Bitcoin Forum

Is windows better for dummies with bitcoin?

I tried bitcoin ages ago on linux but are that dumb i never did manage to succsessfully down load a wallet :-[I am really dumb with computers.
But really want to learn how to use bitcoin safley.

I now have use of a windows..
I managed to get a wallet ok.
Is Windows safe?
Is there anything i should know about using windows and bitcoin ?

Or should i persevere with Linux ubuntu?

Linux is better (more secure) than Windows.

Brian Krebs, a security expert, describes how for even online banking the best methods for most windows users is to use a bootable LiveOS:

 - http://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/07/banking-on-a-live-cd

I dont have time to read but can i guess he doesnt trust windows with banking/money transactions?


does anyone use bitcoins with windows?

Thanks that looks like a good tool if you have lots of bitcoin..
Does it require a spare device though?
And if the device breaks can the data be recovered?

Do people use bitcoin with windows online without problems?

OSX, Windows, Linux (Ubuntu)...  It really doesn't matter, because I can crash any of them in a matter of minutes just doing "normal" stuff.  Perfect machines with fresh OEM installs too.  I'm a dream employee for beta testing anything.... but I'd be better suited to help design and build things, so they work right in the first place.

This was a 'spam' post to get my count up so I can post my one and only single contribution to this site in a thread for BFL orders.

Cool post dood.

Care to reply ;)?

Anyway, I left windows over a decade ago and couldn't be happier with my computing.  Linux has come a long way in that time.  Sometimes I miss building kernels.  Maybe one day I'll do it just for fun.

heheh...

I guess the universe just guides me to the bugs in any and all software.

I've been known to cause electromagnetic interference from simply being in close proximity to computers or other electronic devices.  I've even made basic handheld calculators malfunction.

Sometimes when I'm feeling good, the opposite will happen and machines that are going crazy will calm down for me.

The last time I tried Ubuntu, it crashed while I was trying to just open and view all of the advanced settings in... whatever it was, don't remember now, but it was only a few minutes after a fresh install.  I was just trying to familiarize myself with the inner workings and it freaked out cause I looked up its skirt and it took a dump on me.

Why am I replying here, I dunno... I found some bugs in the forum while piddling around.  My login counter was frozen for a while until I made another post.

Being logged in "forever" failed once too.  I never closed this tab.  Crazy 1's and 0's getting lost in the ether.  Went to join my left socks.

I think windows 7 is smart os, easy to use but most people r still too dumb to use it right.  I don't even use a virus scan, haven't had a virus since windows xp. 7 is just super easy to customize/set up plus is plays DX11 games.

Our spines are basically just big antennas.  When all your nerves fire together it can produce some small but significant EMI.

Thanks for all the interesting replys..

I have to admit i really am that dumb i cant use windows properly...

My question should really be is a dummie on windows safe with bitcoin?

I now have a wallet and ready to buy some  :'(

Are is there any last advice.

Encrypt your wallet and back it up in several places.

Only unlock it when you need to spend funds or generate a new address.

Definitley linux.

Hm, I had planned to just make a little linux box with cards to mine, but would Windows really do fine and not make any hit at all to the power? Hmm... something to think about at least before I move forward.

Even a system pretty that is pretty badly compromised is probably still going to be safe for you to use if you are using a hosted (shared) EWallet service where a one-time password (OTP) like Google Authenticator (on your mobile) is required.

But overall, it is really a matter of giving attention to security relative to the risk.

If you carry $200 in your back pocket in a bar, you probably will be fine with $200 worth of bitcoins on your Bitcoin.org client on a Windows Vista or Win 7 box presuming you run updates, have some decent anti-virus installed, are sane when installing software, and know how to copy your wallet.dat to a thumb drive for backup.

Now if $200 worth is a lot for you, or you want to store $1K or more you might not want to trust that configuration.  An offline system (with an air gap to the network) booted from a LiveOS distribution is among the most secure methods for using bitcoin -- but that security comes with the tradeoff in convenience.

i wouldn't say it's for dummies.

Go with Linux or Mac

Linux is not more secure than Windows, but there are two reasons why it often seems so:

• A typical Linux user will generally have more computer knowledge than a typical Windows user.
• Linux is less used, so malware developers and hackers spend less time trying to exploit vulnerabilities in it.

I would still recommend Linux to just about anybody as a main Operating System, however, because it does have some significant advantages in speed, stability and the security through obscurity concept is still valid; what this doesn't mean is that you should assume that because you use Linux, that you're not vulnerable.

