Bitcoin Forum

So I mostly use paper wallets for storage which is a risk since if I lose the paper then thats it, game over. I been looking for alternatives and a friend told me he simply runs electrum portable from a USB flashdrive only when he needs to send money, then unplugs it meaning that the wallet and the .dat are both offline

Now while is a bit easier to use than a paper wallet the biggest advantage IMHO is that he got a seed so even if he loses the flashdrive he can get his wallet back.

Should I switch to that method? what are the possible vulnerabilities of it?

And before someone mentions "hardware wallet" I live in a country with some heavy import restrictions (on top of fiscal ones) so I rather not order something that could get me questioned by custom officials.

So, make a copy?  Perhaps multiple copies?


Paper wallets can be created from a seed also.

You still need to store the seed safely and securely.

Print paper wallet and make it as a tatto, you will never forgot it. For me i used blockchain.info to store my coin

What if they get hacked? I heard they are limiting TOR access now, is that true?

They do store encrypted backups on their server. However, as with all encryption methods, it is possible for hackers to compromise the files with weaker passwords. The time taken would depend on the encryption method.

Blockchain.info does not limit tor connections unless specified by the user. They even have their own onion link.

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You can always make copies of it and store it at different geographical locations.

That being said, if used properly, Electrum would be more userfriendly since the transaction can be signed on the offline computer with a GUI, broadcast using an online computer.

safest wallet for bitcoin is blockchain..
and its official wallet rom bitcoin its 100%safe and easy to use

I wouldn't go with Blockchain.info unless I was storing less than 0.25 BTC personally , Blockchain is getting worst and worst and with time (Wallet or API or any other services they provide).

If we speak about the wallet , they are now making the upgrade to the new wallet obligatory and users aren't able to sign/verify messages using this wallet unless they export the private keys (even exporting private keys isn't that newbie friendly) As you need this Tutorial : https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-2l6xOqcbjs9QWEqSh72RD1d8EEdvG_hQuEXw_f_o6w/edit

Even If you print the private keys , that wouldn't make it "Paper wallet" as the wallet already exists in Blockchain.info & they don't give the ability to totally erase the wallets from their servers.

As Hardware wallets are not an option for you , I would suggest the following (to reduce your losses In case something goes wrong) :


1. Store some bitcoin in Electrum (and make sure that you store the seed safely in case of a computer failure)
2. Store the rest of your bitcoins in a Paper wallet and store it safely as well.

Both ways are pretty safe, Electrum is logically more vulnerable as It's installed on your PC but as long as you don't install random stuff and cracked things that may contain malware's (or you could just send the funds in your electrum and Uninstall it & just keep the seed safe)  ,you should be fine.





Wrong , wrong and wrong !
Blockchain.info is not the official wallet , Bitcoin Core which is created by Satoshi Nakamoto. and no It's definitely not the safest as I stated above .

I use a hardware wallet. For me it's a most handy way of storing btc safely. I use KeepKey and I'm satisfied with it work.

There is no such thing as an "official" bitcoin wallet.  There is no bitcoin company and no bitcoin government, so there isn't anybody in charge that can declare any one wallet to be official".

There is only individual people or groups of people that create their own wallets and make them available to the pubic.  Some of those wallets are more popular than others, but being popular doesn't make something "official".

The Bitcoin Core wallet that exists today is quite different from the one created by Satoshi Nakamoto 7.5 years ago.  It has been largely re-written and modified by other people. There is nothing more "official" about it than any other wallet. It is currently the most popular full node implementation, and therefore it is often called the "reference implementation" since right now any other implementation would create a minority fork if it didn't exactly follow the same consensus rules.  If someone created a different full node implementation that became more popular, then Bitcoin Core would stop being the reference implementation.

There's no such thing as 'the safest wallet'. Protecting & securing your bitcoin is all personal, it's a users responsibility to ensure that they set up good security measures.

Obviously some services like online wallets give you less chance of keeping your bitcoin's safe but as long as you use a clean PC & are the sole owner of your private keys you should be OK.

I recommend using a hardware wallet, multiple paper wallets or a trezor. Ideally you'd be looking to use 2 or even all 3 of them to split up your bitcoin stash.

There is now safest wallet to keep your bitcoins secure. I adviese you tu use usb or any hard drive and install wallet on them. Then save it for you. It's only the safest way because wallet isn't in internet and no one can access it. But Remember that try to don't be damaged your usb or hard drive.

There is no safest wallet for storing bitcoin, even its hardware wallet, a paper wallet or desktop wallet and even a web wallet because everything will depends on you, what if you lost your usb where you store your coin, what if your PC got damage and broken, you lost your password from your web wallet or what if the site is offline? well its game over too. All you need is just be careful and be aware what are you doing, the things that are related in bitcoin so it will be safe even its just a web wallet.

Hi Brybtc,

The only other really safe way to store your bitcoin is to get your private keys offline using a cold storage solution.

If you have a spare computer you can set up cold storage using Electrum (http://docs.electrum.org/en/latest/coldstorage.html). The private keys to your bitcoin would stay safely offline in one computer using the offline half of Electrum. You would use Electrum on an online computer to make transactions. A USB drive would be needed to take a transaction to the offline computer to sign then back to online to broadcast. Disadvantage is the computer with your private keys can never again be put online. Are you really sure you cannot afford a Ledger Nano S (https://www.ledgerwallet.com/) at $65? Just as secure and so much easier to use.

If you try to secure something then you yourself are the biggest danger for that thing suppose if you make 2-3copys of a private key and keeps too as a backup and use one as regualr so it can be stolen from you or either can can lost it.it will just increae the risk.the best way to save it is wrap it and gift it to someone else who do not have idea about provate key and also your password in it

I know there isn't a 100% secure wallet, I'm just comparing wallets here


I have considered cold storage but what would be the difference between that and running linux from a CD or flashdrive without mounting the local SSD and running the cold storage half from there?

As for the hardware wallet as I said in my country we got import restrictions, they literally open the package in front of you and ask you about the content, use of btc is very restricted and I don't want to end up in a list.

Obviously 90% will suggest to use blockchain.info as it is official version and our cryptocurrency is totally safe on their hand. If you still want to use 3rd party wallet is upto your thinking, I don't use any party wallet so I guarantee what they could do to your account :-\

Blockchain.info IS NOT THE OFFICIAL WALLET!!! Most people will in fact NOT RECOMMEND THAT YOU USE THEIR WALLET. Their service has had multiple security issues and vulnerabilities in the past. Furthermore, they ARE a third party wallet. You do not control your Bitcoin if you store it with them; they do. Should their service shutdown, you will lose all access to your Bitcoin.

Blockchain.info IS A SERVICE, NOT THE BLOCKCHAIN. THEY ARE NOTHING OFFICIAL.

The safest wallet would only be safe if you secure your computer and keys well. Even if you are only using Multibit Classic but then have taken measures to secure it and use encryption then I do think that hackers will have a hard time stealing from you.

For example you are still using Multibit Classic which is considered obsolete. But you can still secure this.

What you should do is zip the folder that contains all your keys and the rest of the data and put a strong password in that zip file, also do not forget to delete the original folder. That is the first layer. Then use Cryptomator and make an encrypted folder then cut the zip file in there. Make sure you use a different password for your encrypted folder. That is the second layer. The third layer would be the password of your wallet or wallets in Multibit.

If you feel uncomfortable leaving that in your computer then move the zip file containing your keys and all the data in a USB. Also do not forget to make back ups.

I used two wallets, they are online and offline wallets everything went fine there are not problem. And the most safest wallets for me all of them, and depend on using of the wallets. If it be used for trading using online wallet and if is for save bitcoin using offline wallet.

