Bitcoin Forum

I have two accounts on Blockchain.info. I'd like step by step instructions preferably to how I can keep my current + future coins 100% safe from hacks, forgetting password, authorities shutting down the wallet etc. Seems like authorities can shut down any site they like (recent example btc-e). If I back up my private keys or something like that, maybe then I'll never lose the coins even if I forget Blockchain.info password or if it gets hacked or shut down etc. Right?  I'm not sure how it's all done. Please advise.

Your question is complicated since you have to do many things just to make your coins safe. In terms of hacking as long as your bitcoins are placed on a hosted web wallet there is a tendency that it is a possible victim of hacking even giant site are being attacked and so if you store your bitcoins in a hosted web wallet is has still the tendency of being hacked if the site is hacked.

If you want your bitcoin to be safe from hacking store it in your flaskdrive or a hardwallet. But of course if you are not careful it is also some dangers in it.

And do my advise to you my friend is to place your bitcoins on different kind of wallets on different sites. This may not offer 100% guarantee but it would lesser the risk. Just always keep with you the private keys and password or otherwise you cannot access it.

If you have the seed you can always import it in electrum.
If they theoretically take blockchain.info down it's not like everyone has lost their wallets.

An exchange works in a very different way.

using any online service is unsafe, they can fake where you are sending coins to as once happened.

Air gapped computer, that signs transactions is your best bet.

I would never use trezor or other hardware solution, you cannot see their OS hardware.

open source air gaped

consider electrum....

use a HD wallet, write down your words in paper, keep paper at a safe place.(bank ??? ::)

If you want to secure your bitcoins, the best way to do is store it in trusted wallets like coinbase. My bitcoins are in coinbase because I know that all of my bitcoins will become safe in coinbase.

step 1: stop using blockchain.info

step 2: learn what real bitcoin wallets are and learn what their differences are.
https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1631151.0

step 3: learn what cold storage means
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Cold_storage
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/How_to_set_up_a_secure_offline_savings_wallet

after reading the above links if you still had any questions then feel free to ask those.

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if you still insist on using blockchain.info despite it being a bad choice then what you need to do is to
- set up a strong password
- enable 2FA
- backup your recover phrase which is in fact a seed you can use to get back all your private keys using a tool such as this: https://iancoleman.github.io/bip39/

Do you need to continue to use Blockchain.info for your entire balance?

Keep it for transactions and put everything else in a Trezor. It's as save as it gets...just don't lose your passphrase.

you cannot trust any service that is amenable to a writ. On any day your coins can be taken. Even if you only have the private key, when you log in to their service, they can fake the receiving address and you would unlikely know.

They can key catch and more.

Bitcoins are hard to be safe especially if it is placed on third party companies. Because they just hold it down and the only thing you can do is save your password because it is known or hacked by the hackers to say goodbye to your bitcoins because the hackers or the company that you put in your bitcoins will not give you back your bitcoins. It's best to use of the walllet where you hold your private keys because you only know your bitcoins.  And only you can access your wallets theres no other.

Im going to get a Ledger Nano S....but there's a backorder currently.....

Even if you are taking backup of your private keys then it doesn't matter in case of the hacking incident because hackers will sweep your wallet as soon as they get access to your private keys.

I would suggest you, go with SECURELY GENERATED paper wallet if you don't want to access your funds more often.Your funds are safe until paper wallet is physically stolen.

If you want to keep it completely in your custody and still flexible then go with Trezor wallet where you will need to keep your seed/passphrase secure. Even in the case of any incident with the device, you will still be able to retrieve the funds using seed/passphrase.

for me the safest way to keep your bitcoin is to store it to a bitcoin paper wallet. Why?

You hold your private key and not store in the internet unlike some of the wallets online the company holds your private key and if the company hacks there's a chance that your bitcoin may steal as well.

The best use of the paper wallet is:
1. Storing bitcoin for long term investment.
2. For future purposes.

