Author: Gregory Maxwell 2014-04-10 22:33:36
Published on: 2014-04-10T22:33:36+00:00
In a forum thread, Mark Friedenbach suggested that checkpoints will eventually go away. Jesus Cea asked why and stated that the points seemed sensible. According to Friedenbach, headers first synchronization can address major problems, such as block flooding DOS attacks, weak chain isolation, and checking shortcutting in more efficient ways without requiring trust in third parties. Checkpoints also create confusion about the security model. To prevent isolation attacks, one can embed knowledge in software that the longest chain is "at least this long," which is simpler and less trusting. Randomized validation of deeply buried old history can be done for performance instead of constantly depending on trusted parties to update software. Locally saving validation fingerprints can help remember what has been checked so far by hash when reinitializing data.
Updated on: 2023-05-19T18:39:10.089378+00:00