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You are missing the point. The article is about login methods. Username/password vs message signed with a private key. The blockchain part is there because is t

by spinny 5y ago

You are missing the point. The article is about login methods. Username/password vs message signed with a private key. The blockchain part is there because is the only ready-to-use way to do it in an browser. It's absurd how HN users in general are so dismissive of anything cryptocurrency

vanusa 5y ago
My point was usability. And being (effectively) forced to join / legitimize their hive to get anything done. It's absurd how HN users in general are so dismissive of anything cryptocurrency. It's quite reasonable actually, given the prevalence of not just hype, but frequently delusional / just plain rambling and incoherent hype surrounding it -- not to mention blatant fraud and manipulation aimed specifically at unsophisticated users. And the skivviness of many people involved in it. That said, the OP presents one of the more thoughtful proposals I've read recently, and may belong to the 5 percent or so of blockchain applications that just might have a useful application. With emphasis on "just might". We'll see.
- spinny 5y ago
  > My point was usability. And being (effectively) forced to join / legitimize their hive to get anything done I agree with you on this. For the purpose of login in with a private key, i would prefer some browser extension (or built in the browser) that generates a key from a seed (like a crypto wallet) and only does that. This doesn't exist at this point. > ... not to mention blatant fraud and manipulation aimed specifically and unsophisticated users Also agree, but probably for different reasons. Many people on twitter have the tendency to be mean, twitter doesn't make people mean, but it amplifies it. There is so many scams and manipulation because scammers and con artists always existed and people's greed for that 100x token and so does the scamming The speed of communication that the internet gave us also serves as an amplifier of the ugliness of human nature
  - jeroenhd 5y ago
    > For the purpose of login in with a private key, i would prefer some browser extension (or built in the browser) that generates a key from a seed (like a crypto wallet) and only does that. This doesn't exist at this point. What about https://www.yubico.com/products/yubikey-5-overview/ https://www.yubico.com/products/yubikey-5-overview/ or https://cloud.google.com/titan-security-key/ https://cloud.google.com/titan-security-key/ or https://krypt.co/ https://krypt.co/ (before it was acquired, I still use it though) or any of it's equivalents?
    - spinny 5y ago
      i'm familiar with those (yubikey and titan, didn't knew about krypt). Don't own any of those but always install the FIDO U2F [1] app on my ledger hardware wallets (which is a nice extra). my issue with using a physical device is that it detracts adoption if there is no other alternative. a browser extension or built-in helps adoption and adoption probably increases the number of people using physical devices. [1] https://www.ledger.com/fido-u2f https://www.ledger.com/fido-u2f
danielmarkbruce 5y ago
Blockchain isn't the only "ready to use" way to use cryptographic signatures for authentication. One reason people often are dismissive is because people who are pro crypto say things which aren't true, like this. Various authentication schemes have used digital signatures...on the web... for decades at this point.

by spinny 5y ago

vanusa 5y ago

My point was usability. And being (effectively) forced to join / legitimize their hive to get anything done. It's absurd how HN users in general are so dismissive of anything cryptocurrency. It's quite reasonable actually, given the prevalence of not just hype, but frequently delusional / just plain rambling and incoherent hype surrounding it -- not to mention blatant fraud and manipulation aimed specifically at unsophisticated users. And the skivviness of many people involved in it. That said, the OP presents one of the more thoughtful proposals I've read recently, and may belong to the 5 percent or so of blockchain applications that just might have a useful application. With emphasis on "just might". We'll see.

spinny 5y ago
> My point was usability. And being (effectively) forced to join / legitimize their hive to get anything done I agree with you on this. For the purpose of login in with a private key, i would prefer some browser extension (or built in the browser) that generates a key from a seed (like a crypto wallet) and only does that. This doesn't exist at this point. > ... not to mention blatant fraud and manipulation aimed specifically and unsophisticated users Also agree, but probably for different reasons. Many people on twitter have the tendency to be mean, twitter doesn't make people mean, but it amplifies it. There is so many scams and manipulation because scammers and con artists always existed and people's greed for that 100x token and so does the scamming The speed of communication that the internet gave us also serves as an amplifier of the ugliness of human nature
- jeroenhd 5y ago
  > For the purpose of login in with a private key, i would prefer some browser extension (or built in the browser) that generates a key from a seed (like a crypto wallet) and only does that. This doesn't exist at this point. What about https://www.yubico.com/products/yubikey-5-overview/ https://www.yubico.com/products/yubikey-5-overview/ or https://cloud.google.com/titan-security-key/ https://cloud.google.com/titan-security-key/ or https://krypt.co/ https://krypt.co/ (before it was acquired, I still use it though) or any of it's equivalents?
  - spinny 5y ago
    i'm familiar with those (yubikey and titan, didn't knew about krypt). Don't own any of those but always install the FIDO U2F [1] app on my ledger hardware wallets (which is a nice extra). my issue with using a physical device is that it detracts adoption if there is no other alternative. a browser extension or built-in helps adoption and adoption probably increases the number of people using physical devices. [1] https://www.ledger.com/fido-u2f https://www.ledger.com/fido-u2f

danielmarkbruce 5y ago

Blockchain isn't the only "ready to use" way to use cryptographic signatures for authentication. One reason people often are dismissive is because people who are pro crypto say things which aren't true, like this. Various authentication schemes have used digital signatures...on the web... for decades at this point.