Thursday, March 21, 2013

Armory Available Now! Version 0.87.2-beta !


Get Armory!

Armory Available Now!   Version 0.87.2-beta !

Armory is officially Beta!  All of its advertised features are functional and stable:
  • Multiple wallets
  • Deterministic wallets
  • Watching-only wallets
  • Offline wallets
  • One-time paper backups (digital backups, too!)
  • GPU-resistant wallet encryption
  • Key import and sweep
  • Message signing
NOTE:  Armory is a fairly resource-intensive desktop application (1.0-1.5 GB RAM usage), but a full installation only uses 50MB of disk space.  Armory is intended for Bitcoin power users who frequently benefit from the small disk footprint portability.  There are immediate plans to reduce Armory’s RAM usage, but will result in using a lot more disk space.  Therefore, the RAM reduction will be done after the initial beta release, so that users who prefer the current design can have a stable version of it.  If you have difficulty running Armory because of the RAM requirements — fear not, a new RAM-friendly version is coming soon!
Please download Armory below, then visit the Quick Start Guide for further instructions.

Armory Download Links

Windows Installers:

The above installers will work for both online and offline Windows systems.  Nothing except for the *.msi file is needed to install*.
*Some Windows users have reported that Armory will not run without the MSVC++ 2008 Redistributable package from Microsoft.  If you are experiencing problems loading Armory in Windows after a fresh install, please download and install that package.
If you have GPG installed, see the instructions at the bottom of this page to verify the authenticity of the downloaded packages.  The signed hashes are available at:


Ubuntu/Debian Packages

The above packages should work on most modern versions of Ubuntu and Debian-based distributions.  However, the packages have dependencies that Ubuntu does not have by default, which will be downloaded during installation.  See the next section for installation on an offline Ubuntu system.
Package managers in the latest versions of Ubuntu may complain about “poor package quality.”  Unfortunately, Armory developers are better at developing software than packaging it.  However, there is nothing wrong with the packages, and it is okay to click through the warning with “Install Anyway.”
There are no binaries available for other Linux distributions.  However, the Linux build instructions have proven to be quite easy with just a few commands.    See Building Armory from Source.  It may need some minor adaptation, but most users have reported a smooth build experience.

Linux – Offline Bundle for Ubuntu 10.04-32bit

The link below is for setting up an offline system without ever touching the internet.  The zip-file contains the exact same 32-bit package as above, but also includes all dependencies needed for an Ubuntu 10.04-32bit system to run Armory in offline mode.  It can be unpacked and installed on the first boot of a fresh OS install!
You can use any version of Armory after 0.60 for the offline computer, even if your online computer is running the latest version.  Ubuntu 10.04-32bit (Lucid Lynx) was chosen because it will work on just about any computer built in the last 10 years.  If you are undecided about which distribution to use, this is a good choice.  It can be downloaded from the Ubuntu release page.  Select the first link labeled “PC (Intel x86) Desktop CD.”
To use the offline bundle, install the Ubuntu 10.04-32bit with all the default options on the system.  On the first boot, you can unzip the bundle, double-click on the “Install_Armory_All.sh” file and select “Run in Terminal.”  You will type your password, and then Armory will be installed.  Once installed, it can be accessed via “Applications->Internet->Armory.”   You can click and drag it from the menu to an empty space in the top panel for easier access.

Mac/OSX

There are no official releases of Armory for Mac/OSX, because of the difficulty of packaging applications for it.  If you are not afraid of the command line (terminal), then you can follow the instructions on the Building Armory from Source page.
NOTE: Since version 0.85-beta, printing paper backups has stopped working in OSX.  It is highly recommended that you hand-copy the data on the paper backup, or copy it into a another program that can print it.   Hopefully this issue will be resolved in the near future!
UPDATE:  There is a running bounty for anyone who helps produce a distributable OSX package.   You can donate to the address:  1Armory1HBqc8dNEvHDuT9AYWPWf98aCzJ.  Discussion about this bounty can be found at the Official Armory-for-OSX Bounty thread.


