Bitcoin Forum

From what I have heard Desktop Wallets are supposed to be good because "you are in control of your own keys". But I have never seen a private key when I have downloaded a desktop wallet. Sometimes you get to make a seed, which I think is the same thing (?) , but often you only get to backup a file. Is that file your private key then?

Yes that backup file has the information for your private key embedded on it and usually encrypted with a password in addition. Its also possible to get the raw private key (string of letters and numbers) but depends on which wallet you use.

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But that backup file only works with that particular wallet? Or could I extract my key somehow from it to use in another wallet if I needed to?

Yes if its in a standard wallet format then you can use the backup file with another wallet if you needed to.

Yes, you do own the private keys which is a key difference between Desktop Wallets (DW) and Web Wallets (WW) which is the main reason that people are saying the good quote which is "If you don't own the keys, you don't own the coins" this is due to the amount of "hacks" that have occurred within the entire BTC community.

Personally, I think the perfect mix between something that is  WW and  DW is something like BitGo which is giving you access to half of your keys so you're going to be the one in control though you still get the efficiency of using something that is a web wallet.

Yes. It doesn't even necessarily need to be desktop wallets. Even blockchain.info allows you to get your own private keys, export and import new keys into your wallet and sign messages. The only wallets that won't let you do that is the wallets that i call exchange wallets. These include coinbase, coinjar, btc.com wallet etc. They don't let you control your own keys because your wallet is essentially a claim of their total bitcoin reserves.

The seed i'm assuming you're talking about the 12 word mnemonic that you copy down when you get a new wallet. There is no need to store the private keys if you have that because the keys are derived from that mnemonic. So you're somewhat still directly in control of your own keys. Either way, using a wallet which allows you to create and control your own keys is a good habit to get into.

As long as you are in control of your own private keys you are good to go. You don't even need a desktop client per se. A desktop client is just a UI that makes your life easier so you don't need to create raw transactions yourself and stores your private keys for you. To see your private keys you have to export the keys first.

A paper wallet would work as well. In fact it's probably more secure than a desktop wallet because everything is offline and you don't need to worry about viruses infecting your wallet. Or, you could try a hardware wallet.

The seed you're talking about is BIP39. As long as you have that seed, you have control over your private keys as well because you can import that into any other wallet and it'll reflect your balance.

maybe good is not the correct word to use here. Desktop wallets are better than Web Wallets. because the wallet will be located on your desktop and chances of a hacker trying to hack an individual is less than a hacker trying to hack the website/server containing all the wallets (phishing attacks, ... to get your password to that website for example).

what is best is cold storage. where you cut all the access to your wallet from the outside world.

as as it was said, with all wallets you have private keys, they are the only thing that you need to spend funds. if you don't see them, it is by design to prevent confusion for newcomers who may not fully grasp the importance of securing their private keys and may give that to others instead of their public key.

The seed isn't your private keys.  Your seed is used to generate your private keys (in what's called a deterministic wallet (https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Deterministic_wallet)), and the point is for it to be backed up easily (you just right down your seed and store it somewhere safe like a bank safety deposit box, in case you lose access to your wallet).
Your private key is a 128-512 bit number, typically 256.  It can be represented in several ways.

private key are inside the wallet.dat file, if you want to save just your private key, you need to use the command line in the debug windows, this is dumpprivatekey "your address"

Seed and private keys are different. Private keys will be in a particular format and will be in hexadecimal but the seed is combination of words which is encrypted. By backing up and producing the seed you can have that wallet and its contents.
Try making a wallet in www.myetherwallet.com (http://www.myetherwallet.com), you will see the difference.

I am using electrum desktop wallet and private key are not seen in address bar, you have to get the private key from the menu for the particular address from the main column. And this is the benefit of desktop wallet that you are in control of your wallet and you can show any where the proof of your are the owner through this private key.

But how do I get my private key on a wallet that does not show it? Often I can only backup a .bat file. Can I somehow extract my private key from that if I would ever need to? And if so, do I need to know something more, like my public key etc?

Also if I encrypt the wallet with a password, will I need this password also if I need to extract the private keys in the future?

If you have a meaningful amount of cash, use a hardware wallet and secure the seed. Not expensive and so much safer. And you're in control

Very few coins support a hardware wallet.

that is because very few people are planning on keeping any altcoins for long. and even fewer of them are planning to withdraw them from their exchanges!
you can still make a paper wallet from many altcoins though. there are open source projects like bitaddress.org which work with multiple altcoins.

