In-depth Look at Verge Cryptocurrency & Platform

Verge is a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that aims to keep transactions anonymous and untraceable while allowing for high throughput and fast confirmation times.

The project is entirely open source and community led. There is no company or foundation behind Verge. In fact, the core team signed Verge’s black paper with only their usernames. The community is committed to privacy, anonymity, and decentralization.

The coin originally began as DogeCoinDark in 2014. In February 2016, wanting to distance themselves from both the Doge meme and the “dark” connotation, DogeCoinDark rebranded to Verge. Over the past two years, the project has set a trajectory toward legitimacy for mass market adoption.

Verge is entering the crowded the race to be the top privacy coin. In this article, we’ll take a look at what privacy measures Verge implements. We’ll also do a deep dive on the technology behind Verge and whether this is a project with potential to rise to the top.

Making User Connections Anonymous

Verge attacks the issue of privacy from the vantage of how a user connects to the network.

The internet we all recognize is fairly straightforward. To send information between computers, you use an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or other middleman to facilitate the message. When you send a message, your ISP can see your unique identifier on the internet – your IP address. Your ISP also needs to know the IP address of the destination computer, so it can route the message.

This is okay for normal internet traffic, but it’s not anonymous. Over time, an ISP learns a lot about the IP addresses you’re contacting. They also know where you’re sending messages from. In many cases, signing up with your ISP associates your identity with your IP address, causing multiple anonymity and privacy issues. Verge uses two approaches – Tor and I2P – to address connection anonymization.

Enter Tor

Tor is a well-known anonymization scheme for IP addresses. The name is an acronym that stands for The Onion Router, because the Tor network wraps your message in multiple layers of encryption. Instead of routing your internet connection through one ISP, Tor bounces the connection between many relay computers on the Tor peer-to-peer network.

This changes the message’s IP address many times, making it difficult to trace back to the original sender. With TOR, no one node knows the whole route a message will take. The message quickly becomes anonymous and untraceable. A directory service identifies the path for connections.

Tor is a peer-to-peer network. As you use Tor, you’re also acting as a relay node for other messages getting bounced around the Tor network.

Verge implements Tor as standard for its transactions to anonymize user connections to the blockchain. Making interactions more difficult to link to an IP address.

I2P
The next generation solution to connection anonymization is I2P. While Tor provides directory-based circuit routing, I2P allows for dynamic routing of information packets. There’s no directory on I2P, so the responsive routing of the network can avoid congestion and interruptions.

I2P also divides the routing into two separate tunnels, one outgoing and another incoming. That means that the messages you send to another computer or website follow a different path from the messages you receive in response. Anyone listening in would only see half of the message history, like listening in on only half of a phone call where you don’t know who is speaking or who they’re speaking to.

Tor was intended as a portal for anonymously accessing the ordinary internet. I2P provides a much more robust experience, leading to the creation of a private network within the internet. I2P is a true darknet, with applications written specifically for I2P.

Verge leverages I2P technology for its network as well. You have the option to route your transactions through Tor or I2P but IP anonymization is standard on Verge. Since the entire Verge blockchain is anonymous, the entire community becomes much more difficult to track.

Wraith Protocol

The Wraith Protocol allows users to choose between public and private blockchain transactions. Public transactions would provide transparency and speed. Private blockchain transactions wouldn’t be publicly reviewable at all.

They plan to accomplish these private transactions using stealth addresses routed through Tor. Stealth addresses send funds to one-time use addresses. Only the recipient can identify and redeem funds sent to a stealth address. Stealth addresses are an important component of how Monero, a leading privacy coin, operates. However, Monero also provides more complex cryptography and other features that guarantee its privacy more effectively.

Verge’s cryptography is based on elliptic curves. Elliptic curve cryptography is well-established and very cool. It’s a key part of Bitcoin, and Verge uses a slight variant of the Bitcoin known as Elliptic-Curve Diffie Hellman. It allows parties to share and agree on transaction keys and signatures without an observer learning anything.

