When random.bytes() runs but doesn't work • Hacker News Board

Re: When random.bytes() runs but doesn't work

#61

Post by Scoundreller » Tue, Aug 04, 2026, 3:07 AM UTC

scott_w wrote: post #42

thin_carapace wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get the feeling that the bugs found in this instance can be more directly attributed to the author having zero experience operating a microcontroller

Honestly, I'm going to be a bit harsher: I think they're either: 1. A novice who doesn't know how to debug issues. 2. Totally incompetent and copying code from Stack Overflow. I don't think it's specific to microcontrollers, either, the error from the C compiler is something that a competent programmer would be able to interpret, or at least see it as a signal to get someone more experienced in the domain to learn ab…

Hey now, I'm totally incompetent, so my code writes entries in a log file for virtually everything because otherwise I have no idea if it's doing what I expect. Would've caught some critical function not being called at all.

Re: When random.bytes() runs but doesn't work

#62

Post by firmretention » Wed, Aug 05, 2026, 11:38 AM UTC

hypeatei wrote: post #46

DJBunnies wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "right thing" here is subjective. If one uses a good source of entropy (e.g. dice rolls) then one will not "get screwed." > I don't know why anyone would keep their wealth in something that requires so much technical excellence. It's not for everybody, for sure.

> If one uses a good source of entropy then one will not "get screwed." How many users were told to verify the source code to make sure it was using good entropy? How many would actually do that even if told? Obviously not even the most hardline bitcoiners were looking at it. > dice rolls Yes, the new cope I've seen is that you should've been using casino-grade dice[1] to make sure your entropy is good LOL. Mass adop…

While I agree self-custody is too onerous for the average person, Coldcard's own documentation had a section on generating secure seeds with dice and why that's more secure. It wasn't some esoteric knowledge - anyone who RTFM on the device they intended to store their savings on was fine. That's not an absolution of Coldcard of course, but it's not "new cope".

Re: When random.bytes() runs but doesn't work

#63

Post by jki275 » Fri, Aug 07, 2026, 1:18 AM UTC

nullc wrote: post #53

jki275 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

C isn't the problem here. one might argue that the combination of micro python and C and the person writing it having no understanding of how either one works is the problem. Also running python on a microcontroller to do cryptography is fucking insane.

> Also running python on a microcontroller to do cryptography is fucking insane. I feel like I should confess to snubbing this (and some other) hardware wallet projects for the fact it used micropython. I think it's hard to draw the line between systems programmer snobbery and good advice... and I feel a little like a cop guilty of stop-and-frisk on the basis of skin color. Because in general the ideas necessary to p…

I think some things telegraph competence and some the opposite -- and our experiences over the years tend to shape what we see that way.