I am using an online wallet called coinbase. and it is safe to me and no charge for making transaction (upto 40 free transaction per day)

It is safe for now since maybe your deposit is not huge enough to make them more crazy, coinbase has many issue of looking and stolen funds and i really see that problem is still exisiting so better watch out for that and don't deposit some huge amount in there maybe you should try to shift on differemt wallet provider like blockchain because i think it is more safer among those said btc web wallet.

If you are going to use Electrum for cold storage your wallet is kept on an offline computer never to be connected to the internet again. That way your private keys are safe from malware. Study the link to Electrum cold storage I posted earlier. If that does not work for you sorry.

Online wallets are never safe. They are a constant target to hackers. If you are using one at least use 2FA and do not deposit large amounts in it. We have seen too much people being victims of hacks that it is not enough to remind everyone to be careful online. We should make an effort ourselves to remind and be reminded over and over to make it a habit to be secure.

For me blockchain is the safest wallet because bitcoins run first in this wallet. But the disadvantage of this is blockchain have when transferrings coins from another wallet. So it is better to transfer your fund if its more bitcoins.

Use different wallets in different PC-s or Laptop or even Ipad and Android Devices. Chances are really low that all of these devices will get hacked at the same time. Just make sure you keep all of their seeds in some safe document in your main PC and also their passwords so you will not forget them. If you are still afraid then buy a hardware wallet like Trezor or Ledger.

I did consider cold storage and I'm still thinking about it, but again I don't see the difference between that and booting into a liveCD as an "offline" wallet since if the HDD/SSD don't have access to the liveCD OS (think ubuntu without any disks mounted but the USB with the wallet .dat) and is not connected to the internet, how is that different from using another computer that's offline?

Besides wont malware copy itself from the USB you are using to sign your transaction from the live computer to the offline computer and steal your private key?

You may buy a small server, install bitcoin wallet and store the coins there. If you need the mBTCs then simply switch the server on, run the bitcoin wallet and send to the destination adddress. After that you can switch off.
Alternatively, you can store the bitcoins in a tresor of a trusted bitcoin wallet.

People do not listen to this advice. The safest way to store bitcoins is thru cold storage. Never ever store really large amounts in a webwallet. Webwallets are a constant target of hackers.

My opinion is that the best and safe online wallet blockchain,  8)

You're wrong they are not wanna for suggesting the people about good suggestion but just making a spam post in here. maybe it's will be the correct reason for them is suggesting about blockchain. LOL

And how about combine trezor and offline wallet?whether that is will running smoothly of will have some trouble for combining trezor and offline wallet ? ???

I like my coated paper clips ;D

This has to be one of the most indestructible cold storage wallets:
https://99bitcoins.com/crpytosteel-hands-on-review/
Literally made of steel. I don't think anything other than an atomic bomb would destroy this. 
So as long as you didn't lose it, you could put it in a safe somewhere and always have access to your cold storage account.

Trezor wallet is the safest wallet in the world. Period.

Well this is a funny subject, you mentioned you live in a country which makes importing a hardware wallet difficult. I would recommend you really consider your options to circumvent these restrictions.

They're is no better option than a Trezor, everything else is second rate. For smaller amounts use Mycellium or Breadwallet - but ultimately you need that vault to sleep well.

Anytime you use an online wallet it is not safe, you are trusting that they do not make a mistake with your money. This is no different than the bank, one of bitcoin's features is being able to secure your own funds. I suggest you do a little research into the variety of secure options you have.

Safe Thing Use Online Wallet blockchain , more easier.

Thousands of people are using block chain.info every day with large amounts of bitcoins because it's almost safe and reliable, but if you want 100% safe you could use hardware wallets or paper wallets, you really shouldn't focus on safety like it's all that matters, because many people are working day and night just to make sure we are safe using anything online.

The safest way to secure your Bitcoins is to use a hardware wallet. And make sure you keep all of their seeds in some safe document in your main PC adn you will never forget your password :)

There is nothing called safest wallet - every method has flaws and hence every wallet has flaws too. However to be safe use a hardware wallet, do not use online wallets, use Armory and make a cold storage, makes sure not to use a Brainwallet. Also use different passwords in different sites and do not reuse them. Makes sure not to share private keys with anyone.

For me a paper wallet is the safest wallet of all i don't care about the gussers or hackers but i think that no one is actully intrested to hack my wallet so badly

Surprised to see people suggest blockchain.info *sigh*

I'd go with Trezor or paper wallet (paper if you know what you're doing...)

Either they have no basis of cryptography or they really don't know that if they not hold (control) their private keys they have nothing.
They should go tell Mt.Gox, Mintpal and Co. what does it mean when a third-party controls "our" keys for us.

As of my wallets, cold storage for savings and Mycelium on Android for everyday use.

If you really want to go "that" far. Go for hardware wallets. I don't suggest these kinds of wallets unless you own like ALOT of bitcoins.

Forgetting about the people is suggesting about blockchain become a safe wallet, i have a question in your opinions which is better, trezor or ledger? Your answer will really helpful for me for choosing the hardware wallet between trezor and ledger.

I recently bought a hardware wallet, the Ledger Nano  and was so satisfied with it, that I upgraded to the Ledger Nano S when it
came out. Now I can not only cold-store Bitcoins, but also Ethereum.

I'm sorry but I have no aswer for you: I've never used an hardware wallet so I don't want to say anything about them. You can find good guides around here so do your own research: it's your money in the end.  ;)

The safest wallets are clearly the paper wallet and the hardware wallet.
But I want to bring into attention another option which this thread didn't cover: cloud storage. It's not the safest thing on earth, but it's not bad either if you use it well.

You get a cloud storage account. Dropbox is everybody's choice, but I prefer TresorIt because they claim everything is encrypted and decrypted by your client and they cannot see your files.
Make a file from your private key (and HD seed), name it "my resume", "my first letter to my fiance" or whatever harmless name you can think of, archive it with 7-zip and a long AES-256 password and put it on the storage.
It may be a good solution if you are afraid you lose the paper wallets.

I use electrum wallet and i hope its safe but better to use it for online transactions and save in a usb port offline

Okay, thanks for your feedback and suggestion, dude.

There are three safe methods of storing your bitcoin.

1 - Paper wallet (Printed could be infected with malware, and take records of your private keys)

2 - Cold storage (Arduous to use, expensive to set up)

3 - Hardware wallet (Needs to be initialised on a 100% clean computer, otherwise seed could be found)
 

thanks for nice post

What white hat hackers have exposed is the insecure brainwallet. Make sure not to use it. Always make a cold storage and use armory if possible. A hardware wallet is also good as long as you keep it in a safe place. Also storing the keys in a boot of OS which has never come online is also good.

For me the desktop wallet is reasonably good unless you have a real threat of someone being enemy of yours and he will just dig in your computer to steal your coins.

Paper waller is most safe waller.
In second place for me is hardware wallet

Care to explain why paper wallet is safer than hardware wallet ?  I don't think it is. Hardware wallets are 2FA and malware proof even if your PC is infected and is full of keyloggers. Paper wallet is free but it involves you do some job while hardware wallet all you have to do is to configure it in the first time and then you are good to go. Your bitcoin cannot be stolen from you.

The only downside of Hardware wallets which is the same with paper wallets is that it can be stolen, or damaged if you don't keep it like you should.

I think the most secure are the online wallets like blockchain and cryptonator.
Only if you pay for a full account with them not free membership.

Paper wallets and hardware wallets are the safest. Paper is safe because you never have your private key online at all (similar with a hardware wallet). Paper wallets are a very cheap option and very secure (assuming you make them properly. Use an Ubuntu Live CD to guarantee you don't have spyware or Trojans). Hardware wallets have a similar basic idea but they're obviously relatively expensive.

Doesn't hardware wallet like Trezor have a backup seed?

