what backups are recommended?

someone please correct me if i'm wrong.

The Seed: is a good idea to backup, but it's super risky if you leave it laying around, as an attacker would be able to take control of your coins without even having to bypass a password. so, what i'd like to do is memorize 6 of the 12 words, and then store the remaining 6 that i don't remember.

Backup the .dat file: With encryption. even if someone is able to get access to the .dat file, they'd still need crack your password.

Private Key: This is the one backup that I am unsure about.. I was playing with Electrum a few days ago, and it seems that I was able to restore the wallet with a private key (no password required).

i've yet to see a good for-newbs tutorial on how to store an offline wallet.. maybe i should do it.

blockchain.info is an online wallet, so your fate is in their hands.

look up electrum or armory... it's not entirely difficult to figure out how those clients work. your coins are safe and secure if you use cold storage.

you should probably spend hours and hours browsing the forums and the world wide web before doing it. i don't feel 100% comfortable yet, but i'm getting a chase checking account. there are so many ins and outs that it can be really confusing.

i like localbitcoins for in-person meets, but it hasn't been that successful for me so far (only 2 days of doing it though).

i think in the grand scheme of things, a seizure like silkroad isn't really going to do much anymore... except maybe publicize btc's even more. even if they shut down v2.0, it'll just leave a void for another group to fill.

i RSVP'd for that one.. will be attending. i would guess that irvine would be the place where there are the most bitcoiners. it seems to like OC isn't really all that happening with bitcoins though.

i had an online wallet for some time but was too lazy to transfer out.. learning how to use electrum was fairly easy and now i feel much more secure. if you are too lazy to learn how to cold store your coins (like me), then you should be prepared to lose everything you have. i know that i am very uncomfortable with leaving my fate in someone else's hands.

i think you may be confusing some things.

you send your bitcoins to the address on the exchange you wish to use.. it functions as your wallet. so let's say you have some coins in your blockchain.info wallet.. you would need to transfer them to your bitcoin exchange (localbitcoins.com, btc-e.com, mtgox, or whatever) wallet. this wallet is created once you open up an account.

i really wish i had more coins to able to afford a crazy all-out trip to germany or bangkok  

btw, is there a reason why you guys have chosen germany as the country? are they more friendly to bitcoins or something?

if this trip does occur, the funny thing would be that.. it would probably be publicized, which is even better for bitcoins 

couldn't they pass legislature to make it so that you must disclose to the government that you own bitcoins? of course, they can't go chasing down everyone, but it would make the coins less ubiquitous.

i think there are 2 meetup groups in OC.. i RSVP'd for one of them, which will be on the 21st of this month at UCI. i'm looking forward to meeting like-minded people.

i'd be interested in joining your guys' group as well.

what would be the term for altcoins like LTC? since they are concomitant with the rise of BTC.. it wouldn't be a hedge, would it? i don't know that much and i'm not certain of many things, but i would guess that LTC is more of a speculative currency than BTC. still, though, it was going at 6 cents/coin a few months ago.. i kind of hate myself for not jumping the bandwagon.

^ trading the coins is basically gambling with my coins. it's better than playing satoshi dice, since i get to learn the process.

yeah i might have to look into actually just spending my coins. after all, using the coins what it's meant for.. only problem is i'm not sure there are currently enough services that would accept bitcoin. besides, i can't spend bitcoins on everything.

added to sig

current post count: 10 (11 including this current post).

address: 133RrnuYFRm3G47P3DmRrDQS7MrEsVLkNt

i've done an exchange/meetup already.. now i want to try the cash deposit route, i would need to provide the seller with:

full name
address

?

cool, thanks. i asked this in the other thread but i dont think it was answered.

- when i go to bitcoincharts.com and check the "last price" for localbitcoins, it shows a different number than localbitcoins is actually using for the spot. it was a $20 difference.. bitcoincharts was showing something like $311, while the actual price was $290ish.

- selling on this forum, what is considered a fair price? MTGOX spot? i guess that depends on the volume you are selling, and your forum presence too. it seems like localbitcoins doesn't get enough traffic.. i posted some ads with basically the lowest ask price, and no one has contacted me today. the only quick way to get a transaction is to contact the buyer, who is usually offering .9 to .95 of localbitcoin's spot. seems like those guys are looking to make money off volume trading, which is not what i'm looking for.

how many of you other newbies feel this way?  

there's just so much information available, and so much that i don't know.. and i have so many freaking questions. add to that the recent uptick trading value of BTC, and you might get a nervous break down 

i'm currently trying to find the best way to trade coins safely.. it feels like dystopia with all the scammers. that's the thing, if you don't research carefully enough, there are tons of people out there who are looking to profit on your ignorance.

thanks, i was thinking about using this site.. could you answer my question about spot though?

it's common that coins are traded based on spot price right? but which exchange do people use? or is it an aggregated spot?
why is the "latest price" on bitcoincharts not the same as the spot on localbitcoins.com?

if gox is so bad, why do people continue to use it? its spot price is higher too.

i've been using localbitcoins and it's a pain.. sellers want a 1.05 multiplier, and buyers went .95..

what are some good alternative ways to unload coins? maybe trade via this site, or buy gift cards.. or what? i'm not sure if i want to take the exchange route.

also: i'm kind of confused by the "spot prices" of exchanges. i'm looking at localbitcoins on bitcoincharts.com, and it's showing the latest price as $311.. but when i log on to localbitcoins.com, the spot is actually something like $289.. can someone explain?