Bitcoin Forum

In a pinch, if you don't have a thumb drive to back up your wallet.dat file, is it a good, or bad idea to email the file to yourself like on yahoo.mail ?

Since email addresses are prone to hacking, make sure to enable 2-step authentication.
If I were you, I still won't do it. I'd prefer to use encrypted cloud service such as Wuala to back it up on daily basis.

You should use Google Sky Cloud drive just for a while and get yourself a cheap USB Drive.

In many cases email is not secure.  It frequently passes through the internet unencrypted.

If you are going to email your wallet.dat, it would be a good idea to have it encrypted with a strong passphrase.

There are encrypted email services like hushmail, but some cost $9 a month to use.

Certainly email can be sent encrypted, but many people assume that all their email messages are secure by default.  I was simply pointing out that if you don't make a specific effort, it is quite possible that your emails can be read by anyone that watches the internet packets go by.

But im not here to spark debate, I respect your opinion. :D

Only if it's encrypted.

I think PGP is better, Hushmail integrates that into their emails.

True but I think they have the private key and it's already known they work for the fbi

Just burn it to a CD. Very cheap and highly reliable.

The advice of a strong passphrase goes without saying.

FTFY :-)

Onkel Paul

Use millenetta dvds

In my opinion encrypting the wallet.dat file itself with some good cipher and strong key is enough.

True, That gag order they had to put on them, Though, It would be safe just using PGP encryption to send the wallet to email addresses.

You can do this if you are willing to a) set a password before you email it and b) make absolutely sure to switch wallets as soon as you get the chance. b will entail moving coins to a new wallet and abandoning addresses in the old one. So basically you are trading inconvenience later for convenience now. Might be worth it in a pinch as you say.

I have a possible solution :)
use email but first archive your wallet, and encrypt the archive
on windows I think the best software to use is 7zip, at archive stage select for Encryption Method AES-256
and you should be safe :D

men is wery easy just bay one or two usb (on the market u have a usb with a litle swich to allow writnig)

just open a directory named 18jan2014 and put walet.dat (when the switch for write is on)

again only when u open a new address backup your wallet

open a dir (for example 27feb2014) and put (when switch for write is on)

keep the sweetch always off in other times and if u try to recower the backup


u don need this file until u make new address (this file is just for backup address and priwate keys) no need to store it again when u make some trassaction

if u cen not found usb with switch and ordinary usb is fine litle less security and if u need a backup try to not use this caind of usb on the same computer which u originaly save the wallet instead keep the bakap and do some backup on backup and then that use on originaly computer if the file is somewhat changed then u have a torjan

sorry ofr my bad english






u don need this file until u make new address (this file is just for backup address and priwate keys) no nedd to store it again when u make some trasaction