Wallets

Verge utilizes the Electrum wallet, originally designed for Bitcoin. Electrum supports Tor and I2P integration. It also allows for secure offline storage of tokens. When you need to send XVG, you can sign the transaction with your private key offline. Once signed, you can broadcast the transaction from an online computer that doesn’t have access to your private keys.

Electrum also supports passphrase key recovery and multisignature, meaning you could require multiple confirmations to send a transaction, increasing security. Finally, the Electrum wallet connects to decentralized servers that index the blockchain. There’s no need to operate a full node or download the entire blockchain transaction history.

Android Wallets

Verge will also support two Android wallets. One for Tor and another for I2P. These mobile wallets include security measures like PIN codes and biometric locking. They also support QR codes to pull balances from paper wallets.

Messaging

Verge has implemented options for messaging transactions, as well. You can send XVG via Telegram, Discord, Twitter, or IRC. It’s simple to send tokens using only a person’s username. A bot will process the transaction and place the funds in a holding address. It’ll then send a message to the recipient with instructions on how to claim the funds. Verge is not the only cryptocurrency to implement messaging payments, but it represents a big leap forward in user experience from an ease of use standpoint.

Messaging payments on Slack and Steem are coming to XVG later this year.

Mining

Verge is among a small handful of projects that are testing out multi-algorithm consensus. This means miners can mine XVG in five different ways. All of the algorithms are proof of work based. However, some favor ASIC hardware while others are GPU compatible or lighter.

The five algorithms are Scrypt, X17, Lyra2rev2, myr-groestl and blake2s. Digibyte pioneered this multialgorithm approach. The benefit is greater decentralization as multiple algorithms mean many different types of mining rigs can participate in XVG mining.

Verge has a target 30-second block time, split between the five algorithms. In total, there will be 16.5 billion XVG, with 9 billion mined in the first year (2014) and 1 billion every year thereafter.

XVG Coin

XVG, originally DogeCoinDark, launched without an ICO or premine. The developers bought Verge coins just like anyone else.

Verge is currently in the top 30 cryptocurrencies worldwide. It is listed on many major exchanges including Binance and Bittrex.

Future Plans

Verge has several future plans that could make the project more compelling as a complete privacy solution.

Atomic Swaps

Starting in 2018, Verge hopes to implement support for atomic swaps with most major cryptocurrencies. Atomic swaps use hash-locks and time-locks to freeze tokens on one blockchain in exchange for the release of tokens on another chain. Verge hopes interoperability with other chains will make it a go-to privacy provider.

Smart contracts

The Rootstock project plans to add a sidechain to Verge that processes smart contracts. It will be Turing complete and comparable to Ethereum. It hasn’t yet launched, so those claims are unverified as yet.

RSK tokens on Rootstock can be pegged to Verge tokens so they’ll have the same value. You can deposit XVG on Verge and spend corresponding RSK on the Rootstock side chain.

Rootstock claims they’ve made a breakthrough in smart contract scalability. Their goal is 2,000 tx/s using off-chain settlement solutions similar to Lightning Network.

Conclusion

Verge is interesting insofar as it’s a decentralized, open source project. However, its lack of formal structure could also be a drawback. Most serious crypto projects these days have a foundation behind them leading development and setting a roadmap.

The project also needs outside review. While many of the technologies they’re implementing have been tested elsewhere, Verge could use a dose of legitimacy from an independent source.

They also don’t have the same kind of resources as their competitors in the privacy space. Monero, Z Cash, and Dash have hundreds of collaborators on their Githubs. Verge only has 12.

That said, hiding IP addresses is an important frontier for blockchain anonymity. If they can solve anonymous smart contracts, that would be a unique breakthrough for the space.

This article by Bennett Garner was originally published at CoinCentral.com.