I would have to say a hardware wallet which you have control of when it touches the net. :)

I prefer Blockchain, the online wallet over any other. I have never used offline wallets, and I'm using Blockchain since 2013. Never had a problem with it, and I'm impressed by how great it works.

paper and hardware wallet are the best when it comes to security
you can use blockchain for your online trading then send your money to the hardware or paper wallet

The safest wallet is the password what you are creating that is the main security which cannot be breached by anyone if you are giving a very strong password, But if you want the wallet then it is hardware wallet like desktop wallet, which you can use it when ever you want and after the work is finish you can take backup in pendrive and move it from the desktop like this your wallet be safe if your desktop got hacked or got attack by virus.

Online wallet i am using coinbase , its security is also very good like, sms confirmation and email confirmation if you are logging from another IP. So this way you are getting safety. But only thing is you are not the sole owner of the wallet and it is a third party wallet which you are using and its key are not with you but with the site owner. 

Yeah, I also use online wallet but for me its Coins.ph. Its security was not that tight but I've never been hacked so for me it is still safe. It also has SMS and Email Confirmation once unknown IP logs in with that account. Now, regarding to hardware, paper and deskktop wallet. I have never been used that kinds of wallets before. But I think it is also vulnerable to attacks such as trojan and other viruses that may affect the hardware which acts as your wallet. So for me, I think having a strong password is the safest even if it is online wallet or something like that.

Coins.ph is safe and depends on how we gonna use it and im using this wallet for 1 year+ i can't reca back how exactly the date is, but actually sometimes coins.ph have malicious dealings on their costumer since they have some issue of locking some accounts if you have a big balance in your wallet, and i am the one of those other victim who's wallet has been lock due to unexplained matter.

I certainly like my ledger. It is the most secure wallet that I have ever owned and it is hardware so you can have it with you and know where your coins are at all times.

You have no guarantee that in 1, or 10, or 100+ years, that hardware wallet will still be functional. On the other hand, paper has shown it can survive thousands of years.

You always should consider the local threats and actual vulnerabilities of the storage material. Hardware may be very vulnerable even to a drop of water while a piece of paper could easily burn or rot. You could look around the collectibles within the forum. Some of them were designed to be very protective like the Keyois Capsule.

Whenever I read someone comment about the safety of their Blockchain wallet, it utterly confuses me. Either they are paid, they are staff, or they don't know better.

Nothing is safest until you make them safest. web wallets, desktop, android, hardware, paper, etc... everything has its plus and minus, keeping them secure is the way you handle them

iam use blockchain online wallet still safe not problem
and i think safes or not wallet only use people
this people always wrosth all wallet use person people always problem, hack not can use and more

This kind of way of handling your Bitcoins should not be encouraged, especially to newbies. I am not saying that blockchain.info is not a good service. But just because they are offering a good service does not mean they are the safest way to store your Bitcoins. It is a known fact that offline wallets are safer than storing them somewhere that requires trust to a third party. Bitcoin was created so that you can have total control of your wealth. So we must use it that way and try not to compromise security for convenience.

Cold wallet is the most safe one, and exchanges usually use it for storage. Bitfinex didn't use cold wallet, hackers cracked their wallet.

Blockchain for me is the safest wallet in the bitcoin world because it is the center wallet that transact all bitcoin in the cyberworld. It has also a fee so therefore there is a tight security there than other wallet. Coins.ph for me is second wallet that most safer because I use everyday but I dont have scam in my wallet. It has 2fa program which is an advantage for the user.

how funny when people mentioned that blockchain.info is safest wallet and even there's someone said it's an official wallet it's obvious that they're lacking the relevant knowledge, ever wondering? why do blockchain,info is not covered on https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet ,however i used it for storing my spendable amount, but for the safest wallet i'm going with offline wallet in this case paper wallet or hardware wallet.

In my opinion portable Electrum put on an USB is enough to be safe. Just take care to write the 13-words seed on different things.

Ideally:
- 1 seed written on a piece of paper
- 1 seed written on an offline document
- 1 seed put on a safe web service you can control

Moreover, it is better to try to memorize the seed in your brain.

So, Electrum is enough... but maybe in the future will be developed even safer solutions.

It might be the safest for you but that does not mean you are right. Trusting a 3rd party with your Bitcoins should be avoided especially if the amount is very huge. What you are doing is not a good practice to teach for newbies.

The best and safest way to store your Bitcoins is either thru cold storage or use a hardware wallet.

im use mycellium and jaxx android wallet, the progam for back up and restore is same like electrum, i think it's very safe to me, i can controll full acces, and i back up my pasphare at paper offline too for secure backup.

Years ago (February 15, 2014), I created a thread to see which wallet people are using. For years people have poured in their choice into it. May be, u can refer to it, while choosing a safe wallet - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=468095.0.

Would you mind if i ask? What is the safest wallet for now?

Bitcoin Core & Coinb.in in my opinion.

I disagree with you about Coinb.in being a safe wallet. I do not know what you are trying to do. It is either you are promoting an Indian online wallet or do you really believe that it is really safe. Let us inform the newbies here with the truth please. Online wallets like Coinb.in can never ever be fully safe because you are trusting a third party to hold your coins. Period.

is it really Indian?
anyways it is open source wallet https://github.com/OutCast3k/coinbin/ which seems to be safe to me! but of course it is an online wallet which makes it unsafe because of the fact that you are doing it while connected to the internet and may be on a compromised machine but the code is safe.

p.s. when in doubt just use a known wallet like core to generate a private key offline, ez pz

http://www.coinmotion.com (BTC)  :)

All bitcoin wallets are safe when you are using it in first time :P but if you really want to know what is the best and safest wallet at all, I will tell you that blockchain this is my first bitcoin wallet and this i use when im starting in bitcoin industry where many people are trusting blockchain that much  :D

Blockchain is my wallet also, I use it from the start. It`s my first and last wallet, and for now that wallet never disappointed me. They are good for me, and I like their site and design.
I know there is better hardware wallets, and also I know we can buy some good wallets. They offer much better protection I`m sure in that, but I don`t work with huge money, so I still don`t need something like that, it`s for rich people.

Indian online wallet? third party to hold your coins? R u in your sense?

Coinb.in is a JS based wallet implementation, which can be run completely offline. Not only you can generate addresses offline, u may also sign a Tx offline and then push it through some third party Tx push service like https://blockchain.info/pushtx, https://blockr.io/tx/push, https://live.blockcypher.com/btc/pushtx/, https://btc.com/tools/tx/publish etc.

Please try to learn how a system works before making arbitrary and irresponsible statements.

Hardware wallets are usually safe.

for me is trezor  ;)

Online wallets are never safe. They are a constant target to hackers. If you are using one at least use 2FA and do not deposit large amounts in it. We have seen too much people being victims of hacks that it is not enough to remind everyone to be careful online. We should make an effort ourselves to remind and be reminded over and over to make it a habit to be secure.

Use different wallets in different PC-s or Laptop or even Ipad and Android Devices. Chances are really low that all of these devices will get hacked at the same time. Just make sure you keep all of their seeds in some safe document in your main PC and also their passwords so you will not forget them. If you are still afraid then buy a hardware wallet like Trezor or Ledger.

Not at all, the blockchain,info might be safe for you but it doesn't mean that it is safest wallet for the community as we know that online wallet is risky if we compare to the offline wallet, however i used this wallet to, this is my first wallet but i just stored little bitcoin for spendable purpose, i had some trouble when i used this wallet like the site was offline and you don't know what to do, thanks god it was a maintenance, i just worried about what if the site is offline, forever?