It's good to store bitcoin on paper wallet because it's price pumps and pumps and when you store alot at it and withdraw it your rich in an instant.

Nothing is 100% safe. Look for the storage method that fits your needs and your desired level of security, and learn how to manage its weaknesses.

I think of the ways you secure your wallet may be very difficult to break through by hackers, if seen from some authentication permissions. But we do not know maybe that could happen. Keeping the private key of the bitcoin address listed in the blockchain is just as unsafe. Because bitcoin will remain in your blockchain wallet even if you have exported your private key or bitcoin address in another wallet.

Offline laptop, linux, never touch internet. use usb to transfer data to sign keys. keep the hard drive encrypted.

Blockchain.info wallets are not 100% secure. Even if 2FA is enabled, a key logger can steal your login information and steal your coins. I think that the only wallets which are 100% secure against theft are hardware wallets such Trezor and Ledger.

Do not trust online wallet providers with your bitcoins. Blockchain.info is one of the biggest online wallet providers, but they had a lot of problems previously with their software. I would invest in a hardware wallet, if you use your coins frequently or you could rather opt for the safest method to store your coins, which is offline paper wallets.

If you have to use online wallets for some or other reason, I would definitely backup the seed and use 2FA. ^smile^

I won't deny you. Looks like you have used key loggers or attacked by this method of hacking. However, in order to install a key logger in someone’s PC, you need to force them to click on a link or something so that the event takes place. Isn't it better to not keep on clicking here and there carelessly?

Yes you are 100 percent right. One should have more than one account. The most fear thing is that not only hackers but the site owners also shut it down or Bloch their site without any reason. So having two or three different account on different sites and keep not all the bitcoin in one wallet but in all the wallets you has then you will be safe not 100 percent but enough. No one can give you the tips of 100 percent bitcoin security.

None of wallets are safe.
But you can choose more safer bitcoin wallets.
I am using Blockchain, a lot of people using Blockchain.
So I think Blockchain is safer than other wallets.
Google "Bitcoin Wallet" and you will receive Blockchain as #1 result. Trust Google.

Preferably after hearing so much hacking and closing of some web wallets many will surely take an interest with your bitcoin there is no such 100% secure wallets when it comes to web wallets if you want a secure one you can surely get a cold storage that is surely the most secure part to keep your bitcoin but OP is saying about the private keys or password that he can forget then don't use bitcoin and just convert all of your bitcoin to fiat, because you need a multiple account so you can not lose all of your earn bitcoin, maybe a portion of it but not all. but hey it is a coincidence that you can surely lost your bitcoin.

I think the better and safe way to keep all bitcoin information (logs, passwords, and so on) on the paper at you home, because all electronics data easy or not to huck.
Take care.

there are no 100% safe wallet, but to lesser the risk try to use HD wallet or core or electrum any desktop wallet dont take your coins on the exchange platform as it have a risk of hacking were there are big wedsite of exchange are been hacked before. save your password of google drive or print the qr code and password/private key and keep safe it so you wont forget it. in this world of technology there no 100% safe all have a risk hackers are behind us so be aware and vigilant. Good Luck

Its not really possible to make anything really 100% secure, or theft-proof. After all, the user of the devices is actually you, and in turn, you are human, and to be fair, we humans are vulnerable. Very. Even if you use hardware wallets, you would need to keep several paper backups, as well as cold storage. Also, the place where you would transact would from, would need to have been never using the internet, as for the average user, internet = viruses. So, you really need to have loads of backups, and basically keep stuff in safes to make it kinda 99% proof.

But the thing is, if you end up getting your wallet hacked once, everything is done for.

