[size=12pt]Brand new Peerbox is now officially released.[/size]
[left]I’ve named this version “0.5” to associate with Peercoin 0.5 which was released recently and to reflect the amount changes since last 0.24.2 release.
Peerbox is no longer independent Operating System, now it is designed to be addon for Debian.
This new architecture enables stability, ease of installation and use and ease of maintenance while some security features are llost. However I will try to make up for lost security over time. I keep my eyes on linux 4.5 which should work on Raspberry Pi without need for special patches, which will hopefully enable me to maintain my own kernel package with grsec patches.
What is most important, new Peerbox enables even less technology savvy people to use it - as it features graphical user interface for the first time and so it enables users to continue with their familiar Peercoin experience on dedicated Peerbox machine.
Users can now transform their Raspberry to Peerbox in minutes and not loose any of Raspberry functionality they are used to.
Their Raspberry can remain operating as media center, Bitcoin miner or torrent machine while behaving as full Peercoin node or minting Peercoins.
New design also enables some community members who are involved with projects like NuNet and B&C exchange to continue running that software while using Peerbox.
I hope you all will enjoy this release and some new Peerboxes will spring up to strengthen Peercoin network.
One more thing that changes is projects website, now it is hosted on our own infrastructure. I figured this is best as now I maintain highly secure GPG signed repository.
However, Peerbox project is grateful to @willy for hosting the project for over a year.[/left]
Silent 0.5.2 release.
I’ve implemented some more functionality for peerbox command, trying to bring it closer to classic “wallet” user experience.
Changelog:
[ul][li] added -addr command, which will show associated addresses[/li]
[li] added -send command, which will send Peercoins to specified address[/li][/ul]
peerbox -send ADDRESS AMOUNT
[ul][li] added -mint command, which will unlock wallet for minting[/li]
[li] added -balance command, which will show available balance[/li]
[li] fixes for platform detection logic[/li][/ul]
If by any case you see message that “peerbox” has been held back, install it manually with:
sudo apt-get install peerbox
[hr]
Implemented full node via Tor support out-of-the-box, various other fixes and improvements.
Start Peerbox with peerbox -tor command, Peerbox will auto-configure Tor onion router and create hidden service which will be used as domain name on Tor network.
To see your .onion address use following command:
sudo cat /var/lib/tor/ppcoin-service/hostname
Changelog:
[ul][li]added -version command, shows current Peerbox version[/li]
[li]added -tor command, starts Peerbox Tor full node[/li]
[li]changed -enable command to -autostart to comply with user expectations[/li]
[li]fixed -mint command.[/li]
[li]other small fixes and improvements.[/li][/ul]
[ul][li]Google-authenticator 2-factor authentication for SSH
[/li]
[li]Upon installation user will be asked if the machine should be renamed (hostname) to “peerbox”[/li][/ul]
renaming the machine to “peerbox” will allow for next feature:
[ul][li]auto-discovery on localnet as peerbox.local, which will allow user to instantly find peerbox and login with SSH with simple:[/li][/ul]
ssh pi@peerbox.local
[ul][li]command to show nodes .onion address if there is one[/li]
[li]reduce error verbosity if exchange API fails[/li][/ul]
[ul][li]upon install peerbox will ask user whether or not to rename the localhost to “peerbox”, which enables easy localnet discovery as “peerbox.local”; user should reboot the machine after this[/li]
[li]added -onion command, shows node’s .onion address if it has one[/li]
[li]added -gauth command, will enable od disable google-authenticator for ssh access[/li]
[li]reduced verbosity of error message if remote exchange API is not avaliable[/li][/ul]
-gauth [set/unset]
-gauth set will configure google-authenticator. It will print out QR code which represents secret key that user should import in his google-authenticator client. There are numerous implementations of google-authenticator for various platforms: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/1066447?hl=en Be sure you backup the secret code if you intend to use this, otherwise you will be locked out of your Peerbox if you loose the key.
-gauth unset will de-configure google-authenticator and print out status report.
easy localnet discovery
If you choose to rename the machine to “peerbox” and reboot, you will be able to reach machine with that hostname on your localnet.
[ul][li]Setup of $HOME/.ppcoin directory is now automatic, and it is executed during install. User intervention is no longer required. This eases the setup for the user.[/li][/ul]
I’ve released silent .point release (0.5.6.2) this morning with backend library updates. Then I’ve found that peercoin.mintr.org is operational and decided that I will release a major one with switch to new API provider.
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
Changelog:
[ul][li]peerbox -health command now uses peercoin.mintr.org blockexplorer as API provider.[/li][/ul]
Thanks to mintr team for dedication, this is the only proper API out there for Peercoin.
[code]
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ peerbox -health
Checking if we are on the right chain...
Using peercoin.mintr.org as reference.
merkle_root_matches: True
block_count_matches: True
block_hash_matches: True
previous_block_hash_matches: True[/code]
[ul][li]Merged some of code from Peerbet and PeerAssets into Peerbox backend library which communicates with local node.[/li][/ul]
