So not only did I not realize that there was a whitelist thread, I also didn't realize PMs were enabled after only one post. I assumed PMs would come with the "Jr. Member" title. I already have more than 5 posts, I only have ~30 minutes left until I'm a Junior Member, AND the purpose for me joining this forum can be resolved via PM. But I figured I'd post here anyway.

I came to this forum to join Zefir's group buy. I've been using bitcoin for several months. I'm building a bitcoin-based web service, and if all goes well here I will soon be mining.

Thank you for managing this forum well and doing the right thing by enacting restrictions to prevent spam.

By the way, late reply I know, but XKCD has a great comic about password entropy which you can find here. "Through 20 years of effort, we’ve successfully trained everyone to use passwords that are hard for humans to remember but easy for computers to guess."


I agree about there being no clear answer - each case of theft is different and I've heard many stories of people having their coins stolen, not just from blockchain.info. There are numerous means that attackers can use to access your wallet, and protecting yourself from each threat should be of the utmost concern to every bitcoin user. I detailed in a previous post the steps that blockchain.info users can take to protect themselves, but honestly, I have to wonder why you would use a currency that was basically designed to circumvent banks and then entrust your money to an entity which is basically just a different form of bank.

I get that it's convenient. I just mean that if something does go wrong, you were pretty much asking for it.

Wish I had registered a while ago, but for some reason I didn't expect these kinds of rules to be in place. I've been lurking here for months.

This is my 5th post.

Hello all. I've been using bitcoin for about 4 months and have registered here to join Zefir's group buy. As a new user I understand I am required to post 5 times and be logged in for 4 hours before I can post in that thread or send a pm. This is my 4th post

Since nobody replied to my post about cold storage, and I've noticed there are several more people recommending blockchain.info despite the recent attacks, I'd just like to add that if you do use blockchain.info, it would behoove you to enable 2-factor authentication (SMS confirmation texts) and consider using the "disable TOR access" and "restrict IP address" options. It might also be wise to create a new wallet every so often, or to keep small amounts in separate wallets. And of course, if you are going to be using bitcoin, it is absolutely imperative that you use reputable antivirus and antimalware solutions. Your whole life you've been hearing about protecting yourself from hackers and viruses, well now it REALLY matters (not to imply that it didn't before, but you know what I mean). Take the necessary steps, protect yourself. You'll be glad you did later.

After a friend of mine had his blockchain.info wallet broken into (we suspect via a javascript exploit or perhaps an android app on his phone - he was not using 2 factor authentication, although that wouldn't matter if they had stolen his private key before he enabled it anyway) as a part of the greater blockchain.info heist that happened on the 25th (which was discussed here), I elected to move all my BTC out of their web wallet service and set up Armory cold storage on a flash drive. Or as one Reddit user put it, "9 easy steps for people with computer knowledge. 9 giant leaps against mass adoption." I already had the Ubuntu .iso and a flash drive. It took about an hour and I feel a lot safer although this method of signing transactions is perhaps slightly tedious. I'm basically using Armory with an offline version of Brainwallet.org instead of having to install bitcoin-qt and download the blockchain. And as for transaction fees, I usually pay .001 because I don't like waiting around for my transactions to verify. I decided to keep the blockchain.info android app, but I only handle small amounts of BTC with it now.

The cold storage method I used (I didn't write this btw, I just followed the instructions): http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1d26gw/

This is my first post here. I am from /r/bitcoin. I have had no problems whatsoever with Coinbase. They have been nothing but professional with me. I started trading with them in January. I'd rather not state how much I've purchased from them, but I've had no high risk flags, just smooth sailing. I've also made one sale and confirmed that they paid my bank account.

I use a diverse selection of exchanges, as I find that each exchange has its own unique strengths and weakness, some more obvious than others.