I'm reading comments on this thread just to know on how my BTC will be safe in the future (Don't have any bitcoin or any earnings yet :) ). But in my own opinion since BTC is an virtual money we cannot guarantee that it will be safe since nowadays there's a lot of tools that can be used to hack someone else information and also with the innovation. One way for you to make sure that your BTC is secured is that keep your information safe and save your password and other information on your own PC/drive/flashdrive because this is the best way to keep your information safe (Don't have any idea with the online wallets yet that's why this is the only advice that I have :) )

you are right, but if I have many bitcoin.  I will choose an offline wallet, Like Trezor, I think this is so safe because if I want to transaction I only put it to my computer like a flash disk, and when I finished, I just pull it out from my computer..

There is no way you can keep your bitcoins safe in an online wallet or a 3rd party gateway.

Bitcoin was supposed to make your wallet your own bank.
Once you deposit you coins in another wallet where somebody is also able to move coins you forfeit all the security.

The only way to have 99.99999% security is to move your coins to cold storage:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Cold_storage

Remember, there is no 100%.

I advise you to put your coins in a hard wallet, that is the safest place for your hard earned coins. Hard wallets could be brought anywhere and your seed was placed in a physical card which could be kept in your physical wallet. If you hate losing bitcoins then you better spend money purchasing security measures.

Never keep your bitcoins in exchanges.If Mt.Gox like incidents occur,then you would have to loose your bitcoins.Instead,you could save it in Electrum wallet which is safe and secure.A twelve word seed is generated during opening a new wallet and it could be used for your wallet recovery in future in case of system damage.But care should be taken to download wallet from official website Electrum.org and not from fake websites.

Yes you're right, by backing up your private key you'll have yourself protected from authorities closing down the websites.
But here's my recommended steps to save your bitcoins 99.9% safe (the other 0.1% is human error  ;D)

1. Make a paper wallet (either by generating private key independently and store it or just use some online service but make sure to download the websites and run it offline, and make sure to encrypt it using your pin.).
2. Make 3 or more copy of your paper wallet
3. Laminate it (to handle with years long storing and water)
4. Save a picture of it (it's safe because you've encrypted your private key)
5. Store them at a safe place (safety deposit box, vault, etc)
6. Hold  ;D

to store 100% secure bitcoin I still do not know, but I've activated google authenticator, and also email confirmation every login and transaction. in my opinion it's safe enough, there might be input from another safer way to store bitcoin

There are many online wallets that are really safe to store our bitcoins. Coinbase is the best example of the safest wallet that we can use in order to save our bitcoins. I always using coinbase because I know my bitcoin is safe there.

Well, if you want to keep your bitcoin safe you should store your password and privatw key in safe place. In addition to that, try to use 2fa to totally secure your bitcoin. You can also use online or offline wallet to keep bitcoin safe and secure. Lastly, I think you should put it in safe place.

Online wallets are never safe especially when they're on exchanges. The best is hardware wallets or paper wallets but they're also not 100% secure. Better is to use an old Android device, configure it once, get all the back ups and use it as a cold storage.

I never use online wallets since they're not even 1% safe, one exploit, and all of your funds can be gone. I use trezor, plus metal phrase keeper plus a swiss locker for the metal phrase keeper.

My vote is for using a paperwallet.  They have paperwallet creators, and you download the website and can use it like an app offline to generate a paper wallet.

it depends on usages you plan to , if you want to keep bitcoin safe for longer time never use Blockchain or any online wallets only use offline wallet or paper wallet .otherwise divide planned BTC for online use and offline long term period.

If you have a lot of bitcoin its bettet if you use different wallet to keep it because if you save only to 2 wallets and same wallet and what if that wallet down you cant use your bitcoin. Unless you have more than 3 wallet and different website you can use your other wallet even 1 wallet shut down . Always remember your password set 2fa so you can make sure that your bitcoin is always safe.

What ever security option you take keeping bitcoins in web wallet is not safe as you dont have private key for your address and if the site gets hacked then all accounts also get hacked and in that no one can help you. so it is better that you can use hardware wallet like ELECTRUM which is lite and secure and you have full control of your address as you will have posses of private keys of the address. and you can use the coins anywhere as some web wallet dont allow their users to use the bitcoins in gambling site and they ban the account without informing it also.