How To Use Tor On Android

A Tor network protects you against a common form of internet surveillance known as Traffic Analysis. While browsing or using any public network you should be aware of the fact that most of the websites can access your information including, but not limited to: your current physical location, your search requests, your interests etc. So, you can use Tor Network in order to stay anonymous and prevent Traffic Analysis protocol from accessing your information. Tor for Android can also be used to access the hidden part of the internet most commonly known as Dark Net or Deep Web.

UPDATED on 12th May 2018.

Learn more about Dark Net or Deep Web:
Beginners Guide to Deep Web or Dark Net.

Accessing internet through smartphones is a very common practice nowadays, and all those who prefer flexibility use Android smartphones. In order to use Tor on your Android device, you need to download Tor for Android from Google Play Store. Although Tor for Android does not require root permission, it can provide some extra features if you have got a rooted device, Transparent Proxying being one of them.

Download Tor for Android

In order to use Tor to browse through the internet on your Android device you can either download Orweb Browser provided by "The Guardian Project" or simply use a Proxy Mobile add-on for Firefox(for Android)

Tor for Android has tons of customization in its Settings menu, which also included Tor Tethering to enable Tor Transparent Proxying for WIFI and USB Tethered Android Devices if you are planning to use your Android internet connection on other devices. Others include Node configuration, bridges, relays, reachable addresses, hidden service hosting etc.

Beginners guide to Deep Web or Darknet

UPDATED on 12th May 2018

The "Deep Web" or "Darknet" is a collection of un-indexed pages, meaning you can't find all of them by searching. A recent estimation concluded that there are 600 terabytes of information in the darknet.

To Learn how to access Dark Net or Deep Web on Android, please read:
How To Use Tor On Android.

Any website that ends in ".onion", are hosted as Tor hidden services – a completely anonymous way to host websites. They’re part of the deep Web – an invisible part of the Web that’s not visible to search engines and normal users. It’s full of websites for users obsessed with privacy and anonymity online.

Some of the seedy underbellies of the Web is located here, too, although many of the websites are probably scams, hoaxes, or just traps designed to catch people buying illegal services. There are good uses for .onion sites, though– for example, a political activist in a repressive country or a whistleblower could use a .onion site to upload and share sensitive data or communicate anonymously.

This page is only accessible through the TOR browser (From the Browser bundle pack). The page can take up to 10 seconds to load (Possibly more), this page, is "The Hidden Wiki" A collection of links to other un-indexed pages that make up the deep web. Now some of the stuff on the deep web can be disturbing, it's not for the soft of heart, and another note is to block your webcam with tape, it's been known that hackers can view you while you browse.

Accessing Onion Sites
Firstly, you will need a special program called "Tor" which will allow you to view these pages, Tor, according to popular belief is just an anonymizer that helps keep you hidden, in contrast, it's a helpful tool to access these hidden web pages.
You can find the Tor here.

After downloading the Tor browser bundle, run the .exe file to extract it and double-click the “Start Tor Browser.exe” file in the extracted folder.

Tor will connect and launch its included browser.

Tor doesn’t introduce you to .onion sites when you start using it – it just provides an encrypted way to access the normal Web. To get started with .onion sites, you’ll have to be aware they exist and know their locations. One easy entry point is Core.onion, located at eqt5g4fuenphqinx.onion – remember, you’ll need a Tor-enabled browser to access these links.

The Tor Directory link will take you to a directory of .onion sites, which you can browse by category or search. There’s also a link to talk.Masked, an anonymous post board for anonymous discussions.

The Hidden Wiki
The Hidden Wiki is theoretically located at this address, although it’s down at the moment. If it’s still down for you, you can access a mirror of the hidden wiki instead.

The wiki is a sorted index of active .onion sites by category, but don’t believe everything you read on it. It’s likely full of scams, hoaxes, and other fiction. That said, you could access some very disturbing imagery from here, so be careful what you click.


