diff --git a/ch05.asciidoc b/ch05.asciidoc index e88d4041..81a7f258 100644 --- a/ch05.asciidoc +++ b/ch05.asciidoc @@ -29,14 +29,15 @@ control the keys, you can can spend the associated bitcoins. Simple wallet databases contain both the public keys to which bitcoins are received and the private keys which allow creating the signatures -necessary to authorize spending those bitcoins. Other wallets databases +necessary to authorize spending those bitcoins. Other wallet's databases may contain only public keys, or only some of the private keys necessary to authorize a spending transaction. Their wallet applications produce the necessary signatures by working with external tools, such as hardware signing devices or other wallets in a multi-signature scheme. It's possible for a wallet application to independently generate each of -the wallet keys it later plans to use. All early Bitcoin wallet applications did +the wallet keys it later plans to use, as illustrated in +<>. All early Bitcoin wallet applications did this, but this required users back up the wallet database each time they generated and distributed new keys, which could be as often as each time they generated a new address to receive a new payment. Failure to back @@ -201,7 +202,7 @@ We'll provide a detailed exploration of HD wallets in <>. ((("wallets", "technology of", "seeds and recovery codes")))((("recovery code words")))((("bitcoin improvement proposals", "Recovery Code Words (BIP39)")))HD wallets are a very powerful mechanism for managing many -keys and addresses all derived from a single seed. If your wallet database +keys all derived from a single seed. If your wallet database is ever corrupted or lost, you can regenerate all of the private keys for your wallet using your original seed. But, if someone else gets your seed, they can also generate all of the private keys, allowing them @@ -218,6 +219,7 @@ words in <>. [[hex_seed_vs_recovery_words]] .A seed encoded in hex and in English words +==== ---- Hex-encoded: 0C1E 24E5 9177 79D2 97E1 4D45 F14E 1A1A @@ -226,6 +228,7 @@ Word-encoded: army van defense carry jealous true garbage claim echo media make crunch ---- +==== There may be cases where remembering a recovery code is a powerful feature, such as when you are unable to transport physical belongings @@ -409,8 +412,10 @@ also add other useful information to transactions, such as the current exchange rate, which can be useful for calculating taxes in some jurisdictions. These labels are stored entirely within their own wallets--not shared with the network--protecting their privacy -and keeping unnecessary personal data out of the blockchain. +and keeping unnecessary personal data out of the blockchain. For +an example, see <>. +[[alice_tx_labels]] .Alice's transaction history with each transaction labeled [cols="1,1,1"] |=== @@ -1360,3 +1365,13 @@ a few more examples. | M/44++'++/0++'++/3++'++/1/14 | The fifteenth change-address public key for the fourth bitcoin account | m/44++'++/2++'++/0++'++/0/1 | The second private key in the Litecoin main account, for signing transactions |======= + +Many people focus on securing their bitcoins against theft and other +attacks, but one of the leading causes of lost bitcoins--perhaps _the_ +leading cause--is data loss. If the keys and other essential data +required to spend your bitcoins is lost, those bitcoins will forever be +unspendable. Nobody can get them back for you. In this chapter, we +looked at the systems that modern wallet applications use to help you +prevent losing that data. Remember, however, that it's up to you to +actually use the systems available to make good backups and regularly +test them.