The same rules with regards to using obscure websites, installing packages you don't trust etc still apply.

If you're willing to learn, use Arch Linux and not Ubuntu. It's a far simpler setup which means it's more difficult to compromise, there are less old packages with holes in and it is generally more congruent to gaining Linux knowledge.

Ubuntu sugar-coats everything, but the cost of that is reduced understanding on your end of what is happening on your computer. By replacing packages like sysvinit/systemd with the more complicated upstart, and replacing known and tested GUI environments with its beta Unity/Wayland setup, Ubuntu sacrifices the knowledge of a lot of users of other distros and the testing they can offer.

Also, do not go with Mac, it is a far less secure platform than Windows 7.

One thing to be noted, you dont have to have your wallet hosted on the same system as your miner.  I have two separate miners (one running Windows, the other running BAMT) and neither have my wallet on it.  I have a completely different system that hosts my wallet where I can do all of my transactions.

So, with that said, you can run Linux for your miner, but have say, a separate desktop or laptop that runs and manages your wallet.

Excellent response.


While you are correct that the model is superior, Microsoft has 1000X the resources to throw at the problem.  So yeah, Windows is broken more primarily because it is attacked more despite likely having more (or at least equally) secure code.

windows is safe...

just wandering here, I just konw windows a little.

I use windows for all my rigs and my home PC... I have used linux a bit, I don't keep many coins on my PC wallet... couple here and there...

MY PC is in windows7. and my office PC is linux. 

No windows is not for dummies it is for all users (newbies, power users, advance users)

No, Windows is not for dummies, but all the dummies are using it.

You should realize that whatever is the os you are using its unsafe if you use it for other except your bitcoin wallet.

If you had a big wallet, you shuld use a cheap pc (pandanoards for example) with some *NIX stuff in it and a browser with JavaScript and Java disabled (not talking about flash).

Your hardware should be dedicated, your os too.

BIOS malware is not only on movies.

+1

But honestly - nothing is ever safe. You can protect the data making it MUCH harder to obtain.

Important data stays off line.... <---- why i dummy? :P

Sorry, didn't meant to insult anyone.

I'd say OS X is for dummies. I work in ICT and constantly have to disinfect peoples Windows computers because they do not know what tools to use or how to use them. People end up locking up there PCs while trying to look for "Free Porn Download" and ignore results like RedTube. Macs do not have this problem generally except for the recent Flashback.

Personally I reckon it is time for Mac to be the target. With the help of the massive flock of iSheep pushing up the number of Macs out there it looks like this may soon come true. iSheep seem to think that Macs are impervious to visuses and till now that has been largely true. There is nothing I love more than telling a Mac user their computer is infected even though they tell me that it is impossible :)

The problem here is not system x y or z, is how we use it for doing what.

That being said, osx is still a lot more safe than windows.

I'm talking dollar bills and yes, they have many more paid employees reporting problems to them than the Linux community.  As I've already stated, I ditched windows over a decade ago and couldn't be happier.  However, many Linux users have a false sense of security.   Security is a tremendously difficult problem to get right. The open source model is far better, but you underestimate the billions of dollars worth of businesses that rely on windows and have highly skilled people who can debug and report problems.

Anyway, this will all be moot in a couple more decades as microsoft drives themselves into the ground.

No sir you have not :D

Thanks I think that helped..I am struggling to find the time and peace to research and get my head round things..
I am definitly going to try getting some bitcoin to try out..Thing is in ireland there are very few people selling them.

Does backing up your wallet.dat onto a USB key do anything if the original wallet.dat on your desktop is compromised?

I should add hope i didnt offned windows users..
But I do see there is desperate need for a new o/s for the world free from corporate controll which is why i normally use Linux and is what brought me here.

I think Windows is broken entirely because Microsoft's customers (the average person) doesn't know or care about security.  So Microsoft has no incentive to expend its 1000x resources on security.

The Linux user is more discerning, and so Linux has to do better.

Microsoft makes most of their money from corporate clients, and these clients do care for security.

If by compromised you mean stolen then no it wont do you any good from what i understand

I believe windows is made with the intention to make a pc accessible for everybody so, yeah, its made for dummies.

From the viewpoint of a hacker windows users are 90% dump so they're the main target.

To understand how to protect yourself get to know how hackers infect computers. Mostly they fool people to click some file, sometimes they use "exploit kits", in most of all cases of infection the user interaction is required. 'The most popular way to spread a virus is through downloads, for example somebody downloading the latest game on a torrent site is heavily at risk.

