Bitcoin Forum

I want to create a few paper wallets to give small amounts of Bitcoin away for Christmas.
I am wondering whether those paper wallet generators are really secure. The site owner could store the generated keys, couldn't it?
Consider to create the wallets on bitaddress.org

Most of the paper wallet generators are open source. You can download the source code and run the site yourself to generate your wallet. To be extra secure, you should do this on an offline machine so that even if there is a backdoor, it can't connect to the attacker.

BTW Bitaddress is a trusted site

sure the paper wallets are secured but you still need to be extra careful about where to hide the wallet and generate it when the computer is offline only,...etc. It can't be secured if you just show your paper wallet around luring everyone to take it ;D

I did not mean offline wallet. Those are secure, if I do not have a virus or something. I more meant online paper wallets like bitaddress.org
The could easily store the generated key in the background.

*please not consider this as spam*

But i have to say that i not belive it's secure i saw a lot people try and did scam people to get paperwallets!

You can download bitaddress's source and use it offline.

I prefer using vanitygen for creating my paper wallets. The code is open and checked. It can be trusted, and is an easy was of generating address keypairs.

And on the topic of being secure, you can use BIP38, or any other kind of encryption. And store the paper wallets in a safe place.

I have already used vanitygen but it does not allow to generate printable wallets with QR-code. This is what is need. Consider it is a little Christmas present and the people which get it, are not really techy, so QR code is necessary;)

There a lot of QR code generators. In linux, for example you have qrencode. You can do it on any website too.
If you want to, I'll generate a QR code for you (provided the private key is encrypted and secure).

Just download the bitaddress.org's source code from https://github.com/pointbiz/bitaddress.org and just open the bitaddress.org.html file in your browser. You can then use it exactly how you would on the website but the website operator cannot steal your keys, especially if you do this on a machine that is not connected to the internet.

Not sure if its secure enough actually. It must depend to where you are like walking around in this tropical country with your paper wallet makes it more vulnerable lol. Or you could lose all its funds when rain suddenly drops while you walk without worries puffing your cigar. paper wallet isn't safe when half way going to your house/hotel is a 5 foot flood.

These things should be stored in safes and a paper wallet does not need to be made out of paper. Its just a concept. Personally i'd put it as a digital QR picture and slap it on a couple of CDs and store them safely.

Maybe you can use a software to generate paper wallet in offline computer. It's better than generate a paper wallet by web service. Online generating is good enough but still you must aware with the site owner and the site reputation.

Haha, I am going to save the key on keepass, too. Just to get sure if they will lose the keys. Papers is not pretty resistant to many elements  ;D

Okay, I figured out that bitaddress.org's software is really easy to install. Just download from github and open the html file. Then you have got the same functionality as on bitaddress.org in offline mode.
So, I have got solved my problem ;)

If your computer is clean & has no malware then it should be totally safe to create a paper wallet on bitaddress. I have created many there and had no issues. Make sure you use a dumb/old/shitty but working printer. Clear your cookies & cache after you're done, you need to cover all angles.

i didnt realise you can download from github. all my wallets are made online but ive started to get more paranoid these days. maybe i will print of some nice new ones on an offline machine just to be doubly sure.

I recently bought a new laptop solely for using Bitcoin Core. You can never be too paranoid when bitcoin is involved.

Although all people will advice you to generate your paper wallets offline, I did it twice before online using bitaddress and nothing happened to my funds tell I spent them.
As long as your computer is not defected with viruses or trojans, do not fear about your paper wallets especially if they hold small amounts as you mentioned

Paper wallets are more secure in my opinion, I used to have my wallet on a flashdrive and it got corrupt. So I started using paper wallets since then.

I could really recommend it. It works great and is very easy to get it run.

Go to https://github.com/pointbiz/bitaddress.org and click "Download zip" button on the right side.

It is as much secure as much you store the sensitive information in a very secure safe place, but in generally paper wallets are safe enough

i created my wallet on bitaddress website and its still safe and not hacked, my bitcoins are not stolen so i guess its pretty much secure though i dont have a lot of coins to be honest, to be even more safer i believe the only option is to buy a hardware wallet and deposit your coins to it

I'm been playing with a few hardware wallets.  They really do add security without near as much possibility to screw up as paper wallets.  Hot wallets are kinda a different thing as they are needed for certain applications.

But honestly I make 0 money for everyone that does it. But look into hardware wallet, there are a few great choices out there.

i think that more secure are only hardware wallets

I disagree,  I think paper wallets are more secure.  There s no way your getting it connected to the Internet and stored correctly will last forever,  how long do you think a hardware wallet would last?  Could last ages but there's parts that could fall.

they must be if you create it without the internet connection though you need to hide the qr codes in places where no one could find

Paper wallet is the best choice to save your coin. No one could stole your coin, I can ensure you this. For stole your coin thief have to have only your private key.

I don't think you have used a hardware wallet. Have you if so which one? Anyone that has should know you have have wallet seed words that you still keep safe.  Best is write them down and put in safety deposit box.  And you get hardware wallet that never let's private key on computer, and signs transactions on device.

