Bitcoin Forum

Hello everyone, I am new to this and having been spending most of the weekend trying to understand how everything works. I think I am getting there but just wandered whether anyone could suggest the best option I could use for a wallet. Only proviso is that I don’t want it to show on my computer and so not a desktop wallet or one for my mobile phone. So I guess I am asking what the best web based wallet is? Any suggestions?

Best web wallet is blockchain.info (imo). It has had its bad times, but it's still reliable.

IMO web wallets are bad, especially Blockchain.info. However, if you are intent on using a web wallet, choose one from https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet in the "web" tab. That lists several wallets and the web tab specifically web wallets. These wallets are considered good and trustable wallets to use. The site will also tell you some information on the wallets security and privacy. You may notice that blockchain.info isn't there, and that is for good reason.

Thanks for all your suggestions. I looked at the list...is there any advantage/disadvantage to using Circle? I will need to change the funds into fiat money at some point and it says they can do this?

The only 2 wallet I can recommend you are MultiBit HD  orElectrum, the second one allows you to recover your wallet from a secret phrase.
These 2 are the best newbie friendly wallet imo. They are software based and don't need whole blockchain on your machine to be functional.

I would not recommend using web wallets(even though it is the easiest way) but use Electrum or Micelium as mobile wallet.

All wallets can change to fiat using an exchange or trader. The disadvantage is you don't own the private key, this means the third party (Circle) has control of your bitcoins. If you are the sole owner of a private key, you have 100% controls of the bitcoins without relying on a third party. The advantage of Circle is it looks easy to use.

Thanks to everyone again for all their helpful comments, I learnt a few more things in the process! :)

blockchain.info is the best wallet online i think but if you're still doubt for use it i think you should read this thread https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=287970.0 because so many good advice regarding online wallet and you can choose what your need

Blockchain.info does not have access to your private key normally. The encrypted wallet backup is downloaded to your desktop if you key in the correct 2FA code (if applicable). This means that they wouldn't have access to the key. However, it is not secure enough because of this:
#1. They can introduce a script which captures your passwords and thus they will have knowledge of your password.
#2. They can change the script without anyone's permission. If the script is buggy, your private keys have the potential to get compromised.
#3. With access to the server, they can get the wallet backups. If you are using weak password or their encryption algorithm is very weak, your coins would get compromised. This has happened a lot of times.
#4. A malware can potentially capture your wallet backup and your keys so 2FA will not help in anyway.

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That being said, some of the points applies to nearly all web wallet and for online wallets, you don't have access to the private key in the first place. If they get DDOSed or have a service disruption, you have to wait for some time to be able to access it.

Desktop wallets:
They are relatively safe as most are open sourced and the community can look into it to check for bugs and notify each other if anything malicious is found. Bitcoin Core is arguably one of the most secure in terms of trustability towards others. It is a trustless client and does not trust anyone. In the event that a miner mines an invalid block, they will automatically reject it if it does not follow the rules encoded in the client. SPV clients on the other hand is secure enough for daily use. Most SPV clients like MultiBit HD and Electrum are hierarchical deterministic. You will be given a seed when you set up your wallet and all addresses are generated from it. Compared to Bitcoin Core which requires a backup every 100 transactions due to its use of change addresses, HD wallets only require a single backup. Clients like Electrum allows users to spend their coins offline by providing a great interface for downloading transaction information and allowing the signing of transactions offline.

What I would suggest is to get one of the light wallets and just not save it to your desktop. I'm kind of assuming you have a family computer or something where you don't want it to be known you have downloaded this thing that contains bitcoins. So, create a folder that you name something completely random and misleading, and then when you go to download your wallet, save it in that folder. Then that way it won't necessarily be on your desktop and have an icon that you'll be able to see.

If it's more of a memory issue, don't worry about that... These light weight wallets don't take up much memory on your hard drive as it would with Bitcoin core.

Hope this helps.

blockchain.info is best choice for you, you can get Full acces like bitcoin core, mycellium, multibit, and you can acces it everywhere and do not need to install anything. i recomended you to use new gmail account then use 2factor sms/call verification :)

and if you want to use 3rd bitcoin wallet i recomended coinbase, free fee highest security like a internet banking system

If u want to use an online wallet from everywhere except your mobilephone use any service like xapo haobtc so on... but diffide your btc.
On your pc maybe bitcoin core and yolu can also have one ione you laptop and mobilephone ;)

regards
BTC LOVER

Well, there is a lot of topic talking about this. But it's normal if you are still newbie to ask.

I think for mostly people use for web wallet is blokchain.info. Even it has several 'issues' in the last month or so.

But for more secure wallet i suggest you not to use web wallet, because you didn't completely control your wallet.

Desktop wallet is the best option if you want to store your bitcoin for daily use. And use hardware wallet for cold storage.

if you want web wallet then i can recommend you can go for coinbase.com and xapo, this two web wallet i have been using for more than last 19 months and not facing any problem with them, with xapo most of the faucets give you rewards and you can get payout immediately in some faucets if you use xapo. coinbase is good for depositing to other sports sites which is secure and fast.

Blockchain.info is your best bet tho it's not fully secure if u change your mind & wanna go with a desktop wallet try multibit.