Just say goodbye from your coins, so not at all but considering from better to prevent than for resolve. during is there the better place for us storing our bitcoin and why not, some people just difficult for their first wallet like blockchain and I think a lot of bitcoiners is using blockchain for their first wallet. the combination of trezor and electrum is enough for me. 8)

Here is an alternative if you do not want to spend over $50 for a hardware wallet. Buy a USB and install Tails Linux in it with persistence. Here is a guide on how to do this using Virtualbox.

https://www.deepdotweb.com/2015/06/05/in-depth-guide-to-tails-persistence/

It already has an Electrum wallet preinstalled so you do not have to worry about anything else except saving your seed words safely. Tails also operates behind the Tor network so all your activities on the internet are anonymous.

people love to confuse blockchain with blockchain.info online wallet and also call  core wallet .... blockchain
any online wallet is NOT SAFE by default,do not ever store big sums of money there

for me the safest options are:
a) hardware wallet,specifically Trezor
b)paper wallets-laminate,copy,store safely
c)offline cold vault storages
d)regular desktop clients with 2fa and import keys

even with the safest wallets one should use common sense,because a fool and his money are soon parted

I personally use bitcoind hosted on one of my dedicated servers. But in the past i used multibit

It's all about creating a large number (bitcoin private key) and store it in a safe way, so that nobody else is able to get that large number.

If you put it on a paper wallet and leave it on a table for everyone to see I would call it insecure. Same goes with every other solution, like Trezor or whatever: If you write down your seed in your smart phone unencrypted, it's not secure anymore.

Every third party (blockchain.info, exchanges, server hoster, friends, neighbours etc ) that is involved, raises the risk of loss of your Bitcoins.

I would call the cold storage solution with a linux live cd and bitcoin core the safest, but you can make a lot of errors, too, that can result in a total loss of your Bitcoins, so you better do it with low amounts until you feel safe. The result will be an encrypted bitcoin wallet .dat, that you can store in multiple places without a risk of beeing robbed. You can even encrypt this wallet.dat with GPG to add an additional layer of security and post it anywhere you want. Even a paper wallet with GPG would be unreadable if someone grabs it.

Btw, paper can burn, so I prefer storing a GPG file in a lot of different places, like Email, USB, Harddrives, CDs and even pastebin works nice. I could post my offline wallet in this forum or on facebook without a risk.

If I want to make a quick transaction from that wallet, I run a Live CD, put my wallet.dat in the right folder (overwriting the existing) export the private keys and import these in Electrum, make the transaction and then I send all the rest into a new offline wallet. No need to dowload the entire blockchain for that.

Bitcoind hosted on dedicated server is an online wallet and hence NOT secured at all.

Tha safest wallet is not an online wallet. Also you have to protect your PC anyway.

Protect your pc or laptop with anti virus because there is a virus that can log almost all your keystroke.. so its safe if you use  antivirus like kaspersky..
For me i dont trust online wallet because i already experience some problem before in online wallet.. thats why i try to use electrum and until now never had any issue..

Or why not learn how to use Linux? It is more secure and easy to learn. As long as you update it regularly then you are mostly safe from hacks. It also depends on how you use and secure your computer.

I also have been recommending using a bootable Linux USB like Tails Linux as a sort of hardware wallet. Tails Linux already has an Electrum wallet included in its software packages so no need to install it. The beauty of this Linux distro is all outgoing transactions go thru TOR for more privacy.

I understand the differencies from various wallets. I need a different but related info:

If I want to develop on bitcoin and, primarily, create wallets, send bitcoin and check payments (basic CRUD actions), what's the best way?
Can I do all of this WITHOUT opening a full node?

I try to ask there before opening a new thread.

i think every wallet is really safe and secure to use, the matter is maybe we don't think about the virus that can contain our wallet or the other file. and for online wallet, there are small chance for other people can steal the bitcoin as long as the online wallet keep to protect their site for attacking site.

but for your info, there are no place that really safe while we are live in this world.

The safest option for you is to buy an used laptop, install any major wallet like Armoury for example and keep the laptop offline at times besides when u re actually making a transactions. An offline wallet is the safest option.

Make sure you reinstall a new OS, a virus killer and antimalware before you install a wallet. Also, do not use this laptop for ANYTHING else besides the wallet. No porn websites, no online movies, etc.

Theres no need to re install new Os, all you need to do is change you antivirus security to eset nod32 and update its database after installation. You must do full scanning in both drives c and d if you have partition drives.

What about the safest among online wallets? Which one would you prefer if you couldn't use a secure desktop wallet and why?

Well it depends on where you live. Like me I'm living in the Philippines and we mainly uses Coins.ph because we can access its features in our county. But, those people living in States or other parts of the world. You can use Blockchain.io or Coinbase. These two I think are the safest wallet since their level of security is very high. You need code in Phone and email before you can access your wallet so there is no other way thieves can stole your bitcoin. Plus, the fact that many are using this wallet. There is very low risk of that company to scam your bitcoin stored in it.

You can use any wallet you like but if you are not "safe" meaning that your are running the wallet in not a safe environment, infected pc or any keylogger or simply you save your private key as a plain text, while copying it you have it in clipboard which some softwares can get this info.

Bitcoin core is safe enough if you know how to use and how to pretend any malware/keylogger accessing sensitive information.

I prefer more hardware wallets which works even in an infected pc and those that have physical buttons to enter the PIN.

It seems many people use both of the wallets. As for the Coinbase, they say they have a license (in the U.S.) for their business (actually I didn't quite get what kind of license). Does it add some layer of security for the user on your opinion, or in the bitcoin world such type of licenses don't mean much?

Yeah but they can shut your account at anytime and i have heard that they have even shut accounts for black listed coins that they say have been used in illegal activities. not good, also you dont own the private keys so it aint your bitcoin

Yes, indeed. are you referred for this?
https://www.coinbase.com/legal/licenses
Actually, about using the legal licensed are published by the legal institution it means in the real this service are already got any recognition be them. and this is will giving more for the users.
It's mean the official institution are giving the another guarantee for the users of coinbase are having the unresolved problem and that's so helpfully.

Like this one

Security wise Coinbase is very good for web wallet, but if you are going to use in gambling then better dont use it as they will ban your account if found using gambling without any warning. And even your personal details and transaction are also not secure because if any legal authored person ask your detail they will disclose it.

So it is better to use desktop or hardware wallet for any purpose with fully security

Yes I mean that page with the list of licenses on their web site.
Having read some topics here I've come to conclusion that most of the members don't take that licenses as something really important which could affect on wallet security and which each wallet definitely must have. Yet another interesting question is whether such type of U.S license could help somehow settle issues of those users who don't live in the U.S., European users like me for example.

Which one among desktop wallets and hardware ones is better on your opinion?

Paper wallets are very safe. Check out my website:

paper-wallet.net

I still have a lot of work to do in order to improve my website, but it works already for some currencies.

I think the best solution will be offline usb wallet

Paper wallets are really safe if they are created offline using Bitcoin Core, Electrum, Armory, CoPay or Bitaddress.org. But, unfortunately, your website does not seem to be safe. May be, as it is under construction, I did not understand its working.

@newIndia

My website can be used offline. It is only front end.

Maybe I should put the code on github. I am not sure yet if this would be a good idea. I have to think about this a little bit.

You should put it on github and be transparent about what you are doing.

I think xapo, is one of safest wallet of bitcoin, because that have many security ways to login.
4 digit number, password, login with phone number ... etc

It's hard to hack accounts.

Xapo is a web-based wallet system, so alls you need to access it is a web browser and Internet connection. Xapo is known for having reasonably advanced privacy and security features, especially for a web-based wallet. The company supports payments through a debit card system, making it easy to spend your Bitcoins. The app is also friendly for newbies, so if you’re new to Bitcoin, give Xapo a close look.

Sorry to say, it doesn't matter if it can be used offline or not. Your site COULD be coded to generate insecure or predictable keys which would easily allow the balance to be stolen. Without the source code, it is impossible to verify this and people would be better off using the source code to build and run it themselves.

