Bitcoin Forum

So i recently saw a bug with blockchain.info  and im a newbie on bitcoin wallets so i decided to move my wallet from there. I would like to use a wallet that is safe and that can be recovered in case of loosing it or something like that. Any suggestions what should i use?

Edit: is multibit a good alternative? and if yes how can the wallet be recovered on it in case of an emergency?

I think it mostly depends on the amount you intend to keep in a wallet. Web wallets should be considered 'hot', holding just enough for what you need to use daily (check out Coinbase). Mobile wallets are also considered hot (check out Bitcoin Wallet on Android, Breadwallet on iOS or Mycelium). Any considerable amount of coins should be stored in a 'cold' wallet - one without access to the internet (check out Paper Wallets, Hardware Wallets or specialized software like Armory).

i checked out armory software though it says that i should store the cold wallet on a computer without internet access and i have only one pc... paper wallets are not ok for me as i can easily loose it and hardware wallets need buying stuff. also any ideas about multibit? is it also a hot wallet?

If there is something you could learn on bitcoin then ti's that you should never store your money in an exchange for a long (look happened on MtGox) and online wallets because if they got hacked , you get hacked , if you get hacked your coins are lost for ever and there is no way to restore them .
Multibit HD does that , there is a seed a backup file you could use to get your coins back . I'd suggest Electrum which gives you a seed too , just write the seed on a piece of paper and hide it somewhere . you should be fine

also i forgot to mention that im not sure if my pc is free of viruses, is it safe to use multibit or electrum then? cant wallet files get stolen?

Then blockchain.info won't be much or any more secure than those options if you access it with your computer.

so as far as i understood i should use electrum yes?

My vote is for using paper wallets. Only use coinbase for a little spending money, and think about the paper wallets as a savings account.

Personally I would use Electrum. Been using it for almost a year now and so far I haven't encountered any bugs, not to mention it is very newbie-friendly (at least for me.)

Btw, what kind of "emergency" are we talking about here?

Not unless you keep your computer completely and permanently disconnected from the internet if you're not sure it's secure.

You should make sure that your PC is clean then install Electrum yes , because if the hacker have advanced Keylogger in your PC he could get your seed and you get hacked .

i was talking about hard drive crash, reinstall of windows, viruses and stuff like that

There are tons of wallets out there. You need to do your research about them and figure out all of the features and what do you need from a wallet. All are pretty good except online wallets.

One thing is sure, make sure or at least give your best that your wallet is virus free, because if you have viruses on your machine, every single wallet can be unsecure if you are hit with the right virus.  Only a hardware wallet like Trezor might save you if your computer is infected.

Store multiple copies of wallet.dat and private keys on a machine or a flash drive that isn't connected to the internet. That's my solution to your problem.

If you are unsure on viruses and malware, scan you computer for viruses and malware before you buy any bitcoin. PC security is so important for bitcoin. For hot and mobile wallet, look into Coinbase. It's wallets are insured against theft and hacking:
https://support.coinbase.com/customer/portal/articles/1662379-how-is-coinbase-insured-

For larger amounts, try Electrum and/or paper wallets. Electrum has a neat 13 word seed wallet recovery system.

If you really want to safe wallet, you need to use paper wallets or hardware one
If you afraid to accidentally lose your paper wallet, put it in safe place that you won't lose it (safes or maybe your own wallet)
Or spend some money to get the hardware one  ;)
Good luck keeping your btc safe

They're only insured against hacks at their end. Still great for customers but that's a significant detail. Losing coins through their customers ballsing up is not their lookout.

I usually use multibit since 1 year without major issue.

If you create the wallet on a harddrive that is connected to the internet it is a "hot" wallet.  If the harddrive was disconnected from the web and is reconnect it is a "hot" wallet.

IF the harddrive you create the wallet on has never touched the web and WILL NEVER touch the web it is a "cold" wallet.

A "wallet" is really only a string of 52 characters.  The idea is to create those characters on a computer that is completely offline and always will be, encrypt those characters and then you can save them all over without fear, if your encyrption is up to par.

You can use Bitcoin QT, it just needs to be done on an offline harddrive.... so does creating paper wallets...