I would highly reccommend electrum to be honest. I use it as a wallet to host my private keys on and have only ever ran into small issues here and there with it but nothing ever resulting in the loss of my BTC.

Its lightweight (25 MB) and you don't have to download anything but the client. It also supports wallet encryption and passwords to keep your funds safe.

Best wallet is from bitcoin.org, the core wallet. But it takes long time to download all the blcokchain information. So you need to use a web base wallet to start with.

Whichever wallet you pick, make sure you have an off line copy of your private key. This way you always have control of your bitcoins.  :)  If you use web wallets I'd recommend using several to avoid future problems.

Not completely true. Core wallet does not trust the miners and others but it lacks some features that SPV client have, deterministic seeds, easier cold storage spending. In terms of userfriendliness, SPV clients wins. It doesn't take much space too.

blockchain.info is pretty insecure...

if you're looking for a easy wallet check out blocktrail (web&app) or mycelium (mobile). just make sure to backup your passwords.

You can try the blockchain wallet, or download Electrum wallet .
There is some other exchange services offering the wallet service , like Coinbase and Xapo, but having your owned wallet still the best choice

You can use Electrum it is quite nice. I use it as well.

Use 2FA and it's decent for a hotwallet.  Yes a hot wallet.  You still should keep most stored in a cold wallet.   

On this "needs" a wallet it really varies so much depending on what the wallet used for.  So many different need's and uses, which helps pick right wallet.

coinbase.com seems the best so far! I have been using it for a few months, pretty good. I hear that some people ue blockchain.info but I think that one is a bit slower than coinbase but it gives you more options.

As a newbie maybe you have heard about the coinbase 'wallet'.

They do not charge fees for most of the transaction and they get confirmed pretty fast.

So you have not to worry about the fees, you can also activate two-factor authentication which would increase the security level.

I can see a lot of members recommending blockchain.info wallet but I disagree to them as we all know web based wallets were not that secured and if something unfortunate happened to such site, they will be gone along with your coins stored on them. Personally I suggest desktop wallets like electrum or mobile wallets like mycelium as I use them mainly and never got any big issues. I also feel secure with the said wallets and maybe you should try it.

Well if you are loocking for a pure web wallet, mmm i think blockchain.info is good, no more no less than the rest of the web based wallets ;)

Btw, if you let me, i want to suggest you to use other wallets instead of we based ones, go for bitcoin-qt or electrum or armory, you will need it and is not a bad thing to start to use them since the beginning ;)

i believe that the best wallets for new people in the bitcoin world are the online ones that dont require too much knowledge about bitcoins and its easy to use them also i think that blockchain.info is the best one as it even has a demo wallet that you can try before dealing with real bitcoins

I would use bitcoin core, its always up to date, secure, clean, private...
In past i would recommend multibit but its no go now.

You could also Use the Service of the HaOBtc Company which also gives u a good interest on the Amount you spent there. I also use the Service over there and its quit nice :)
Whats in your Mind now OP? Would be great to know what youve done now or so far :)

regards
BTC LOVER

That comes with risk though your trusting someone else with your coins.   So massive difference then if someone has cold storage.

I'm not sure how I feel to be honest on most wallets that offer interest.  The company your talking about is huge in mining so I cant say it about them, as I have not researched it. 

But sadly a lot of the ones that offer interest are are ponzi schemes.  I would avoid them as a general rule.  Granted there are a few I'm sure are ok.. but a lot more that are not.

For me the bestt web based wallet is blockchain, because it's simple and easy to use. and i'm use xapo too but it's to many verification that not make us anonymous like blockchain.

blockchaininfo is a good wallet, and you can print a paper wallet directly from blockchain web application and use it to store the most of your money, is almost as secure as a proper paper wallet  :)

Use a web wallet if you just have 0.x bitcoins and want learn about bitcoin. Download a core application wallet when you are more established.

???

Blockchain.info has a bad track record. Ignoring that for now, Blockchain.info being an online service does store your encrypted wallet backups online which exposes your risk to hackers. A proper paper wallet is generated offline using methods which are much secure and allows users to check for possible vulnerabilities. Bitaddress.org offers both features and have a nice looking paper wallet layout which Blockchain.info does not have.

Electrum is fast and free as well as secured too. with the QR code intergrated that's easy to use it along side with your phone ;D

Well if you really want a web based wallet , I would suggest blockchain.info. Just make sure you will the back up and the private keys for more security of your coins, storing it on the site is not that safe if you don't have any back up.

On blockchain.info, you can create a paper wallet and import it as a watch-only address. It is as secure as generating a paper-wallet online can be, your private keys are stored only on paper

You can try electrum easy and fast.. But you need to save your priveate key and seeds.
because if you forgot your password you can recover your account using those private key and seeds.
And then electrum has fee for tx transaction..
You can also use online wallet like blockchain aswell.

The online wallet is only for small amount of coins. It is better to store large amount in your own wallet.

When you said the best web wallet then by default I think it's blockchain.info, it went offline for a small duration before but less than even a day each time.

Use Electrum, its newbie friendly and the UI is pretty good.
 

Blockchain.info or coinbase.com.