No , that is backup of the data of your wallet of history transaction and that confirms that you are the owner of your wallet and in that case if you will lost something and that data will help you to recover your account easily .
Here private key is a different concept of the ownership .
Since I didn't tried any Bitcoin core like wallet but I used price key in blockchain and mysellium wallet to import and export address .
The private key has about 32 (I am not sure but may be 64 :/ )character .
if you own the private key then you have that wallet and can easily handle in any private key supporting wallet .
procedure to find the private key in blockchain is to go in the settings and go address and then in import and export keys and then if you want export the private key then click at that address in export and if you want import any key then press to import and then paste your private key .
This is really a cool technique to handle your money safely outside the blockchain wallet .

As we know few coins supporting a hardware wallet.Because one of famous are supporting while other is not even don't take interest.If having meaningful amount of cash use a hardware wallets to secure the seed and it is not on that much price where other wallets are.

Most desktop wallets give you access to your private key as far as I know but don't show it to you unless you decide to do an export of your private key yourself probably for security reasons as they are not to be toyed with. Getting into the hands of a wrong person can render your account being taken away from you. For example, using exodus wallet, you can export your private key by entering the developer mode which is quick and easy but you will never be able to view it unless you do that.

Yes, the backup file has your private key encrypted with a password. The fact that you own these private keys means that you fully own these coins. On the other hand, websites like Coinbase and CoinJar, don't let you control your own keys. Your Bitcoin is basically part of their funds. In this way, it is similar to a bank.

Moreover, the seed is not your private key. The seed is used to create your private keys. It can be used as a backup for your wallet too. Let's say you can't access your wallet; using you seed you can reach your wallet again.

Some desktop wallet have a way you can get your private key, check for instructions and do that because it's the safest way.

Thus, every desktop wallet have a backup,  all you need to do is to backup the " .dat  " file and you'll be good.

yes it is, whenever you backup your desktop wallet. Your private key will be included along with that wallet.dat file. Always ensure you know the passphrase of the wallet.dat because if you forget the passphrase, you will have no access to the coins and nobody will be able to help you in recovering them.

every wallet has their own security code, in blockchain.info we can see that identifier and the password very important, but we can see in another wallet private key is very important because if we forgot the private key its mean that we can' access our wallet forever. so it's depends on you what will you use for that

Yes, you do own the private keys which is a key difference between Desktop Wallets because if you own your private keys your coins not called yours, you always remember your wallet keys because if you forget your wallets you don't get your accounts you will have no access to the coins and nobody will be able to help you in recovering them.

I have several of these encrypted wallets, mist wallets and electrum wallets, both of which have corresponding private keys, although they are not very secure, but they are very convenient.

If you downloaded a desktop wallet or offline make it sure that have a private keys or security because if you don't have that don't store your coin because i make sure that they also get your coins and that is not your already so that find a keys to protect your coins. I suggest try also ah hardware wallet just look like flashdrive because my friend have this to secure his coins from the hackers.

Thats it,all you have to do is save this to be your back up file key..but better to make it in writings too as what some of my friends do(but im not since theres other people living in my house and this is open for others thats why kinda hard to trust in physical saving)but if youre living in private place then his is applicable for you then

Nowadays having bitcoin desktop wallet is not preferable because you need to download the blockchain database since 2009.
But desktop wallet is the safest wallet i think, because you have your wallet only in your own control.

If you do not solely control the private key you do not own the bitcoin. This has been an adage in Bitcoin since the beginning. Unfortunately, in the case of online wallets, services, exchanges, or any other service, you do not solely control the private key and you can’t protect it in any way. In order for the service to work they need to be able to move the bitcoin around. You deposit it to them and they control it on your behalf. If you are concerned about security move your bitcoin to a wallet you control, either desktop, mobile, hardware, or paper.

Aehm… of course you do!

You should immediately back up your private key in a couple of places at least.
Only back it up into your email account in an encrypted file with a good password, just in case that email service gets hacked, or somebody accesses your email on your computer.
Same goes if you use some cloud mining service like Dropbox.
You can also save it on a USB memory stick and put it somewhere safe, like a bank.

Oh and don’t forget that password ;)