heres the Chainanalysis video for the curious
A leaked video from Chainalysis, a company trying to trace #Monero transactions, revealed that their techniques rely on known vulnerabilities, not cryptographic breaches.
The primary risk lies in malicious nodes logging users' IP addresses, a key method for tracking transactions.
According to available information, specific Monero nodes publicly known to be operated by Chainalysis include:
—node.moneroworld.com: This domain was pointed at Chainalysis nodes around 2020, specifically nodes #003 and #140 based on DNS records.
—dallas.xmrmode.com (IP: 104.223.103.222): This node was identified in investigations related to node.moneroworld.com.
Watch this video: https://x.com/schmidt1024/status/1878388407296053635
Key Points and Advice:
1. Run Your Node: Self-hosted Monero nodes protect your IP and reduce reliance on potentially compromised public nodes. Running a node requires significant storage (60GB for a pruned node, 200GB for a full node), which can be challenging for mobile users.
2. Use Privacy Tools: If you can't run your node, use a VPN or proxy when connecting to remote nodes. For added privacy, opt for onion nodes via Tor or i2p.
3. Avoid Malicious Nodes: Malicious nodes can create "poisoned" decoy outputs in transactions and track user activity. Chainalysis reportedly operates some public Monero nodes.
4. Limit Exchange Use: Exchanges may log or share user data. Use intermediary wallets for deposits/withdrawals, avoiding direct links between exchanges and your primary wallet.
5. Focus on Spending: Instead of trading Monero, spend it as intended. Businesses can adopt Monero as a payment method, promoting its use while preserving privacy.
Identifying malicious nodes, including those potentially run by Chainalysis, requires vigilance and specific strategies since they operate covertly. Use Decentralized Lists and Community Tools like https://moneroworld.com/
Discussion
There is a special place in hell for those (sub)humans working at the IRS and Chainanalysis.
yeah I wouldn't go that far.
its distasteful and I would hope they'd feel like they are peeking in somebody else's windows or something .
but it's hard for me to get mad at people analyzing public data.
But they are doing it with the intention of stealing it.
people analyze census data and combine it with shit and call it their own too.
we usually dont call it "stealing"
unless I'm not understanding your meaning.
a classic.
we have better data about usage now then when this talk was given.
If this is a cat/mouse game then what is the latest technical talk on this (and not some potential propaganda from an IRS agent)?
this video was leaked from Chaintlast year and gives a good overview of their current abilities to track Monero.
Basically nothing that wasn't already known except we weren't sure the were running so many malicious nodes
Chainalysis also traces pedos and terrorists, it's just a tool, just like monero.
Chainanallize is driving monero into excellence