If your wallet breaks... get a new one enter seed words on recovery and you can access old wallet.  

I've actually never no, although id like one I don't think you could beat good old paper.  I know hardware wallets are safe just not as safe as paper imo.

Think that the paper wallet is the only way to keep safe your bitcoin without Internet. That's absolutely the best way to keep safe your bitcoin.

Your basing this off no information.  You admit you never used one... so you don't have first hand knowledge.   What do you base your knowledge off of? Please show where you got info.

I suggest reading about some hardware wallets.   It is actually much safer then paper if you need access to it as it keeps the key off of the PC and signing never happens on PC on the 2 ive tested so far.  The recovery word's never even are on your computer screen so even if compromised so much they can view screen.... it does nothing as seed words appear on LCD on device.  
 
Look up TREZOR as it is most known.  I think you will find you are very much wrong.  I can use device on computer and access it if needed without risking compromise.  And if breaks/need new for some reason I can get seed word's from my safety deposit box when I get replacement.

I am really curious on places you got info you base this off of.

In sure this has probably been sorted for a while now but still http://johoe.mooo.com/trezor-power-analysis/

Its not that in saying hardware wallets are unsafe,  just that I prefer paper and feel paper is safer for a fraction of the price.

You are not comparing them even.  In that case they have a hold of your TREZOR and it would have to be in a firmware that has been fixed.  Read that article again it has been fixed.

If they had your paper wallet in front of them no tools or trying involved... they have your private key or seed's.  So still in this situation hardware wins I think.

You reaching now trying to find info.. you found a old one that required having the TREZOR that has been fixed.  You originally said " how long do you think a hardware wallet would last?  Could last ages but there's parts that could fall. " That proved you never used one.  I just think your opinion lacks actual usage and that alone shows it.

I just hate mis-information being spread which you original post is full of.  I think we could go on forever... but I think we should honestly just leave it at you need some first hand experience before you really have a good opinion. 

you buy one new each year problem solved, i find more easy to store the wallet.dat in the usb than wasting time with a paper wallet, that at the end it's not really more secure as many think

Indeed i wasnt aware of the seed with hardware wallets so was in the understanding that it was basically a "fancy usb stick"  Your right that a paper wallet would need no tools buts that assuming its not password protected, But anyway thats me arguing just for the sake of it.  It just seems hard to imagine anything more secure than a bit of paper locked away somewhere. Either way if it wasnt for the price of a trzor i would have one, it ws just my initial opinion that paper was more secure.

Haven't thought of that but yeh that should make it safe. QR picture should work well. Just hope no one sees it, I remember someone was robbed when he accidentally showed his QR live on TV and didn't take an hour he was robbed.

can uploading it as attached file on the the draft email message be safe?

There is nothing perfectly secure by itself. It is secure if you make it secure. (proper management of your wallets, making copies, strong passwords etc.)
You can be perfectly safe with your software wallet - something like Armory is sufficient enough imo. Unless you are paranoid bitcoin millionaire you don't really need paper wallet.

yep they are definitely secure. i actually prefer them over web wallets, because thers no way someone can hack your private keys if its printed on a piece of paper. also when you create the wallets i recommend that you download the html and turn off your internet connection before creating wallets just to be extra safe.

Above it kinda got a little off with user putting up false info about hardware wallets.  I am a supporter of hardware wallets at this point as they are hard to screw up, and keeping key off computer and signing on device is huge benefit.  And you still get the power of storing seed words in a safety deposit box if recovery is ever needed.

Paper wallets can be very safe if made and used right.  If you have a system that is not compromised and the dumber the better on printer, it can be very secure.  I went to extremes on mine by installing OS, anti-virus, and anti-malware do the paper wallet ... and then blow away OS.  Some will say it's to much but made me feel safer.  If you do use paper wallets having multiple is not a bad idea.  This way if you need to spend it you don't enter a private key from paper spend a little.. and then still have a bunch of BTC on that paper wallet.  I see that as most likely greatest weakness is when you import it back to spend it, as it's now been on computer.

If your going to use paper wallets you might create a few with nothing on them.  So if you use a paper wallet and import it on PC just incase compromise you can send it to wallet that has not been imported.  I think what you do after importing wallet has a decent effect on future security.

NO, it is not okay to make your paper wallets on-line and they're NOT secure when made that way, both of you need to read on about cold storage and the idea behind paper wallets, why they're created and why is it very much necessary to make and print them off-line. If you don't know about this then stop giving wrong advice to others.

The best way is to make then on a completely off-line machine but if you don't have a separate machine OP then just use an air-gapped OS.

Also, OP if you're giving them away as Xmas presents then make sure the people you're giving them to know about bitcoins and how to claim those, otherwise its just throwing money away.

i think yes paper wallet is more secure than online wallet, because it's only you that only know your wallet and online wallet seems to risky if hacker hack online wallet.

i preferes use vanitygen to create new address (only offline method) DO'NT USE VANITYGEN ONLINE
you can read more detail at here
https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/get-custom-bitcoin-address/

anyway i am use vanitygen offline mode to create more address and some of that is paperwallet and all of my address is very secure

they have a risk of being lost, burned or become unusable due to water etc... but other than that they are less likely to be hacked or stolen than having BTC on an online computer IMO.