If you run  bitaddress.org on your home computer connected to the web, accept some one else knows your private keys even if it's encrypted. Even if you download the webpage, disconnect the computer, run it and reconnect it, I'd still consider them gone.  THe maleware will just forward it after you reconnect.

Sure it is, run bitaddress.org on an offline computer, encyrpt it, print the thing to PDF, copy the PDF EVERYWHERE.  

Bam, offline.  As long as you use a good encryption method and a good passphrase.  bitaddress.org comes with the ability to encrypt and decrpyt.

HONESTLY, bitcoin-qt offline will work just fine as well.  Don't need the blockchain to create private/public keys.

You've neglected to mention that you need to use an adequate amount of entropy when generating addresses, else the fact that your wallet is encrypted doesn't do you any good.

Very true, don't enter 1 a bunch of times lol, the random mouse movements should be pretty darn random lol. 

There is no evidence supporting the random mouse movements as providing an "adequate" amount of additional entropy.

wait so can i actually go to bitaddress.org disconnect my internet connection then create a wallet turn browser off and i will have a cold wallet?

I do use the character input as well. 

Correct. Download the webpage and disconnect. But be mindful of the entropy thing.

You can download that webpage as a file and run that file on an offline computer with internet explorer.  You don't need to be connected to the web to use IE.


YES you could, download bitaddress.org, disconect your computer, create it and it's... offline until you reconnect your computer to the web..... It's only semi cold using this method.  As I said if your comp has malaware it's just going to record your keystrokes and forward it to the hacker when you reconnect.

HOWEVER this method will stop people that are connect to your comp watching it or just sending live key strokes.  

Semi cold is way better than hot.

Why not use diceware or similar to generate a sufficiently long passphrase and then use the "brain wallet" section of bitaddress to generate a private key? If you don't want to try and remember the passphrase used to generate the address print out the public and private address like you would with any other cold wallet.

i guess im good with that semi cold... what is the possibility that someone is actually recording my mouse moves through a virus? i guess thats nearly impossible, thank you for your help the thread can be locked as the problem was solved

By your definition, all addresses generated outside of a faraday cage would be considered "semi-cold".

Sounds cool. I'd buy one.

Just download Bitcoin Core from - https://bitcoin.org/en/download or generate yourself a few paper wallets (offline) from - https://www.bitaddress.org & send your coins to the address/addresses generated.

It's as simple as that bro, run an anti virus scan on your computer first & then use either or a combination of the above to store your bitcoins.

Take your pick:
http://www.homedepot.com/b/Appliances-Cooking-Microwaves/N-5yc1vZc3ok

If you've read any of the other posts, no, it is not just as simple as that.

ok so i created a wallet and took pics of a private keys and stored it then on my usb through pc am i safe?

edit: i did everything offline

I know how the method works, just still can't understand entropy completely. Isn't entropy some sort of randomness?

I think that's a pretty good answer. Personally, I mostly use Coinbase, breadwallet, and electrum. I hope to add a Trezor soon too.

Regards,
Christopher

Noob question...

Blockchain.info wallet with 2FA set in (and not an email address) he should be pretty secure right?  What's the likely hood that his address, mail, and mobile would be hacked all at the same time?

Again, total noob question but seems secure enough.

I have always used electrum and multibit classic, I think those are the best alternatives

What's the bug with blockchain wallet?

I use a xapo wallet for my daily usage. I find it quite safe to use.

As online wallet are not recommended so I use electrum for storing my Bitcoins.
It's very light and no need to download any block chain.

I use mycelium (android) and coinbase (web based ) , I feel safe using them
You can try them

Bitcoin Core would probably be the wise man's choice or at the very least a local lightweight wallet but I personally prefer to store my Bitcoin online. I've been using Coinbase for a long time and they are secure enough for me, I've got my phone linked with 2FA and a secondary email for confirmation plus I have the option to store bigger amounts offline with their Vault feature. They are insured too. I just love being able to access my BTC anywhere from any device without having to carry my wallet file with me. I understand my BTC is not 100% safe but then it's not gonna be 100% safe anywhere else either. It's nice to get a notification when I receive BTC while I'm out  :)

as desktop walled i personally use multibithd and i try it a lot useful , ligh-weight walet, for your mobile i advice mycelium, a complete and safe wallet whit a lot of features

Yeah, multibit support private key import and export with encryption support so you can safely put it on your flashdisk or something.
Also, you can try use Electrum, it just like Multibit but with more features like multi-sig or hardware wallet support.

