hackers and Multiple wallets

[papitohead]

Very new to this and was reading that there were a couple of hacks short time ago and is recommended to  keep your bitcoins in offline computer. Here is my problem, a friend told me about bitcoin and I did open a wallet but it has been a few months and I lost where I stored my wallet password. I want to get going now and I see that I can have multiple wallets and of course, all but one offline. Only one to wheel and deal. Once I load some valuable coins then I will transfer to my offline wallets.

Do I need to download the software for creating wallets each time I create a wallet? If not, then how do I go to do my wallets.

[deepceleron]

Most users serious about Bitcoin use the Bitcoin-Qt reference client on their own computers. The wallet itself can be encrypted, so even your average trojan-horse or virus can't get to the bitcoins.

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Getting_started_installing_bitcoin-qt

It takes about a day of being left open before it has synced with other Bitcoins on the p2p network.

It is possible to create an address that has never been stored on a computer, so that you can send your long-term savings to a "paper-wallet". https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=361092

If you are using a web wallet service, basically you are trusting someone else to hold your money, and exposing your account there to every hacker on the internet that can steal a password.

[papitohead]

I have read your message three times ( remember I am a newbie ) and still am in a cloud some what. In plain English, I can have a wallet that would be in a computer which I would only connect to the internet so i can transfer from my active wallet then disconnect it again after the transfer has been finished. This I think I understand a great % of it.

In my active computer I have installed the walled which I lost the password I created months ago. How can I create another? Do I need to download the same program again?

[sealberrder]

In my active computer I have installed the walled which I lost the password I created months ago. How can I create another? Do I need to download the same program again?

You need to find wallet.dat and delete this file (only if you have 0 BTC there!)

[deepceleron]

Have you ever received bitcoins, or did you just install the software? That is the first question you should answer before proceeding, you do not want to lose previously received bitcoins by making an error. The wallet data stored on your computer is the only way that you can spend bitcoins you previously received.

You don't describe which wallet software you installed, but whatever it is, the software itself should be upgraded to the latest version if it is several months old or more.

Bitcoin-Qt wallet software does not remove a user's wallet data file even when it is uninstalled and reinstalled. If you start it up again, you will see the same addresses and be prompted for the same forgotten password. You will need to manually delete (or rename) the wallet.dat file in order for the software to create a new blank wallet. https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Data_directory

Other wallet software such as Electrum will store the wallet data in different locations.

Before you worry about hackers and secure storage and whether you want a second computer just for Bitcoin, you should simply familiarize yourself with the Bitcoin wallet software.

[papitohead]

What I used was Bitcoin-QT. My friend sent me a small fraction of bitcoin to test it and then I sent it back which worked fine. So this wallet is empty.

So all I have to do is delete the wallet.dat file and dl again and start all new. For now I will not need the treasure wallet because I have nothing yet, but once I get going I would like to buy to invest and then is when that will come about. I did read about having a paper wallet you mentioned and will have to read more of it. I even thought of just dl the bitcoin-qt again but in an external drive and that way will not need a computer to have  it sit.

[deepceleron]

What I used was Bitcoin-QT. My friend sent me a small fraction of bitcoin to test it and then I sent it back which worked fine. So this wallet is empty.

So all I have to do is delete the wallet.dat file and dl again and start all new. For now I will not need the treasure wallet because I have nothing yet, but once I get going I would like to buy to invest and then is when that will come about. I did read about having a paper wallet you mentioned and will have to read more of it. I even thought of just dl the bitcoin-qt again but in an external drive and that way will not need a computer to have  it sit.

Bitcoin-Qt stores the wallet and blockchain in the default user location regardless of where you install the program. You would need to use the -datadir command-line option to specify a different location, however, it sounds like you would do best to install the software in the default location and leave it alone. Simply back up your wallet using the file menu option after you have encrypted it, and before receiving any significant Bitcoin amounts.

[papitohead]

Ok, I will do one step at the time. I will work on getting rid of the one I have now so I can create another one and after I buy small $ to test, then by that time I should have a better knowledge of how to do the things I  want.

One final question is, I can copy and paste the address of my wallet (the long code) and the password and then print and save a hard copy in case the computer goes bad then I should be able in another computer to open the account?

[deepceleron]

Ok, I will do one step at the time. I will work on getting rid of the one I have now so I can create another one and after I buy small $ to test, then by that time I should have a better knowledge of how to do the things I  want.

One final question is, I can copy and paste the address of my wallet (the long code) and the password and then print and save a hard copy in case the computer goes bad then I should be able in another computer to open the account?

No. The password only protects against unauthorized access to your wallet. The wallet contains many addresses and private keys that are not shown to you, a backup of the wallet through the user interface is required.

Electrum, a different wallet software, uses deterministic wallets, where all the addresses are based on an initial seed, and the wallet can be recreated after storing this seed offline (which is presented as a long string of words when you set up the software).

[papitohead]

Well, that chages a few things then. I will just to the deleting of the .dat file and work on my new one. I appreciate you help. I will be reading more about bitcoin processes and will probably will have future questions but with a better background in me.

Thank you very much my friend!!!

[trynmpo]

Thanks for sharing