Thanks, but as already wrote, i have used vanitygen to create some customn addresses, but it does not let me create paper based wallets with qr codes etc.

This has already been mentioned before. Of course, this is a big thread and drawback for paper wallets, but i also would store the keys with keepass in oder to have a copy.

Why are you comparing two the most polarized solution of the bitcoin storing? Online storage is risky, because of its centralized nature.
But we have numerous of software wallets like Bitcoin Core or Armory and your local machine can't be hacked easily if you know what to do.

I think bank safety deposit box is pretty good.  You can store paper wallets, or seeds for hardware wallets.  You get bank security and protection from the elements (or should have).

If you can't do that a fire safe at home is much better then hiding in spot fire can get to.  And not all safes are equal look at fire rating depending on how much your storing.

I think we can get paper wallet from blockchain and thats the safst one I think :)

Do you mean blockchain.info?   If so no that is not the best your making a paper wallet for a hot wallet... so it kinda defeats the paper wallet part on security.  It allows you to import it into another wallet if needed.  But you don't have that cold security.

So I highly suggest not getting a paper wallet there if your wanting a true paper wallet, with cold storage.

you can instal QRCODE generator,
or you can use this website http://goqr.me/ Your QR code data is encrypted during transmission (TLS/SSL) and not stored.

read more at here http://goqr.me/privacy-safety-security/

Im use goqr.me to create QRCODE

Whether It’s a paper or online wallet we have careful while we sharing our details for transaction. Whatever the reasons we should not reveal our private key. Its like a heart for our wallets. As you said  Offline and paper Little secure than online wallet.

Make sure you create them offline, not online. Also make sure that the paper itself is stored in a waterproof/fireproof container.

Paper wallet is as secure as a hardware wallet when generated offline and used safely. Using BIP38 encryption strengthens the paper wallet by not allowing unauthorised users to get the unencrypted private key to spend.

Paper wallets will only be as secure as how you keep it. Remember the phrase: A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Although paper wallets are much more secure than offline and much more than online wallets, you may have an accident with your precious piece of paper. So keep it somewhere secure, preferably in a safe.

When I want to create a paper wallet, I use vanity gen on an offline computer to generate the address and I change the text to QR code using a website which work offline

Thats a good idea, i may get my laptop setup just for this and transfer all my wallets i made online. Do you have a link for something that can convert addresses to QR offline?

thanks

qrencode for Linux and qrencode-win32 for Windows will do what you want.

Superb, i already have linux installed on my laptop so all i have to do is find a vanity gen that works on linux, or just copy my private and public from my main pc. Anyway fantastic cheers.

Perhaps your distro already has vanitygen as a precompiled package. If not, you can get the source here: https://github.com/samr7/vanitygen

Thanks again, i have kali on it at the moment so its pretty unlikely that there will be a vanity gen on it but its no major dramas to install it or worst case scenario i will just put a different distro on it.

I don't consider them the most secure, They have the risk of burning or becoming unusable by water etc... still more secure than a direct online wallet in a PC though.

Here is the site that I was talking about.
https://www.the-qrcode-generator.com
It works offline without any problems and I tried it on PC and mobile .
You can also scan qr codes with this site

They're secure IF you keep them safe. If you generate them and someone has hacked your PC, it does no good. The SAFEST is a brain wallet. No traces.

I've a few paper wallets that are a few years old. The coins are still sitting there contentedly. Brain wallets just don't do it for me. I'd be worried about my mind going or not creating enough entropy to begin with.

Bitcoin paper wallets have off late become quite a decent solution to store BTC safely Its growing concern for security of bitcoins. paper wallets are completely offline and are safe from online threats such as remote administration tools, Trojans, malware, and botnets. This paper and offline wallet only can the 100% safety for our wallet:)

They are basically a private key written on a piece of paper. As long as you make sure no one has access to your private key, you generate, print, then delete the paper wallet offline, and they're have been no pictures or records taken of the paper wallet. Then you'll be safe.

I made a brain wallet that was easy and nobody cracked... they're really more secure than people realize. There's just so many options, they're not WORTH trying to crack.

They are secure as long as they're stored correctly.

You are right. If you save the private key with private key’s QR code in that. That will not get destroy at any point. Whenever you need just need to import the private in to your wallet. Its very easy to do as well.

If you generate the private keys offline, then it should be secure.

Through both exporting and importing, though, if you're on a compromised system, someone can get the private keys. This isn't solving the security aspect at ALL.

It`s strongly recommended to import whole amount of paper wallet when do so. No one can ensure security of Private key once is used. Just import all and you are safe.

not really, there , like it was said the problem with the memory cache of the printer, so you should be sure that nothing is stored there, i'm talking about your private key

Possibilities are, system might not be compromised one if it's an offline one, use it and use your USB stick to save those QR codes in it, then store that USB in a safer place, and you are done...