Bitcoin Forum

What currently is the best online btc wallet?

would not mtgox count as a wallet if you just want to store btc and then be able to
send it out to anyone else or add to it or etc...?

if yes.. mtgox.

yeah that sounds good. but maybe less diverse if i want to send to multiple people and track transactinos, is it in depth?

IMO, it has to be blockchain.info:

cool interface
nice way of tracking transaction and bitcoin adresses
very flexible send options

high security:
- private keys get decrypted only on the client side in a (usually) sandboxed browser
- two factor authentication (yubikey, google authenticator)
- browser addons which check the validity of the javascript code sent from blockchain.info

automatic encrypted wallet backup sent via e-mail, also dropbox support

brain wallet support

iphone app

minus:
no android app

There is an Android app.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=piuk.blockchain

A few different factors that will weigh on that.

If you want simplicity, Paytunia is probably the simplest.  It is available for web access and as an app for Android as well (the iOS app got yanked by Apple from the App store).

Another simple solution is InstaWallet.org which also has a mobile app for Android.   The problem is this is a low security app (no password, just URL).   If iPhone suport is needed, EasyWallet.org can be used as a web app from a mobile where a barcode app is used for scanning QR codes.

All of those are hosted (shared) EWallets.

A hybrid EWallet doesn't store your keys.  Blockchain.info/wallet is the leading hybrid EWallet.  They too have a Android moblle app, and an iOS version as well  (which may or may not have access to the wallet, depending on which intern at Apple's approved it before intervention from a higher source in the company.)

Bitcoin Spinner for Android is a mobile app that uses Simplified Payments Verification  (SPV)  (i.e., a server that holds the blockchain) but there is no web interface that accesses the wallet.

So all of these have tradeoffs.

 - http://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mobile_Payment_Apps

Just to clarify that.  The yubikey mode that is supported is for their static password, not the One Time Password (OTP) which protects against a replay attack.

I sent BTC to mt gox and it hasn't shown up yet. was about an hour ago

EDIT: up now. didn't lose $50 :)

Can only speak from my experience, But I find http://electrum-desktop.com/ (http://electrum-desktop.com/) very handy, and with recovery words too.

The only reason I use blockchain.info over Electrum is that Electrum's Android client is pitifully basic to the point of being unusable.

I will admit keeping track of who you sent what to is not easy unless I am missing some new feature.
I do not think I can put a label next to a bitcoin payout address. But you can see your transaction history
and at least mtgox has been through the whole security mess and learned from it.

+1

Not an online wallet but Iprefer Armory for security.  Paper back ups, offline wallet etc.  I havent found anything more secure.

+1 Armory and it is security is amazing! no online wallet would be able to provide that level of security.

+1 for blockchain.info. It has paper wallet and brain wallet support too. And I read on their website the wallet backups can be decrypted with Multibit, so even if they go down, there should be no problem because they don't know your private keys, and the backup can still be decrypted.

mtgox wallet has the problem that you are unable to play satoshidice like games

i would use blockchain.info

This is only true of Mt.Gox yubikeys. Regular yubico yubikeys does full OTP validation.

+1 for Blockchain.info

Thats not a problem but a benefit!

no its a huge problem
if you only look at satoshidice its ok (as long as you expect ANY new user to be careful enough to not try)

but i think its a very good feature of bitcoin to see the addresses money came from. so you have a chance to send funds back.

with an mtgox wallet this is not possible. if you send back the money mtgox itself gets it (afaik: could also be that you send the funds to a random mtgox user)

There's isn't actually a "from" in Bitcoin. On very simple transactions you may be able to make an educated guess, but it should not be relied upon as an address to which you can send a refund. If you need to send a refund, get a refund address from your customer.

Are you sure about that?  My YubiKey sends OTPs and I use it with Blockchain.info.

EDIT: My YubiKey is not an Mt.Gox key/VIP key.  It appears that at least the Mt.Gox YubiKeys do not use OTP, but I haven't found a definitive answer as to whether or not standard YubiKeys use OTP on blockchain.info.

And ... ?

I still don't know the answer.  Mt.Gox YubiKeys definitely don't use OTP, but if someone knows about regular YubiKeys straight from Yubico, please let me know.

