The Silk Road
Shut down, closed. It was an internet web site used to buy pretty much anything....drugs, guns, assassins.Running under-ground, just outside legal jurisdictions or regulatory oversight, in some kind of international shadow internet market. And apparently using "bit coin" as currency.
I don't fully understand it, especially bit coin.Are posters who know a whole lot more (looking at you, OG) interested in explaining or discussing this?
Oh. How disappointing.
Thought this was going to be a thread on you or someone planning a journey on the ancient trade route, from China to the gateway to Europe.
A route my father took a decade and a half ago. I'd love to follow in his footsteps.
Not heard of this other 'Silk Road' so can't comment.
Last edited by Timbuk2; 10-09-2013 at 08:49 AM.
Originally Posted by Steely Glint
I never heard of the online Silk Road until after it was closed down. I love the anecdote of how its closure has seen a drop in the value of Bit Coins though
As for the Silk that sounds amazing for your father Tim, I'd love to do that too.
Silk Road sold everything you could imagine. Drugs, guns, assassinations, you name it. Most of the stuff was sold in a store front similar in use to how Amazon is set up, but some of the more specialized (ie wet work) stuff required forum activity. You could order whatever you wanted, with as much anonymity you could wish for on the internet, you generally got your goods or services and they also provided tips on how to protect yourself in case you were buying from an undercover cop. Like what mail services to use, what hardware and software to carry on you, etc.
I found it interesting that the FBI didn't shut down the place until after the owner paid for a hit on one of his employees that had been arrested. Government confiscated almost 4 million in bitcoin during that shutdown, which was in users accounts on the site, likely from past, current, or planned future transactions. What the police haven't found so far is the owner's personal bitcoin worth, and its likely he won't be forced to turn that over, its estimated to be worth over 80 million dollars.
Last edited by Ominous Gamer; 10-09-2013 at 05:14 PM.
Article I just read mentioned that assassinations, stolen credit cards were not allowed, but didn't mention if that was really enforced. Seems that it was just simply very hard to track him, and that the network was apparently hard to crack, they just caught him because he was sloppy and used his own name and personal emailadress a number of times at first. And paid an undercover cop for a hit, which is never smart, of course.
I never heard of the site before either, don't see any use for it either. Anything I'd want is legal over here, and for the rest I think I'd prefer asking people I know than buying online, but that's just me. Though I can definitely see the appeal of buying drugs without having to go to a street dealer - which is one of the reasons I like our soft drug policy (buy it from a store, not on the street).
Keep on keepin' the beat alive!
There are two theories to the discovery of the admin. The one you posted and:
Cloning the server and monitoring the traffic that way, then reverse engineering their leads based on information they discover. This process is actually one of the things brought to light with the snowden leaks. Going directly for the server is also a common practice with activities that would cause a rush underground if the "criminals" get spooked. There are child porn cases where the authorities would monitor a server for months before making a move.
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
Sorry, Tim. I had the same reaction when my kids asked me if I knew about The Silk Road, and I talked about their aunt's Silk Road trip....Oh. How disappointing.
Thought this was going to be a thread on you or someone planning a journey on the ancient trade route, from China to the gateway to Europe.
A route my father took a decade and a half ago. I'd love to follow in his footsteps.
Not heard of this other 'Silk Road' so can't comment.(An awesome journey I'd love to take someday, too.
)
I guess teenagers had known about the web version for quite a while. They couldn't really answer my questions, like how the stuff got shipped or mailed to addresses, but couldn't be tracked? And I still don't understand Bit Coin.
Bit Coin is essentially an online currency - like the US has dollars, the UK has pounds, Europe has Euros, Japan has the Yen etc ... the internet has Bit Coins.
More complicated than that, but that's the simplified version. Just as I can buy dollars with pounds, you can buy Bit Coins with dollars.
Stuff was tracked here and there. On the server end Silk road kept limited records so that as long as the server was secure only the people considered need to know knew the addresses to which stuff was shipped. Heavy users would setup PO Boxes or 2nd addresses in shady areas then use GPS and/or cell jammers when picking up their mail just in case the package wasn't legit or was intercepted while in the postal system and fitted with a tracker.I guess teenagers had known about the web version for quite a while. They couldn't really answer my questions, like how the stuff got shipped or mailed to addresses, but couldn't be tracked? And I still don't understand Bit Coin.
Ever used paypal? Bitcoin was like that except with way more anonymity, and the money you put into your bitcoins was subject to market forces, so one day you could have bitcoins worth 50 bucks, and the next day 60 bucks. Bitcoins generally aren't tied to your existing finances. Aside from purchasing them outright, you could "mine" for bitcoins, by running programs on your computer, and you could then use those bitcoins to invest or purchase stuff. Anything that is considered shady or a threat to a marriage/family/job can be purchased in bitcoins at this point.
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
So is mining sort of like previous things like SETI@Home and Folding@Home but for financial reward?
yeah, but the problems get harder as more miners operate
"In a field where an overlooked bug could cost millions, you want people who will speak their minds, even if they’re sometimes obnoxious about it."
I met a bunch of people in Germany who were obsessed with bitcoin. I guess it has some kind of particular appeal to anarcho-hipsters?
My main beef with bitcoin is it's inherantly deflationary.
I'm confused if mining is critical to ensuring the integrity if the system and new blocks of coins pay for that mining and security but coins are capped at 21mn isn't that a tad contradictory?
People who solve blocks also collect a sort of processing fee from people making transactions that are recorded in their block.
Wherever he is, CitizenCain just got a lot poorer.I love the anecdote of how its closure has seen a drop in the value of Bit Coins though
edit: You won't believe this, but I think I just found him. He's doing PPCoins now. I swear, I wasn't even looking!
Last edited by Wraith; 10-13-2013 at 11:44 PM.
How did you know it was him?
He has a very distinct writer's voice, and I found a guy named Zhukov with the same voice. I'm not 100% sure it's him, of course.
Sounds like it.
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