I agree.  Perhaps.. almost cold if you're not in a faraday cage. Funny you mentioned that, I have been thinking about that for some time lmao.

I would suggest you to use Mycelium over Blockchian.info or Xapo. The only downside is that Mycelium is for Android and iOS only. It also have features that most Bitcoiner need such as import, encrypt privet key and signing of message.

I haven't moved my bitcoin from blockchain. Still love it :D. I would suggest electrum ( for cold storage ) and coinbase ( blockchain.info alternative ) for you. Cold storage is cool if your computer is safe from viruses and keylogger. Don't forget to backup your bitcoin on paper wallet.

you can use https://blockchain.info/wallet/login
or you can use wallet like Xapo.
but, blockchain is more goodlest cause is from bitcoin...
and also many people use blockchain.
try it.

If you really want to secure your Bitcoin then use paper wallet just be sure you have a duplicate copy and keep it in a place where it will not get lost. Actually there are still lots of wallets you can use, like desktop walte, mobile wallets or online wallets. But it is necessary to put only there the amount you need or will be using daily. Currently I have paper wallet and I'm using blockchain and coinbase. In my experience they are one of the hottest online wallet.

If you created that wallet on an online computer it is not safe.

Multibit is the best for me, as it is very safe and have some most valuable features, apart from bitcoins I would suggest to use localbitcoins and blockchain.info as they are very safe and trustworthy.

you could use trezor wallet for storing or could use paper wallet or breadwallet...

If you plan to exchange fiat for Bitcoin and do not want to overcomplicate, a verified coinbase wallet goes great. You can exchange your bitcoins for money and viceversa inside it.

i personally use coins.ph they dont charge transaction fee..
and until now i dont experience problem in the site..

i use 2 wallets, 1st wallet is where i receive BTC like from signature campaigns, trades and sales. 2nd wallet i use to convert my BTC to my local currecy. I can use just 1 wallet but much better if i use different wallet for incoming BTC and outgoing BTC

My suggestion is Electrum, multibit is good too. But i prefer to Electrum, they have more features for the security although i still haven't any problem with the old version, also you don't need to download the data.
Better to don't store all your coins on web wallet or exchanger.

it's better to have different wallet on different solutions. The desktop wallet or paper wallet are preferable for high amount of coins, while an online wallet for few coins.
Btw blockchain.info is widely used and secure.

Airbitz!

Use Mycelium on Android, or breadwallet on iOS. They're the best. Easy to use, and a very user friendly reliable backup procedure.

there are no many new wallets now and i will not trust any wallet for my bitcoins i know you have had bad experiance with blockchain.info but give it another try i find blockchain.info the most trusted and secure online wallet

I have been using electrum for over a year and it works... usually.  It can be glitchy at times.  Sometimes it says I have more coins than I really do which is exciting at first but then annoying.  Usually when it glitches like that it means I'll have a problem if I try to execute a transaction too.

But it also depends on how much coin you are going to have.  Don't keep large sums in electrum just in case there are more serious glitches.  For larger amounts you should do the cold storage process and have physical backups maybe kept in a safe deposit box or some other safe storage.

this is something i also wonder about mostly , i dont want to download the whole blockchain due to the conditions of my internet .. is there any wallet which can be used offline but without downloading the whole blockchain ? i dun think so but i thought i should ask :D

I have been using multibit from the get go and no problem what so ever. So my advice would be to use it. But if you are looking to compare some of the wallet services, I suggest you look at some of the reviews like ths:

https://99bitcoins.com/best-bitcoin-wallet-2015-bitcoin-wallets-comparison-review/

Electrum is don't have download the data, but you need to online to sync the balance and take some transactions.

Mycelium, got just about everything you need in a bitcoin wallet and has great cold storage options for sweeping private keys on paper wallets or Trezor connection.
I will have to check on 2fa with Mycelium, only just thought about that.
Anyone know if Mycelium wallets supports 2fa for login or spending?

I think blockchain is good, simple and fast, it needed people