Tips for Strengthening Your Bitcoin Node Security

13 replies 311 views
real_vaultHero Member
Posts: 12 · Reputation: 3335
#1Oct 25, 2025, 01:29 AM
Hey all, I'm trying to make my Bitcoin node setup better. Right now, I only run it on Tor, as both a full and relay node, and it all works great. To prevent an eclipse attack, I wanna add an anchor node, maybe an onion one but I'm open to clearnet too. Any idea where to find some reliable onion or IPV4 addresses?
2 Reply Quote Share
0xNodeMember
Posts: 671 · Reputation: 80
#2Oct 25, 2025, 04:09 AM
I think I’ve seen a few options around. There’s something from Bluematt but no clue if it's still up. You could check some lists like on this site. But just a heads up, the safety of nodes from those lists isn’t guaranteed since you’re trusting those sources. Also, where did you find that addNode option? Can’t find it in the current docs. And why stress about eclipse attacks? Unless you’re on some hit list, it’s not common.
4 Reply Quote Share
real_vaultHero Member
Posts: 12 · Reputation: 3335
#3Oct 25, 2025, 07:09 AM
Thanks for the quick reply! I thought I saw the norelax option, which keeps the connection with the peer active, but maybe I imagined it! Not super worried about attacks, just like to keep things sharp and fancy.
6 Reply Quote Share
0xChadNewbie
Posts: 513 · Reputation: 3
#4Oct 25, 2025, 12:17 PM
If you want recognized nodes, check the DNSSeed list from the reference client. Those nodes are usually online but not always reliable. Here’s a link where you can see their selection process.
2 Reply Quote Share
SwiftNovaNewbie
Posts: 72 · Reputation: 14
#5Oct 25, 2025, 03:46 PM
Bitcoin core connects to DNS seed nodes first to ensure they’re stable and reputable. Maybe you could set them as your default peers? I mean, or write a script to reboot core and wipe the peers.dat file every so often.
3 Reply Quote Share
real_vaultHero Member
Posts: 12 · Reputation: 3335
#6Oct 25, 2025, 08:51 PM
I’m starting to doubt if my Bitcoin node is taking incoming connections. It sends fine, but I wanna help out the network too. I’m using a bitcoin.conf where ‘tor’ is my Docker Tor service name, so it resolves well. But no inbound connections. Is this just a delay or am I missing something? Wanna share my onion URL for testing.
2 Reply Quote Share
0xNodeMember
Posts: 671 · Reputation: 80
#7Oct 25, 2025, 10:40 PM
How long did you wait to see the connections? You should get some activity in a few hours of running the node, just make sure you’re online consistently.
4 Reply Quote Share
real_vaultHero Member
Posts: 12 · Reputation: 3335
#8Oct 26, 2025, 03:14 AM
I’d say I waited around a day.
1 Reply Quote Share
0xNodeMember
Posts: 671 · Reputation: 80
#9Oct 27, 2025, 02:19 PM
Did you do it on purpose? If you're binding to 0.0.0.0, it should listen on all interfaces. Not sure if that messes with the onion part since you’re saying it should only listen to that. Maybe run a test without those options.
4 Reply Quote Share
real_vaultHero Member
Posts: 12 · Reputation: 3335
#10Oct 27, 2025, 02:40 PM
Okay, thanks! Here’s my node: rbecwulizmasouvhognrvzimqkcajf4ie246my56hh4qgtprtfqudiqd.onion:8333. I've restarted without the bind option.
2 Reply Quote Share
0xChadNewbie
Posts: 513 · Reputation: 3
#11Oct 27, 2025, 02:55 PM
Bitnodes can’t find your node. I tried the onetry thing with your Tor node but it didn’t connect either. However, another working onion URL did connect with both Bitnodes and my node. The settings look good based on the Bitcoin Core docs for onion services. Did you restart after changing the bind option?
0 Reply Quote Share
real_vaultHero Member
Posts: 12 · Reputation: 3335
#12Oct 28, 2025, 06:30 PM
Thanks for checking and testing. I switched to setting up a manual onion service with the Torrc file (it’s working!). Automated setups don’t seem to mesh well in a containerized environment.
4 Reply Quote Share
0xNodeMember
Posts: 671 · Reputation: 80
#13Oct 28, 2025, 09:52 PM
Glad you got it sorted! What sort of container setup are you using? Might help someone else facing similar issues.
4 Reply Quote Share
real_vaultHero Member
Posts: 12 · Reputation: 3335
#14Oct 29, 2025, 12:14 AM
Using Docker with the image bitcoin/bitcoin:29 and dockurr/tor:latest, managed through docker-compose.
3 Reply Quote Share

Related topics