Was trying to purple pill a friend of mine and they had an interesting question. How do you deal with authentication and protection from impersonation on NOSTR? #asknostr #grownostr #nostr
Discussion
Good question! I would like to know too. nostr:npub18ams6ewn5aj2n3wt2qawzglx9mr4nzksxhvrdc4gzrecw7n5tvjqctp424 You came to mind on this one. Would you know?
Web of trust.
For instance, if more people I follow and people they follow are already following nostr:nprofile1qqsqfjg4mth7uwp307nng3z2em3ep2pxnljczzezg8j7dhf58ha7ejgpz4mhxue69uhkummnw3ex2mrfw3jhxtn0wfnszynhwden5te0wahhgtn4w3ux7tn0dejszxthwden5te0wdjkuerfwshxummnvekxzun99e3k7mgrcp7e2 instead of nostr:nprofile1qqspvxckleleljlh96s2j7nmsxxecwlutwpgqpztclp7z22k8jwqedcprpmhxue69uhkv6tvw3jhytnwdaehgu3wwa5kuef0glacus, then I can be reasonably certain the first is legit and the second is an impersonator.
Start building your web of trust from people you know outside of Nostr and it won't take long to distinguish between most folks that anyone would try impersonating.
Coracle.social in particular has great web of trust filtering built into it.
Nip05 verification address like from nostrcheck.me
Can you explain what that is and how it works?
Oouuu all those guys that were tagged know exactly how to explain the nip05 i just know what it can be used for
A NIP-05 address provides a minimal level of verification, because it ties your npub to a particular domain, usually that you need to register with in order to have them associate your npub with their domain. Some of them have a cost involved, which naturally discourages spammers and bots from using them, but there are also plenty of free NIP-05 services out there, too.
There is also nothing stopping anyone who owns a domain from setting up their own NIP-05 registry, so it is not terribly useful for verifying who is a legitimate person and who is an impostor, unless the impostor is being REALLY stupid and trying to use the exact same NIP-05 address as the person they are impersonating.
NIP-05 addresses are therefore far more useful for giving to your friends so that it is easier for them to find you on Nostr, rather than having to give them your npub. Your NIP-05 can also contain relay hints so your friends will know what relays to look for your notes on.
the answer is 'WoT' Web of Trust
I think a lot of people are slightly unsure of a world where there’s no ‘authority’ to police things irrespective of how good or bad they are at actually doing that. Additionally, while idealists(like myself) are thinking glass half full a lot of people will be thinking glass half empty and will be looking for the apple in the garden of Eden. I think these are the types of questions that are good to ask and answer as we move towards wider adoption.