You should just keep your private keys safe. Be aware of phishing links. As long as you are the only owner of your private keys you are the only owner of our coins.

The most secure wallets are those that do not have Internet access, virus / Trojan-free.
 
Upon entering the site, we will immediately generate our unique bitcoin address with a QR code and our private key based on which we can recreate our bitcoin address if it is lost.
 
If we lose our bitcoin address we go to the "Wallet Details" tab and enter our private key.
 
If you want more addresses, go to the "Paper Wallet" tab, set the number of addresses, generate and print.
Such addresses and private keys can also be saved on encrypted data media or always with you holding, for example, a photo on the phone (avoid keeping private key which is secret).

First of all there is no such thing as 100% safety, certain risk will always be present but you can try to minimze it as much as you can. That means that you should avoid web wallets which are to my opinion the most vulnerable and another thing good to avoid is keep the coins on exchangers, except the amount you want to trade. And never reveal your private keys to anyone.

Yes we can keep safe bitcoin 100%. First download bitcoin Wallet. then this find recover all block from since bitcoin is running till today after the update all block encrypt wallet and make a solid password. After that create backup file and it to secure place. Remember this password and backup file is you asset. Now you can transfer your bitcoin here in this wallet and your bitcoin is always at your pc.

The best way to save your bitcoin safe is to use offline wallet e.g. Trezor or Ledger nano wallet. With offline wallet you can save your private keys safe.

Whenever I suggest my friends to use bitcoin at the first they ask me about the security of the bitcoin then the talk about the process to use it so I mean to say keeping bitcoin save is the most important thing. A lot of hardware wallets are available as a lot of people are using the block chain and the online wallet for this purpose as one of my friend is using ledger Nano 5 and some other so try to use any online wallet it will help you.

You are right, If we just keep our private keys safe we will be safe from hacking. I mean by safe that's mean your private keys will should be in your mind or in a paper in your home,  Try to don't save your private keys in your PCs because it can be hacked and the hacker can access to your keys and steal all your funds, So we should always be careful.

I think that the best way to keep our bitcoins safe is by having them on an offline wallet. I dont have one, but most part of my bitcoins is stored on Blockchain.info wallet, and all my tokens are stored in MyEtherWallet, i think this is the most safest way to protect our coins from any hack.
The only way to be hacked is by sharing our private key, so if that happens, it would be our fault.

1st :Be careful with online services.
You should be wary of any service designed to store your money online. Many exchanges and online wallets suffered from security breaches in the past and such services generally still do not provide enough insurance and security to be used to store money like a bank. Accordingly, you might want to use other types of Bitcoin wallets. Otherwise, you should choose such services very carefully. Additionally, using two-factor authentication is recommended.

2nd:Small amounts for everyday uses.
A Bitcoin wallet is like a wallet with cash. If you wouldn't keep a thousand dollars in your pocket, you might want to have the same consideration for your Bitcoin wallet. In general, it is a good practice to keep only small amounts of bitcoins on your computer, mobile, or server for everyday uses and to keep the remaining part of your funds in a safer environment.

3rd:Backup your wallet.
Stored in a safe place, a backup of your wallet can protect you against computer failures and many human mistakes. It can also allow you to recover your wallet after your mobile or computer was stolen if you keep your wallet encrypted.

Does the metal phrase keeper worths it's price? If you engrave/scratch it into a piece of metal label (like dog-tag for the millitary troops), it also can hold your seed safe, and also fireproof (waterproof, shockproof, etc :)
 ) You also won't need the swiss locker if you change the order at least two words in the seed, just remember the original order...

If your Bitcoin is stored in a web hosted wallet that allows users to register an account, then I don’t think “forgetting password” will be an issue to worry about, because you can always retrieve it with your email. For hack, I would say you should make use of different addresses in receiving payments, activate 2 factor authentication, and also use a password that’s difficult for someone to come up with. These doesn’t guarantee 100% safety, but they can help in some ways.