Please don't. Online wallets have been proven AGAIN AND AGAIN to be insecure in many aspects, even blockchain.info. If it is online, there is always a single point of failure, whether through the employee stealing the funds directly or changing the code to steal funds.

Yes it may be safe. But, the thing is, what if the USB Wallet was damaged and the computer doesn't recognize it anymore? How are you going to get your bitcoin? Online storage may not be that safe but I mainly used that because I don't know how to store my Bitcoins offline or using devices. Can someone help me do that? Thank you in advance.

Anyone know a link to a guide I can follow to do some basic Cold Storage using Live CD Ubuntu with the printer? Basically copying the Bitaddress website and verifying that its the real website and not a copy

The safest wallet is blockchain and local coin wallet. To make sure the maximum security, maximize your password strength. Do not spread your account's, identity but keep it by yourself, that is the best thing to do.

Im wondering if Blockchain.info is still the best online alternative. I signed into my wallet after not using it for a long time and Im not crazy about the changes they made. It seems to be made intentionally arduous to do simple things. Even starting the backup recovery process is a sham. The system generates a message to say my main BTC address is a "non Blockchain" address and I need to transfer it to one of their new addresses. First of all, its not a "non Blockchain.info" address. And secondly, they want to charge about $2 USD to move BTC from one address to another inside their own network. Thats beyond ridiculous.

So I am looking for another alternative. I lost coins when Cryptsy collapsed (not much, maybe $70 USD total across all Alt Coins). My question is has anyone migrated away from Blockchain.info and if so, what did you start ti use in its place. If anyone can answer that I think the thread can continue to be helpful. Paper wallets are always a great option too and Im glad it was one of the first responses. My paper wallets are really a "last resort" stashed coins. But thats just my personal preference.

-DMS

It is not a good idea because i already experience problem about 4 digit and the receiving the code when loging in.. honestly until now i can not log in there because of their security and i contact their support but never receive any email to them so i ignore because i have only few sat there..and use it before when i was xapo faucet collector..

For me it is good and safe wallet is bitcoin-qt or electrum for lite version that you can backup your wallet.dat and private key that you can install to other wallet once electrum will crash or hack.

Just try bitcoin core or electrum if you don't want online wallet and also I suggest to you that buy hardware wallet that can surely secure your bitcoin.

Pi Wallet - cold storage.
TREZOR The Bitcoin Safe.
Ledger HW.1 - USB Smartcard Hardware Wallet.
Ledger Nano - USB Smartcard Hardware Wallet.
Ledger Unplugged - NFC Smartcard Hardware Wallet.
BWALLET TREZOR clone.
KeepKey: Your Private Bitcoin Vault.

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Hardware_wallet

I read in this forum that usb sticks can get unusable if you don't use them for a long time. Even if it is bullshit, the risk is still there.

To me, the most safest choice is,

Memorizing the wallet and the private key numbers.

The second safest choice is, writing them on a paper. Simple as that.

You can always lose your phone, your wallet, your usb stick, your paper. If you lose your mind, it doesn't matter anyway. :D

If we want to secure our coins then we need to use several options and use our brain of course.Store coins in desktop wallet or hardware wallet,backup private key in a way that you write them on paper or store in usb stick or CD/DVD.It is important that we have several copies in different places,one backup is never a safe way to secure coins.

I read here on forum that one user ask for help because he can not read what is written on paper, the ink is a bit faded so now he need to guess numbers and letters to get coins.So if you use paper wallet check regularly the condition of your ink :)

The safest wallet you can have is the cold one. It's offline, works one time only so you don't have to worry about it being hacked after that, it's paper that can be easily laminated (you can do that even at home like me with scotch) and is the safest one. There's no such possibility like a browser based wallet going offline and your funds disappearing. I recommend you to use Linux Live CD to create such cold wallets.

Most members on this forum are hitting faucets and earning dust.  ;D

For that Xapo or Coinbase is all you need. :)

The private keys is meant to be kept private. What if the private key was let out into public, are there no wallet that give one opportunity to generate another key using a secure measure? keeping a private key for long time might not be that easy, most especially when people are getting to know the value of wallet and private keys. cases of hacking into one system or mail account might expose some private materials.

I plan to buy the Trezor when I reach a good amount of Bitcoin. For now I am using the Mycelium application on my cell phone and I import the private key with the 12 words.

Put the 12 words in a safe place, in case I lost my phone or the phone will crash.

People need more than that. You may not know but there are some serious millionaires here and will be searching for the most secure place to store their money.

It does not matter how advance your defense system is there are always ways to get around it, there are hacks to exchanges every once in a while, so an online wallet cannot be considered to be very safe.

If you have many amounts of bitcoin I suggest to buy hardware wallet like TREZOR or KeepKey if you want to secure and safe your bitcoin.

Or you can make one yourself. Well not really but Tails Linux installed in a USB with persistence is also almost as safe as a hardware wallet and a lot cheaper. Another good thing about it is all of your transactions thru Tails are anonymous because all the traffic are relayed thru Tor, not just the web browsing but everything.

For me the safiest wallet is coin base because coinbase have vault and have also password. If the hacker open my coinbase didn't opebn my bitcoin vault. Coinbase have also 2fa you can notify when someone trying open my / your account.

All online wallet have vault and password i think? :D

even your account has 2fa there's still no guarantee that your account is safety since a lot hacker now has unique methods to hack anything they want.

seems like Trezor is the most popular hardware wallet. $100 bucks. I gues its worth it if you are storing a significant amount of bitcoins. $120 on amazon with free shipping.

Omg I can't believe these people still use web wallets. Just stop. Your funds will be stolen it's just a matter of when. Why bother risking it? They really aren't any more convenient than other wallets.

Haha laughs . I also use blockchain and coins.ph too. Coins.ph for transaction purposes and its easy to use too. Though i really not put all in one wallet i tried to invest it as much as possible than to stock it on my wallet.

Why do so many people constantly get this wrong and think blockchain.info is the "official" bitcoin wallet, there is no official bitcoin wallet.

I would not go telling people that is 100% safe either, that is a misleading statement, bitcoin wallets are only as safe as the computer they were created on and the person that created the wallet.

Exactly. Holy shit Blockchain.info is terrible. Look at their past rep. And no they aren't official. Good for them for tricking the newbies of the bitcoin community into thinking they are (mainly because of their name). That was a good business decision on their part. They have sooOoooooOOOOoooo many losses it's ridiculous.

The best wallet is a wallet created on a very secure computer or a fresh OS like Linux. If your private key never touched the internet then you can't really get hacked (although then your key is only as safe as your store it).

Yeah the safest wallet is the desktop wallet or in a hard drive. Yes, Blockchain.info os not the official bitcoin wallet and there os no official wallet. Maybe they are safer than other wallet but O don't thinl they are very safe. Well as long as bitcoin has high demand. I think we will not face any problems in terms of online wallets.

That tattoo wallet is actually a fine idea! Gz! My Public address will be on my public parts (like my arms, face, shoulders :D), and my private keys will be on my private parts. (you know) Excellent.

I still prefer a paper wallet though. Nothing can come close to it.

I dont like Xapo, I prefer Blockchain.info, never had a problem with them.

I use electrum and so far all has been good except sometimes confirmation takes a bit longer.

Tatoo wallet? lol. Thats really a hard security on your bitcoins but if someone do have information regarding on your bitcoin holdings they would just easily kidnap you and will nake you down until get your bitcoin. Haha. Well serious talk here, paper wallets is somehow safe but i do really prefer hardware wallets because i could able to store it from place which no one really knows.

My fear with hardware wallets is that it might rust with time - the usb wallet sorts of degrades as a result.
Whereas paper wallets, once laminated will not get spoilt over time.

installing bitcoin core wallet on Linux could be safe i guess as far as I know Linux OS is less vulnerable of any malware and i guess it could be safe from the hackers . because some web wallets are vulnerable especially if their servers got attacked by the hackers or maybe the developer of the web wallets will shut down their services without any signs and took away our funds .