Yubico yubikeys do full OTP validation, only MT.Gox keys do not (because they are locked to Mt.Gox)

Line 2263: https://github.com/blockchain/My-Wallet/blob/master/WalletServlet.java

You can always go to your transaction history and find the transaction number. Using that you can track who sent it to you easily. If you want proof send me some coins to my mtgox and I'll send it back to the same address.

Awesome, thanks!

Another +1 for blockchain.info

I know we shouldn't trust anyone, but as far as usability goes I think blockchain.info is the best out of any I've tried so far, nice features.

Just keep an offline wallet for the majority of your coin and you'll be good.

You can export your Blockchain.info wallet and import it into MultiBit if anything happens to the website.  That's pretty cool :)

This thing is wicked. Helps when your on the road and would rather leave the laptop at home. :)

And another +1

thanks guys. blockchain seems kool. never made an in person transfer or mobile etc. before

don't know what yubikey is...?

A YubiKey is a small USB device which is essentially a keyboard that types in a whole lot of characters when activated.  Those characters are different every time you activate it and are known as a one-time password (OTP).  After you have associated a specific YubiKey with your account, all the passwords your key generates will be recognized as coming from your specific YubiKey.  The website you do the authentication on actually has no idea whether or not your OTP is valid or not by itself.  It has to request verification from Yubico's servers.  So, it's basically a way to use very simple two-factor authentication which is very, very secure.  YubiKeys themselves are very small (I keep mine in my wallet) and rugged.  There aren't a ton of services which use them currently, but I seek those services out.  LastPass is an example of a service where the use of a YubiKey is an extremely good idea, but you can also use it with Gmail/Google's two-factor authentication (with some additional software) and various other sites and services.

shooting in the wild here...do you know what can be done after you accidentally hit your yubikey with a hammer rendering it disfunctional

It's quite sturdy and has no battery or moving parts, so it may not do anything depending on how hard you hit it and the angle (they've survived being run over by cars apparently).  Anyway, if that happens, you can just request whatever service you're using cancel your 2-factor authentication, which they usually do by confirming via an email address associated with your now-locked account.

As long as you have your private key saved away safe and sound you're all good, am I correct?

...encrypted and saved away

how to use private key to get wallet coins when you dont have the wallet file?

I think this thread is getting to be like one of those IRC conversation where people see answers to other people's questions and get confused thinking those answers were to their own questions.


Blockchain.info, can use yubikey.  If you lose the yubikey Blockchain.info can remove that restriction after you verify that you are truly the account owner (not sure how,... same IP as last, and sent to same e-mail address maybe?)  

As far as blockchain.info backup, that can be sent to your e-mail or to your dropbox each time it changes.   It is encrypted,. You can use that backup to spend your funds, but it isn't necessarily convenient.   Multibit will import a wallet backup from Blockchain.info I believe.  That backup does not require Yubikey, regardless if you had OTP/Yubikey protection enabled for login.

[I'm pretty sure on all this, not 100%]

just use mtgox. its the trendy thing to do :)

Hehe (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=105638.0)

I say Blockchain.info (http://www.blockchain.info/wallet/) instead. You actually have control over your money. Not to shoot down your idea Jermainé, but I'm shooting down your idea :P

ok i dont uderstand OTP, private public keys, yubikey, do u know all that?

I've done all of those things with Blockchain.info.  I use my Yubikey there as well (a standard Yubikey from Yubico, not an MtGox Yubikey).  It works great.

I like how the custom send menu has an option to send the return change to the same address you sent from. This lets me activate a paper wallet and still have it remain a valid backup of my key.

+1 for blockchain.info

works great for a noob like me.. very easy to use and i like the stats they provide realtime...  ;)

It is very easy to do fractional reserve banking when your own money is slushed about with all other money.

where and who's doing it

I believe mtgox does it. This is totally just my gut feeling based on events that have occured in the past.

I prefer blockchain.info and suggest it to the CoinURL users who are not aware about Bitcoin.

Yup, just feed Blockchain with the coins you may need to spend soon.

BTW, I think Blockchain's the best of what I've seen.

uhh gox making up funds from nowhere and trading on their site? thats theft