Changelog

Version:  0.87-beta   (13 Jan, 2013)

  • Inflatable QR Codes Everywhere! QR codes added to multiple areas where addresses are displayed,  including the “Create Clickable Link” window which displays the full payment request in the QR code. Double-click on any QR code to inflate it to full screen.
  • Added Paper Backup info to “Backup Individual Keys”: If you have a lot of imported keys, you can now backup everything using the “Backup Individual Keys” dialog. It displays the same four lines as on your paper backup, at the top of the key list. Also added option to include the address pool to the backup.
  • Real support for Bitcoin-Qt/bitcoind 0.8+: Prior attempt at supporting 0.8 Satoshi client was broken due to incomplete information about the changes. Support has finally been implemented and tested.
  • New Right-Click Menu Options
  • Bugfix: Copying Payment Requests
  • Bugfix: P2Pool Transactions:   P2Pool wallets no longer crash Armory
  • Bugfix: Sweeping and Importing Addresses

Version:  0.86.3-beta   (23 Dec, 2012)

  • New right-click menu for the main ledger and address lists.  Includes direct link to view the selected information on blockchain.info.
  • Upgraded coin-control functionality to make it easier to identify the list of available addresses
  • New warnings and confirmation windows when signing offline transactions, to make sure the user is verifying the data before signing and broadcasting.
  • Bugfix: Unused addresses no longer “disappear” from your wallet when Armory is restarted.  The addresses never actually went anywhere, they simply were marked as “never seen” and thus not shown to the user.
  • Bugfix: All fields in the transaction are now sortable.  An optimization made for version 0.85-beta broke sorting on some fields.

Version:  0.86-beta   (7 Dec, 2012)

  • Coin Control (Expert Mode Only):  You can now control the source addresses for any transaction you construct, and can also specify custom change addresses.  Send coins back to first input address, or specify your own.
  • Fixed the bug causing transactions to show up twice for wallets that were just created.

Version:  0.85-beta   (30 Nov, 2012)

  • Multi-threaded Armory!  You can manage your wallets while Armory is scanning the blockchain!
  • Upgraded protocol to work with Bitcoin-Qt version 0.8+
  • Restore paper backups directly to encrypted files
  • (Expert-only)  Manually extend address key pools
  • Manually enter “bitcoin:” URLs from the “Send” window (in case clicking on it didn’t work)
  • Address filtering in wallet properties
  • Fixed a bug causing Armory to not detect some zero-confirmation transactions
  • Endless polishing…

Version:  0.82.2-alpha

  • URL/Link Creator
  • Minimize-to-system-tray
  • Full logging system implemented to improve bug reporting
  • Specify change address for outgoing transactions (Expert-mode Only!)
  • “MAX” button to help with sweeping your wallet
  • Version checking and notification window

Version:  0.81-alpha

  • Blockchain engine upgrade:   Previous versions will break when blockchain reaches 2GB
  • Win32 Support!
  • Transaction History Export:  Export your ledger to *.csv file, which can be loaded into a spreadsheet application.
  • Preferences Dialog:  Set your default transaction fee, date-display, and notification options.
  • Warning:  Slow loading in Windows!  The new blockchain utilities work as expected in Linux, but can take up to 3 minutes in Windows!  Yes, this is bad, but it will load eventually.   I will be improving this in the next release
  • Python-Independent Linux Packages:  Debian packages (*.deb) no longer dependent on user’s installed python version.  There is now only one *.deb file for each 32-bit and 64-bit linux.
  • Signed Debian Packages Debian packages now signed with my offline GPG-key (98832223)
  • Complete support for coinbase/P2Pool transactions  With a little pickaxe icon, a progress bucket based on 120 confirmations, and no more scary warnings!
  • Billions of bug-fixes: There’s so many I can’t even remember them all…

Version:  0.77-alpha

  • Major usability fix:  Introduction of table-sorting in 0.76 was done incorrectly.  It caused serious performance/usability issues with high-activity wallets.  This has been fixed in 0.77.
  • Linux .deb packages compiled correctly:  Accidentally used the wrong compiler options for the linux builds, causing it to crash regularly on some architectures.  This too has been fixed!