Just use a desktop wallet, Bitcoin core if you have a lot of free storage because you have to download the whole blockchain.

Multibit or Electrum if you don't have much space. These wallets are usable even without downloading the whole blockchain, just sync your wallet.

Just back up your wallet and remember the private key/seed to access your wallet in case the laptop broke.

Why don't you just use regular online wallets , for me i personly use Xapo as a online wallet it is by far the most secure one out there , your account has regular password , secret number , sms verification, email verification so the chances of your account getting hacked or stolen is so small plus they give a plastic visa card which you can use any where in a regular ATM or simply to buy things of the internet

the best wallet accoring to me is mycelium
-its user inteferance is good
-backup seed is good
-it is no scam like other wallets .its quite genuine to use .kudoos :)

As many have stated before me, a combination of Electrum and paper wallet. Split your assets up as much as you can to mitigate your risk.

Try https://coinb.in offline or from your own server. It is fantastic.

I've never had any problems using Online Wallets.I started using BTC 2 years ago and I only use Blockchain.info.
Never had problems with them..Not sure about other users though..  ::)

You should read about the MtGox incident. Many people there have learned the hard way about Bitcoin on centralized exchanges. Most of them had no problems for years until their money was suddenly gone.

Same i have been using an online wallet for over two years now with no problems but it doesn't mean i don't take precautions.
I use an online wallet out of nessaisty because it makes buying coins quick and easy but as soon as those coins clear i move everything bar maybe 0.1btc to a paper wallet.

So an online wallet can be useful but i don't know how you sleep at night leaving any sufficient amount of bitcoins online.

There is no official wallet. Lets make that clear right away. I personally use blockchain.info as it has many security options and many benefits. It allows 2FA, has the ability to block TOR, and also has a fast transaction network. But otherwise, I would suggest going with paper wallets and Electrum wallet, the idea is to split up your assets as much as possible. as there is a lesser possibility of all your wallets getting hacked simultaneously. But if security concerns you, I can assure that blockchain.info online wallet is one of the most secure ones out there.

Safest one is paper wallet, I'm storing my long-term deposits  with paper wallet, don't trust e-wallets like coinbase or blockchain, can be hacked any time. There's no guarantee

So i mostly use blockchainBTC wallet, i think so that is the most popular wallet.
Some people talk about paper wallet, so its not the safest way to secure your BITCOINS.

And now a days hackings are done by anyway so we could not do anything, we should just be careful about this and pray to GOD that never our wallet
gets HACKED! ;D

Hahaha nice joke, by praying to god will your wallet wont hack, everything depend on your habit of using your wallet. If you are using desktop wallet then keep it safe by not downloading any usual exe files or software which if got installed you computer gets hacked. Dont run to ponzi and download any thing. Keep your computer safe by installing antivirus. If you do this two main things then you wallet are all safe and even all your documents in your comp are safe.

The safest wallet would be for you to remember all the characters of the private key of your address and then destroy both the public and private keys.

Its hilarious, the naivety of the OP.

Paper wallets are only so secure as the device that you are printing it from is. Malware can easily spot a Bitcoin private key/we and take it.

An electrum wallet on a USB can be accessed by a hacker as soon as you plug it in. If he gets the private key, it doesnt matter if you have the USB out or in.

With all of those security layer will be enough to be safe? I think so.
Bitcoin security regarding how to storing bitcoin and which wallet or exchanges to choose.
I don't put trust on exchanges, each one of them due to hacker always try to attack them who hold big amount of bitcoin. Bitcoin cold storage maybe safe enough but an issue to them an you will adversity to withdraw yours bitcoin.
An offline wallet seems safer such as electrum and paper wallet to saving bitcoin, but to use an online wallet as daily transaction is okay as long as you are careful and know to be safe.

I would suggest a hardware wallet like ledger and only plug it into a computer that you know and not use publicly.
That is your safest bet incase you are scared of having your wallet comprised.
I would also suggest reading this post on the subject of usb drives used as wallets to get a good grasp on the subject of using them:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1717930

We should not wait the hackers attack our wallet.
Best thing to do is not to download any file online in your computer if you are logged in with your bitcoin wallet.
If you really need to download any file to your computer, then sign it out first so that if you run that file incase it has a malware, your saved account won't get from you.
Additionally, never use one wallet only.

If you use blockchain.info, please don't clear cookies. I recommend use blocktrail. After wallet blocktrail in acquisition by bitmain, I am sure this is the safest wallet. As the biggest a company of bitcoin miners, certainly impossible their scam. I think it's time you switch bitcoin wallet to blocktrail.

Show me a wallet software that can resist memory patching or sniffing.. Besides hardware wallets of course, and those even potentially have holes over the USB firmware.

I run Electrum on Tails and other systems and just keep cold storage on an air-gapped embedded x86 box.. I use U2F and hardware wallets for some things with smaller amounts. I also have a virtual-server I run behind my NAT for signing sometimes when I sale coins face to face locally.

Something little to no people here realize: There aren't really any security researchers(at least competent ones) fuzzing or looking at code for any of these back-ends OR clients.. All these startups and their development practices are very economical till they are not.. People with crap technical knowledge shouldn't be hiring third-world programmers on the cheap to help roll out public infrastructure that have bold claims of security.. This is why you see by-monthy problems and it isn't just because "well it's new tech working out kinks".. If you don't know what you're doing you have no business doing financial infrastructure..

Bitcoin (includes and other cryptocurrencies) is the only payment system which does not need third party trust entities. In my opinion someone seriously has involvement with bitcoins need more than on wallet. Needs a web wallet for every day micropayment transactions; needs a hot wallet because bitcoin is internet money and we always need an internet connection. At last we need a cold storage wallet. In bitcoin era there are no banks to have our savings. So we are absolutely responsible to protect our funds. The best nowadays, imo, way for savings is a cold storage. So we need at least three wallets. Which wallets are the safest among all of these software or hardware is under consideration.

Thanks for reminding me about that. I have still yet to try out the blocktrail wallet even know i have used their explorer hundreds of times.
If i find some spare time tonight i will check it out.

I still think the best storage is to always split your funds up among a couple of different methods.
Personally i use a paper wallet for cold storage, a desktop client for advanced payments and an online wallet that is always empty except for the 2min between buying the coins and moving them to an address i control.

What would be best way to store few bitcoins. Cold storage, Armory?

Thanx!

cold storage

Thanx.

Any other better options than Armory?

Anyone capable of explaining of how Armory is better than Electrum? Please don't say security cause no.. I can make cold storage in Electrum in five steps and multi-sig not many more.. It has hardware support too..

there is no better both armory/electrum have offline offline access
also you can sign offline transaction with them tho

Ya it is true that using electrum is very easy and even if you lose the wallet dat file if you have the passprass key then anywhere you can reload the wallet and iam using it for long time , and even you dont have to worry of using the bitcoin wallet for any purpose as some online wallet bans the account if you use it for gambling or adult sites. Hardware wallet are also good but same import duty charges are high in some country which makes it costly.

Thanx for answers people

The safest wallet to use for me is Xapo, the best thing about it is that it links your account with your mobile device and it has multiple passwords to keep your bitcoin safe and sound so that you may never have to worry about your money, not only it is safe but also has the fastest transaction time.

Unless you're talking about something like Android keystore for second-auth than I hope Electrum never gets this feature.. Hardware wallets and U2F do it without any remote back-end service..

