Wallet.dat File Extension

[malykii]

Just curious, is there any harm in renaming a backup of the wallet.dat file to something else for security?  For example, I was thinking of removing the file extension and renaming the file to something other than wallet.

Would that cause any corruption with the file?  I know almost all programs wouldn't be impacted by something like this as long as you rename it back to the original format before trying to use it, but I wanted to ask before I did this and caused myself to lose the ability to use the backup.

Sorry if this was asked before, but I couldn't find anything when searching.

[howzar]

If I am not mistaken you can change it to any name whatsoever as long as the '.dat' bit remains the same.

[malykii]

Thank you for the reply.  I figured I would just create a few backups and try for myself, and I found that you can rename it to whatever you want for storage, and then rename it back to wallet.dat when you want to use it.  I tried a test send to another address after renaming it back from "test" without a file extension and it accepted the encrypted key without any issues.

[franky1]

remember wallet.dat contains valuable information and playing too much is risky

i know people that have corrupted their wallets just moving it to a pendrive and unplugging the drive too soon. so be cautious. i reccomend using the dumpprivkey command and making manual copies of your keys and store them separate.

that being said i have seen people keep the name wallet but change the .dat to something else, usually with a reference

EG
personal wallet = wallet.prsn
business wallet = wallet.work
investing wallet = wallet.nvst
spending wallet = wallet.spnd

and they simply change the file type to .dat as they please to be usd in the core program and change it back before then changing one. (but before testing this out. BACKUP ALL privkeys)

i think in the near future bitcoin-core would and most definitely should have a "file -> open" feature inside the program to allow people to choose which wallet to use, instead of having to mess around with moving files in the directory. this will help 'common people'

being fixed to the word wallet.dat, is a security risk as trojans can easily find it. i hope that with a future "file -> open" feature. my wallet can be called anything and stored anywhere, and i can open it.

[malykii]

Yeah, I have already done the multiple copies secured in different locations, call me paranoid, but I just don't like the idea of leaving it as wallet.dat.

In all honesty, I am probably over thinking this too much, but I figured I would ask the community just so I know the dangers if any of this type of practice.

[franky1]

Yeah, I have already done the multiple copies secured in different locations, call me paranoid, but I just don't like the idea of leaving it as wallet.dat.

In all honesty, I am probably over thinking this too much, but I figured I would ask the community just so I know the dangers if any of this type of practice.

people would only call you paranoid if you were doing all of this effort just to secure enough bitcoin for a can of pepsi. but when it comes to more then a weeks, months, years salary. then its worth the effort

[malykii]

I agree.  This is just me thinking long term.  I am in far enough to where I need to make sure I have secured what I have because it would sting quite a bit to have to start all over.  I have only used what I know I can lose, but it gets to a certain point where you see something with a lot of potential, and I don't want to lose it over a simple mistake.

[shorena]

I agree.  This is just me thinking long term.  I am in far enough to where I need to make sure I have secured what I have because it would sting quite a bit to have to start all over.  I have only used what I know I can lose, but it gets to a certain point where you see something with a lot of potential, and I don't want to lose it over a simple mistake.

wallet.dat is just a name and changes no content. You can name that file virus.exe and it would not make a difference. On the other hand it will not offer any kind of protection. Just a little obscurity. Lets say someone gets your harddrive and scans for the kinky stuff, if they're smart they will not scan for *.dat *.asc *.TrueCrypt, but for fileheaders. So renaming does nothing either way. Afaik windows is the only OS that cares about the 3 letters after the dot anyway. Yep -just tested it- Linux does not care, and finds the correct programm even without an ending.

[monsterbitty]

If you are asking about renaming the file, yes you can rename it to anything you want. Do not rename the extension, just rename the wallet, it would be fine.

[DannyHamilton]

As shorena points out, renaming the file does not increase security at all.

If you want to rename it for the purposes of making it easier for you to keep track of things, such as calling the backup that was created on May 5th wallet.20140505, go ahead.

If you are renaming it for increased security, then you're creating a false sense of security for your self. (sort of like closing your eyes so nobody can see you).

[malykii]

Ha, fair enough.  So basically, if I have the file exposed on a computer an intelligent person would be able to scan for it.

So, if I were to really be trying to create a bubble around the file I would need to put it into an encrypted container such as Truecrypt.  Otherwise, I am just wasting my time renaming it.

Correct?

I appreciate the responses so far.

[Light]

As long as you have encrypted it via Qt you should be fine - there's no need to encrypt it twice unless you're uber paranoid. Just make sure your password has sufficient entropy to avoid bruteforce attacks and you should be fine.

[Dabs]

Version 0.9.0 and higher support a -wallet command where you can specify what wallet to use, and if it does not exist, it will create a new wallet.

What I have done is created separate shortcuts that specify different wallets. You may have to do a -rescan every now and then if transactions from different wallets happen at the same time.

[cp1]

Not only does it not increase security, but renaming it to cat.gif increases the likelyhood that you'll lose it, accidentally delete it, forget it's on a USB drive and give it to someone else, etc.