bitcoins were successfully purchased, but my client seems to be stuck “Synchronizing with network”. I’ve just got a constant loading icon in the bottom right, and when I hover over it it says it’s “catching up”. As I said, I’m new. Is this normal? Can someone explain what’s happening? Thanks!