When we talk safest wallet? uhm for me are offline wallets. When it come to storage with securities i prefer offline wallets. 'coz you are the one who is responsible for your offline wallet security. You need to secure it with your best. Why i prefer offline wallets? 'coz most of the hackers are hack through online so thats why your offline wallet is safe. And also a suggestion you need 2 PC for online and offline operations the offline pc is intended for your offline wallets to be installed. While your online pc is intended for online transactions so thats why your bitcoin is safe. Just make sure you are the online one who has an access on your PC's. Also put some anti-virus and anti-malware in and turn on firewall for more securities just google it.

There is no "offline" wallet.. Blockchain is synced or queried. Both have huge attack surfaces. Synced is great if you carry blockchain backups everywhere with you.

Maybe hes referring to hardware wallets since they are still considered as offline wallets as far as I know.Yes, you could able to carry it with you anytime you want and just remember to secure the most important informations regarding on your hardware wallet like private keys and other stuff. Actually theres is no safest wallet do exist because all do have risk of losing it.

I think there is no offline wallet because every transaction is need a confirmation it means that all of the wallet are online if there are offline wallet how it will transact with another one or how it will send money or funds if it is offline? I hope you understand me that there is no offline wallet

It won't. That's the point! An offline wallet is safest because it can only receive bitcoins. Eventually, it will be taken online, but until then, it is an offline wallet.

Wait a second.. I though this was literal..

Offline wallets do exist. You sign a transaction with your private key and broadcast it on a potentially compromised online machine. This is "cold storage".. How do any of you not know what this is? You can't read anything regarding bitcoin without seeing it mentioned..

The only rule is that if it's not on the ledger it never happened. That goes for miners and buyers and merchants..

Yes, Probably Blockchain.info. Although keep in mind there are probably more secure ways to hold onto funds.
Blockchain.info is fully client side encrypted so your keys are never visible to the service.

I'm not talking about webservers I'm talking about virtual ledger software like Electrum where there are synced-distributed servers. The only thing what you're talking about is good for is low-overhead shopping carts.

I use blockchain.info for a couple projects but I use a daemon to pull the balance of a primary key to a local wallet where I eventually transfer to cold storage. I do it with the lowest fees miners let me get away with to keep it relatively economical.

Other than that and CEX.IO I don't trust any of these cloud and online services around bitcoin because it's always some half-wit marketing or financial guy behind it(even doing to sysops in most cases) who contracted all the dev work out to the lowest bidder.. Which is why there are major thefts or frauds at least every six-months.. Hell.. The only reason I trust CEX.IO is because they at least made an effort with their UI/UX and fees, but I still do short-interval trading only there..

Pretty much, be aware that your computer itself could get infected and that won't save you from having your web-wallets getting hacked, nor your client wallets.

In general you are less of a vector to attacks if you use a hardware/computer wallet rather than a web wallet due to some viral attacks being capable of only infecting browsers.

desktop or hardware wallets does really have an edge compared to web wallets since you posses your private keys on your wallets which means you could able to retrieve those coins no matter what that's why its important to keep it and no one would able to know it.To OP theres no other safe wallet but hardware wallet but you said your country is too strict regarding on transporting or any other means.So use web wallet.

I never thought I'd see someone compare desktop wallet management to third-party hosted. Especially after so many were effortlessly hacked and jack-potted do to extremely poor but intentional development practices(that still go on because it's just toy-money)..

For storage the safest wallet is my mind

I like the idea of multisig paper wallets for cold storage, basically as if it were your savings account or investing account, only ever adding money and never withdrawing unless something big happened. For your hot wallet just about anything else will do, as long as you only keep spending cash on it. Use an online wallet, a mobile wallet, an exchange, doesn't matter much if you don't keep much in it at a time.

Multisig paper wallets for cold storage, anything else for hot.

Well for me there is an alternative i am using electrum its a desktop wallet but i am not directly install it in my desktop i am using virtual os or virtual box.. the files after installation of the os you can install only the desktop wallet but to make sure its safe install anti virus first like kaspersky total security both money and crypto will be protected..  after that you can install electrum so that you are safe.. and after doing that thing you can directly deposit your money in electrum with the address.. save almost all important files.. in other folder of virtual box
After that you can save the .ova the whole os that you can save it for a long time if you have drive d:/ much better to saveit. so that once the c: drive is corrupted drive d:. will be still alive.. and recover your wallet..

Depends on your place located like here in the philippines we have our online wallet which is coins.ph that is so accessible.

Hardware wallets are more secure than paper wallets as unlike a paper wallet which cannot be imported on a compromised system, HW wallets can. We at betbybitcoin are doing a competition to win one on the cheap:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1734887.msg%msg_id%

They are worth every penny you spend on them, i wont ever look back


Jacob

Blockchain.info is the best wallet

Getting a bunch of people to pay 0.001BTC/$1.01 for a chance at a 15€ hardware wallet?


Also.. This thread is going in the direction of most threads on this forum.. People with no technical insight and very little experience just flash-posting..

clean computer is a must, yes.  but just fyi, the keepkey displays the seed words (12, 18, 24, etc) on it's display, not the computer's monitor/graphics - so this hardware wallet adds that additional layer of abstraction.

none of the web based wallets is 'best'.  they are convenient, and handy to have on your phone for your everyday wallet.  but for true 'best' one must control ones private keys, hence a paper or hardware wallet should be considered for ones "real" personal BTC bank. (anything that would be devestating to lose)

transfer from your hardware to your web/phone wallet as needed.  keep the real funds more protected.

I use blockchain.info, never found error. I think you must trying wallet from blockchain.info, and then i have private key , so if any problem my bitcoin not lose.

I too save my bitcoins in electrum. it is safe to store btc here. They provide you a seed during sign up which can be used for recovery of your wallet even when your laptop gets corrupted. Better to copy the seed in a paper for future use.

Yes it's a bullshit situation when they named themselves BLOCKCHAIN, now every newbie will be confused about it.

However you can still use them as a MULTISIG system.


Make a 2/3 multisig wallet, keep 2 keys on paper offline (where 1 key is stored for longterm, and 1 key is for immediate use),and 1 key at blockchain.info's wallet.

Then you just use the immediate paper key and the blockchain wallet to authenticate a  transaction.

If blockchain.info gets hacked, then you create another multisig. If you forget 1 paper key or the blockchain login, then you use the other paper key as the 2nd key.

from what i have read on this post, i agree there is no official and safest wallet in this world.
But still, i use blockchain.info to create my wallet. I still learning about this world of cryptocoin, and looking forward to make my own cold storage or USB wallet thing. cheers

Yes I agree, I use more than 2 years and never found problems. I never try and use others wallet after know Blockchain.info. For me, Blockchain.info is very secure, and fast than coinbase, xapo or other web wallet.

The safest wallet would definitely be a dedicated cold storage setup, when set up correctly. Or even a ledger/trezor wallet.

Um... coins.ph isn't necessarily the safest wallet around. I have no idea why you even had the balls to mention that site.

At the moment the safest wallet in the world is probably Trezor - not any single confirmed case about loss of coins.
Blockchain.info has been "hacked" already by Johoe and he returned the coins to them on Trezor.

https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/interview-johoe-hacker-returned-800-bitcoins/

Please bear in mind: "if you do not hold your private keys, you do not own your coins"

Also you have  https://copay.io/ they wallets for every platform and it is open source and works with Trezor perfectly.

https://i.imgur.com/7dn74Nj.gif

Hello Victor,

I think you have stumbled into the wrong forum....

The website you're shilling out doesn't even relate to bitcoin, what's going on man are you ok?

Lol. Just another noob whos shilling unrelated shit. Google drive fanboy. Makes me laugh hard.
Google drive is not a bitcoin wallet and not really meant for storing private keys or bitcoin. Its a stupid thing to do. Theres so much bitcoin wallets out there. Just get one.

I use core and now install dark wallet for anonymous transactions

We actually ran the competition at a loss due to getting less than 20 entrants however the importance of promoting use of hardware wallets, signing transactions in a secure element is needed. I have enough technical knowledge that I take pains over and over to mention why hardware or multisig wallets should be used. Private keys should not even touch your system RAM for good security.