Version:  0.76-alpha

  • Fixed layouts: Armory now remembers window sizes and table column widths for most dialogs.  Also, more-intelligent resizing.
  • Table Sorting:  All major tables are now sortable by clicking on the table headers.  Useful for searching for comments, addresses, transactions, etc.
  • Armory home directory:  You can now start Armory with the “–datadir” option to use a non-standard home-directory.  Useful if you want to keep your wallets on a USB key.
  • Fedora Fix:  Crypto++ needed to be manually updated in order to be compiled on gcc 4.7+.  This fixes compiling on any system with the latest gcc, which includes the latest Fedora.
  • Fixed wallet corruption bug!  Wallet descriptions/labels longer than 256 characters can cause wallet corruption!  It’s a very simple bug and has been fixed now.
  • Duplicate wallet issue:  If you have a full wallet and watching-only copy both in the Armory directory, only one will be loaded, and sometimes it’s the wrong one.  This is fixed

Version:  0.75.1-alpha

  • Fixed URL-handling bug when user only has one wallet (Windows and Linux)
  • Fixed *.deb menu creation (Linux)
  • It appears that *.deb files now work perfectly without uninstalling previous version (Linux)

Version:  0.75-alpha

  • Full installers for both Windows (*.msi) and Debian/Ubuntu (*.deb)
  • System tray icon and notifications:  notifications of Bitcoins sent, received, or disconnect/reconnect of Satoshi client
  • URI Handling!  Clickable URIs will now open Armory and pre-fill the send-BTC fields.  Will alwaysask for confirmation before sending.  Try it after installing Armory!

Version:  0.73-alpha

  • Fixed nasty bug in Windows!  Satoshi client will now download the blockchain again…
  • Bulk address import/sweep
  • Address books!  Automatically populated from all address you’ve ever used for sending or receiving
  • Color scheme dramatically improved — works great with dark color theme!.
  • Single-instance: Armory will prevent you from opening it twice.  Your wallet files are safer now!

Version:  (0.70-beta)-alpha

  • RAM-REDUCTION COMPLETE!
  • Armory now consumes dramatically less RAM, it will even run on a linux system with 512 MB of RAM!
  • While it uses less RAM, the optimizations had a trade-off in Windows — it loads quite a bit slower.  Also, the improvements did not enable Armory to run in full-mode on 32-bit Windows.

Version:  0.60-alpha

  • Added wallet migration tool — can import all keys from older Satoshi wallets into Armory.  Do not use tool if your wallet was created by Satoshi client 0.6.0 or later.
  • Added efficiency and robustness patches for Linux/OSX.

Version:  0.56-alpha

  • Bug-fix release!   
  • Fixed a bug introduced in 0.55 causing error sending transactions.
  • Fixed a bug in the offline-wallet interface if offline system has a stale blockchain file (it doesn’t need the blockchain, but it was failing if one was there)

Version:  0.55-alpha

  • Full Windows binaries!  No need to install other programs anymore.  The download links include ArmoryQt.exe and all the necessary .dll’s!
  • Added “–noblockchain” option to CLI arguments
  • Added a message signing interface, allowing you to create and sign messages with private keys of any of your addresses.  For demonstration purposes, I have included a signature from my donation address verifying the md5sum of the zip files.
  • Added an ECDSA calculator.  You can now do elliptic-curve arithmetic with a nice interface.  Multiply public keys together, manually compute public keys, add elliptic curve points.

Verifying Downloaded Files

Armory is used to protect tens of thousands of dollars worth of BTC.  For this reason, some users want to make sure that the Armory installer they download has not been altered in any way.  Armory Ubuntu/Debian packages (*.deb files) are signed directly using the Armory GPG Signing Key (98832223).  And each release comes with a signed file containing the MD5 hashes of each installer — they are included with each new version on the code.google.com download page.   However, it is not easy to verify these signatures unless you have access to a Linux machine.  At the moment, the verification procedure on Windows is very difficult.
To verify in Linux, “cd” to the directory containing the installer (usually Downloads), download and import the Armory signing key from the ubuntu key-server, install the signature verification program, and then use it verify the signatures on the *.deb files:
$ cd Downloads   # the directory containing the *.deb
$ sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 98832223
$ sudo apt-get install dpkg-sig
$ dpkg-sig --verify *.deb
If everything goes smoothly, you will see the following output:
$ sudo apt-key adv --recv-keys --keyserver keyserver.ubuntu.com 98832223
gpg: requesting key 98832223 from hkp server keyserver.ubuntu.com
gpg: key 98832223: public key "Alan C. Reiner (Armory Signing Key) <alan.reiner@gmail.com>" 

$ dpkg-sig --verify *.deb
Processing armory_0.85-beta_amd64.deb...
GOODSIG _gpgbuilder 821F122936BDD565366AC36A4AB16AEA98832223 1353699840
Processing armory_0.85-beta_i386.deb...
GOODSIG _gpgbuilder 821F122936BDD565366AC36A4AB16AEA98832223 1353699843
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