[tor-talk] Tips for configuring and using Tor for anonymous Bitcoin usage?

[mirimir]

On 10/03/2013 05:45 PM, author at anonymousbitcoinbook.com wrote:

> Hey all,
> 
> I'm writing a book about the use of Bitcoin and anonymity. A fair 
> portion of the book will be dedicated to teaching people how to most 
> safely use Tor to facilitate anonymity with Bitcoin. Are there any 
> special tips that people have for configuring Tor or using Tor when
> it comes to Bitcoin?

I'll have tutorials online "soon" (not in my hands) that cover this in
great detail. I recommend mixing through at least three different mixing
services, using independent anonymous wallets.

> Right now, I'm recommending the use of a LiveCD Linux distro
> (Ubuntu) with TorBundle for Linux and the vanilla Bitcoin client for
> Linux. A couple tips I'm already aware of are to disable JavaScript
> before using (since NoScript currently defaults to being on :() and
> to avoid downloading files through the web browser such as PDF
> documents.

I recommend using Whonix with the Multibit client. The vanilla Bitcoin
client downloads the full blockchain, which is far too much for Tor.
It's comparable to torrenting an 8 GB video. Multibit is a local client,
under user control, but doesn't download the blockchain. It's the
recommended default now.

> In particular, I'm curious 1) if there needs to be special
> configuration to ensure that all DNS request go through Tor, and 2)
> whether I can configure the system not to send any internet message
> except through the Tor proxy.

As I understand Whonix, it's designed not to leak. But I defer to
adrelanos for specifics.

> Regards, Kristov