TOR PM/Email

There’s also a link to TorPM, a popular email-like private messaging system for Tor users.

The deep web is also a flourishing market for various illegal and legal items, but they don't use USD to pay for the items, they use an internet currency called "Bitcoins" More on that here.

Some pages of the deep web are not listed on the wiki if you go to the tor2web.org site and click on the right "Google" link they'll show a few more sites, but most of the sites are only found if someone gives you the link.

Have fun and NEVER post your personal information to Deep Web!

Intercepting TOR traffic to Sniff Passwords or other Data

For this tutorial, I recommend you have some decent tcp/ip knowledge.

UPDATED on 12th May 2018

TOR:
For those of you who do not know what TOR is - it is an extremely powerful proxy project. TOR stands for 'The Onion Router'. It uses second-generation onion routing to hide your connection. TOR was originally sponsored by the US Naval Research Laboratory until it became an EFF project. TOR is completely free.

Onion routing works by relaying communications through a network of systems in various places. These systems are generally volunteers. Your connection travels through various nodes(it's encrypted) until it reaches the exit node, and then the location(ie the website you're connecting to via port 80).

This unencrypted connection on the exit node is what we will be exploiting.

Packet Sniffing:
The purpose of this post is to teach you how to sniff packets on a TOR network. TOR, like various other forms of hiding your identity, has its vulnerabilities. First of all, there's a chance your traffic could be passing through a government node as the onion routing takes place(unlikely, but still possible).

Now, TOR is highly encrypted when traveling from node to node, but once it leaves the final node, the connection is not encrypted(unless encryption is forced). This means, if you set up your network as a TOR EXIT node, you can then sniff traffic as it travels through your network - setting up a MITM(Man In The Middle) style attack.

To do this, you'll first need your connection to be a TOR exit node. So, let's get started. First off, you need to install Vidalia.

Vidalia:
All Vidalia is, is a GUI for TOR, giving you easier control over things. Start by installing TOR and Vidalia, and set up your TOR connection. Download them here. Make sure you select the Vidalia bundle for your OS.

Once you have Vidalia installed, you need to configure it to become an exit node. To do this, you need to configure it so your connection acts as an exit node. You need to go to 'Setup Relaying' on the Vidalia GUI, and then find exit policies, and tick any of the boxes.

My advice would be only to allow the unencrypted HTTP and 'Retrieve Mail', as most other default ports that tor is being used are useless - either that or they are TLS encrypted.

Getting the data:
Now, let's get to work. If you're running a Linux distro, I'd suggest using TCP flow for this, download it here.

Once you have TCPflow installed, create a new directory, then open up a console session, use the cd command to cd to the new directory you made, switch over to the root account, then run the following commands in that directory(TCP flow is console-based):

Code:
tcpflow -i eth0 port 80

Code:
tcpflow -i eth0 port 110

Code:
tcpflow -i eth0 port 143

This will capture HTTP requests, POP3 emails, and IMAP emails. Open a new console window and use the following command to stop sniffing:

Code:
killall tcpflow

or of course, just use CTRL + C to kill the processes currently running in the terminal. If you want to have a play around with TCP flow, then there's a guide on how to use it here.

What you're doing with these commands, is sniffing the traffic that travels through your connection, allowing you to read and intercept the traffic of people using TOR, before it reaches the final destination. You'll be able to see useful information here, including people's passwords for site logins, and potentially sensitive email information.

If you're using Windows or another operating system, then try downloading Wireshark here. Unlike TCP flow, Wireshark is not console based, the whole thing has a GUI and it's fairly straightforward to use.

Warning:
I suggest changing your exit policies, so you're running as an exit node ONLY when you want to sniff unencrypted traffic and gather data. Your ISP may not be too happy if people are viewing illegal content, using your connection as an exit node.

Use this knowledge wisely, and know that I don't advocate, nor should I be held responsible for misuse of this knowledge.