If you really want to use windows i suggest to get familiar with virtualbox or vmware, this way you can access any content without infecting the main machine. You could also setup a linux machine and have windows running inside a virtualbox for example.

If you have a fair amount of coins in the wallet its not a bad idea to have a machine solely for the wallet, this can be a virtualbox or a stand alone pc.

The guys who are really a target are the pool/exchange owners, for a hacker its like breaking a bank.

To steal the wallet a hacker needs to have the password, i think this is the only reason there are not more wallet stealers arround. Protect your password, don't safe it in a obviously place like "my documents".

i have windows ::)

I use Windows, so does Bill Gates, satoshi, and many other geniuses :)

It is actually very easy to secure if you care to read up on basic security practices.

Really, it seems more and more ignorant users just go to MacOS or Linux these days,
without any knowledge of how to secure a computer (no, Linux is not "automagically" secure).

I like Windows, and i believe its security is just as good as linux(windows 7 and up), but I would never have a wallet with a lot of coins on a windows machine.

Its not that Linux is more secure (imho) but that exploitpacks for Windows is easier to acquire and exploits for browser and other clientside bugs exploited through the browser are released weekly.
Sure many of these bugs exists on both platforms (java, flash, firefox bugs etc) but most ready-to-use exploits are written for windows.

Real hackers can just write exploits for these bugs for Linux, but those guys are not interested in stealing your bitcoins. The "hackers" interested in stealing bitcoins probably has less skills (or no skills) in writing exploits, so they use already released -1 day exploits bundled with some malware they havent written.

Security is only as good as the person using it really.  I am reminded of an individual I know who got his computer trashed and when asked WHY he disabled his virus software, said, it kept going off when I went to my favorite site and wouldn't let me in, so I turned it off.  ???      Here's your sign bud.

You can have a 20 thousand dollar security system on your house but if you don't turn the thing on, it won't help you.     With computers, if you don't update your security when new ways to get in are found, then it won't help you.

Nothing is 100 percent safe but a little prudence from the user goes a LONG way.

Aaron

Love the humility....

I run windows with ESET antivirus. Havent had a single virus in over a year now. Not to mention i did some other stuff to make sure the download couldnt be tracked.

I've been running Win7 for about 2 years now and have only had 1 issue with it.

Yeah, this is true, I see them every day: Why WinRar doesn't work in Linux?...What do you mean I have to get the Linux version?..Where is Windows media player?...My savegames are not working, my *game isn't  working...I have a DVD with all my favourite programs, none of them is working...
They do not seem to grasp the concept that Linux is a whole different world, and expect to use it the way they used Windows before.

Good thing they always go back to Windows along with the other geniuses  ;D

What you use the computer for is more important than what operating system you have.  If your machine is on the internet 24/7, you are an easier target.  If you load the machine temporarily, much harder to attack.  Every extra program and website you use is that much more risk of picking up something.  Simply joining a bitcoin IRC channel is going to paint a target on the connecting IP address.

Windows has more bot-nets, browser exploits, and weird services that can be a exploited.  But it's a lot easier to use and nags you about firewall, anti-virus, and updates where Linux won't complain if you leave it unpatched.  I think using VPN software is easier to learn in Windows.

If you install every service on Linux, leave it on the network, and don't know how to patch it, you will get hacked just like Windows.  My plan is to use an old laptop with latest software updates for sensitive transactions.  The main trouble here is, if the laptop is hardly used, it is vulnerable while downloading the updates.  But, at least I won't have to download and burn a new LiveCD every month.

Use an USB stick.

Once you get used to Linux you will never want to pay money for a lesser OS.

I gotta say, total waste of money to pay money for a new operating system you will only use for Bitcoin.  Even a virtual windows machine would need to buy a license, where you can get linux for free.

Well things are slightly different from my perspective, I never really knew about Linux atall for a long time in my life, So being around a windows environment I started being quite a avid gamer, Now I know a little about Linux, I can never fully "move" over untill I can play my games on Linux.

Everyone says wine or playonlinux, But I don't find half a day trying to programme my system to play something that is not designed to play on that system, fun!

So I actually use both (different systems, not duel boot) when the higher powers in this world see Bitcoin as more of a threat, There will be (mark my words) Windows developed worms/trojans to steel the wallet.dat to corrupt our little world, So all my Bit coin stuff is behind tor and backup and encripted ......  etc

So I don't think windows is for dummies, Can be quite usefull (and powerfull tool) if you know what to do with it, I think it's more a case of "if the shoe fits" scenario.

I know you're speaking generally, but for security you probably shouldn't play games on the same system you keep your wallet