LOL

Oh look an argument.. I think this is actually better than seeing the billionth taiwanese or indian or philippine or israel poster tell use the most secure methods while not knowing any of the technical details, or what is commonly known as the average bitcoin service startup owner tell us what is best..

Yes, I agree with you, it totally depends on where you are located because there are some country that have their own coin and online wallet that makes their country men feels easy and to those who does not have they uses blockchain.info

I think USB flashdrive wallets are the safest.

It is safe if you have the back up in another flash drive as you never know when these drives stops working,but it is better than saving your coins online.

May be they do have a billion population and they do have their own opinion regarding things  :D you being an expert why dont you shed some of your technical expertise when it comes to the safest wallet and i am not aware what the average bitcoin service startup owner consider best,can you explain that to me as i have never met someone in person nor read their posts. :P

For beginners, I think blockchain.info is the best choice as it is easy to create the wallet, to use it, and you can access this anywhere. Also, I think the site has no restrictions in most countries. At least so far, I don't know any country that prohibits its use.

Web wallets are probably one of the best ways to go for beginners, but it's also fairly easy to setup an online desktop wallet too. I believe it's BitPay's PC wallet that has step by step instructions that you have to click through after you download it, and some of the slides you have to click through even educate you on bitcoin and best security practices.

To store bitcoin, I print 4 copies of heavily encrypted paper wallet and store it in 4 safe different locations. Its almost impossible to lose my money to a thief too, since the encryption key is only in my head and my fiat bank deposit box.

I think this method is the safest method of storing bitcoin, though it can take some time to spend it, so I would only recommend it for cold storage, such as savings or funds to be spent on a later date.

honestly i have not using electrum i think it's quite nice to be tried

Advantages

- Does not require any registration.
- Can be used at any time as long as there is internet. Do not depend on a website. So no word website was maintenance.
- No need to wait long to download the entire database -BlockChain very large like Bitcoin wallet Core / Armory.
- Backup is very easy. just record and keep the confidentiality of 12 words secret given at the beginning.
- You are safe from phishing (fake websites that steal your passwords)

I believe they support multisig as well!

I only use only one wallet for the main time because everytime bitcoin is received, I immediately converted to fiat currency used in my country and cash out to trusted bank recommended by the online wallet site. For now that method is still the best and maybe the right time to hold is not yet ready for future plans.

I don't understand which country has issues with hot wallets - can you disclose which continent or country? (apologise if it has been mentioned above)

If you are willing to invest, trezor or ledgerwallet nano S. If you are storing over 0.2 btc, you might want to look onto hardware wallets because probably they are your besr bet regarding safety. Of course you should generate the seeds for example ledgeewallet on a computer that is disconnected from the internet.

Trezor over Mycelium rooted through TOR orbot seems like a solid option. Can't see anything beating that for privacy and security.

Even the online wallets are safe like blockchain and coinbase cause that is the most secure and trusted online wallets. They change the bitcoin address if you receive a bitcoin so its hard to detect or scammed by hackers who wants to steal your money. Also the paper wallets safety it is also have a chance to lose your money even if you save it to your sd card then the sd card has lost also your money will lost so its almost the same for me.

I think as of now the safest wallet now is blockchain because. It can change the bitcoin address it helpful to not detect or scammed by the hackers who wants to get your bitcoin. As of now coinbase have many issues because this wallet people said after transfer to coinbase did not arrived bitcoin in wallet  and its already confirmed txid.  One case also person bought 1 btc to coinbase but did not arrived in his wallet. My all bitcoin in coinbase was transferred yesterday to blockchain . I want to recover issue in coinbase before I transfer again my bitcoin to this wallet.

Yeah maybe not on mobile, i have never had a trezor tho is it any good? I currently only own ledger wallet nano, and i have owned it for a year or so.
Works pretty well, it is cheap and easy to use over USB OTG cable. Also the positive thing is that you can verify transactions with your phone (does not work all the times tho).
I can heavily recommend it.



I think that using web wallets generally is a bad idea (even if you are holding your own keys). Does blockchain have access to your private keys? If answer to this is yes, it is not safe.
I have no personal experience with blockchain's wallet, but i do know that greenaddress atleast is pretty safe because of 2FA, SMS confirmation and you are holding your own keys.
Personally i prefer using Ledger wallet and electrum on PC, and mycelium on android.

That is far from true. Blockchain.info wallet is an easy, very popular and convenient wallet but is not among the safest ones like as any web wallet. This was my first wallet and has a nice feature where anyone can pair his web wallet with his smartphone. but unfortunately lacks some useful features like as exporting private addresses, sign messages etc. Beyond that if you search the web you will easily find that few months ago was hijacked and many web wallets were not accessible http://securityaffairs.co/wordpress/52216/hacking/blockchain-info-dns-hijacking.html. If you really want a more secure wallet here is a link to go https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet

I am recommending papper wallet for store your Bitcoins. But the risky factor is you need to keep it safely without any damage.

There have been instances in the past where online wallets have been hacked (inputs.io for example). So your safest bet would be an offline storage wallet like a paper wallet or a USB drive one like you mentioned.

I think here don't have better wallet then original core. But to support core wallet you should have a good hardrive and good capacity on him...

Best simple and easy wallet which I saw for laptop is Electrum. Also is good choose blockchain.info for online wallet

Totally all its depend on your requirements. If you want to store large amount should use original core

If amount which you are able to loose you can use some others wallets with good reputation

Should I switch to that method? what are the possible vulnerabilities of it?

it is up to you to switch and you have to switch, because, when your hardware wallet gets missing everything inside of it gets missing too( Now while is a bit easier to use than a paper wallet the biggest advantage
IMHO is that he got a seed so even if he loses the flashdrive he can get his
wallet back.)

try to get more details from him, things like how it works, how to maintain it and some or all the set backs he knows about it, that can help you very well.

I suggest that you try online wallets, theres a recommened wallet posted in this forum. There is also a download link. But i think it has a bigger transaction fee. Or you can try blockchain. Many uses it and it is legit. Your funds are safe there. I think it is more convinient to use online wallets if you are always connected to the internet.

blockchain, for me, if a good choice if you don't wanna synchronize the whole hundreds gigabytes of transaction histories; as long as you can remember a strong password. they need an identifier and/or an email (if you lost your identifier), so people will hardly guess your wallet code.

The most sensible way to back up your wallet is to keep the seed words. This method is both simple and practical. If you do not want your computer to be entered by hackers and your wallet information to be stolen, you can use linux. Linux is more secure against malware. You can print your seed words on a piece of paper and store it in a steel safe.

Yes I am using online wallet and its really recommended here in my country, which is also used by my friends. I know online wallet is safe for the main time while you received your payments but the most safe one is to convert your btc to fiat currency in the wallet optional menu, and then cash-out through recommended bank. That method is very safe I guess, because storing your converted btc in offline banks could not be hacked and its not vulnerable to web attacks or best options can be stored at your personal safety vault at your home. If we talk about attacks of hackers we could not have the assurance of our online wallets is always safe at all times, that's why we option to have that alternative before losing your profits.

theres no safe place in this world at this time even our own home have the risk that a thief nay came in. But theres always a secured place where we can trusts. Like police stations or others. My point is theres always a place where we can put our bitcoins such as online wallets. Hackers? They need to pass in the hole of the needle just to hack those trusted online wallets.

As far as I know you can use Electrum. It's easy and has Two Factor Auth.

Paper wallets are the most safest in my opinion. Simply create an image of your public and private key, and print it out. Keep it at a safe place. That's it.

However, do always use off-line version of paper wallet source code/software. Otherwise it may be risky to create a paper wallet while being connected to internet.