noob need guidance

[shorena]

thanks guys/gals
Ill look into the litewallet.
I'm also looking at a couple raspberry pi's powered usb hub some block erupters to get off the ground.
Would I have to change wallets?

If you are mining with a pool the wallet you use does not matter. If you plan to mine alone you will need a full node (such as bitcoin core). Keep in mind though that block erupters cost more in electricity than they are able to mine in bitcoin. As long as you consider mining with them as a hobby to learn more that should be fine as the energy consumption is very low. If your plan was to earn money by mining with them the best way would be to resell them ASAP before their value lowers even further.

[bitfancier]

Sorry for this offtop but I'm a newbie too and before I start interacting with bitcoin I'd like to know how to prepare my devices for this kind of stuff generally (min. charasteristics of pc/laptop, viruses protection and so on). Is there a special topic or useful links or anything?.. 

Thanks

[shorena]

Sorry for this offtop

Its usually fine in beginners and help for some reason, just dont make it habit when posting on the rest of the board.

but I'm a newbie too

Welcome.

and before I start interacting with bitcoin I'd like to know how to prepare my devices for this kind of stuff generally (min. charasteristics of pc/laptop, viruses protection and so on). Is there a special topic or useful links or anything?.. 

Thanks

I have very old laptops (>7 years) I use as offline systems. As long as you dont use a heavy wallet like e.g. Armory or bitcoin core you should be fine even with older hardware. Old desktop machines (~5 years old) are perfectly fine to run bitcoin core. There are wallets for phones and online wallets that can be used on any system that you could use to post here. In short the hardware of the machine you are using should not be an issue.

Same goes for operation systems. There are wallets for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS and probably other less common operation systems.

Viruses, Trojan Horses, Keylogger and malware in general is a risk factor and considering that you plan to store money on your computer you are now a juicier target. Anti Virus Software can only detect what is already known, but it does never hurt to keep it running and most importantly updated.

More important IMHO is to rethink your behaviour. Do you download software just to try it out? If you do so, do you check its source and whether it was manipulated? Do you keep the software you use updated?  Browsers and plug-ins mainly, but also other software that can access the internet. Are the passwords you use unique and strong enough? Do you have a habit of creating (offline) backups of critical files?

Not all of these points are important if you just plan to get your feet wet with a fraction of a bitcoin, but incorporating these practices will help you, not only with bitcoin.

[Amph]

Sorry for this offtop but I'm a newbie too and before I start interacting with bitcoin I'd like to know how to prepare my devices for this kind of stuff generally (min. charasteristics of pc/laptop, viruses protection and so on). Is there a special topic or useful links or anything?.. 

Thanks

you can use a old pc with a good hd to sync fast, and dedicate that pc only to bitcoin, so no surfing no installing anything ecc...just bitcoin client, add malwarebyte anti-malware for protection

[ChuckBuck]

I'd highly recommend to cancel or exit out of Bitcoin Core and download a more lighter weight wallet like Electrum instead.

With Electrum, you don't have to download the entire Blockchain for hours(days), but it functions pretty much the same.

i don't agree, core is more simple and intuitive for beginners, while remaining secure

you just need a ssd to download the blockchain faster(a 850 pro can dl the whole blockchain in 45 min or less than an hour)

Normally, I'd agree with you because I personally have and use Bitcoin Core.

But we're talking about a Noob here, who probably has small amounts, maybe even faucets amounts.

Does it make sense to upgrade to a SSD and download the Blockchain for even 45 minutes for like a few satoshis?

Shit, if I had 0.05 BTC or whatever I'd be turned off by the whole process.

[bitfancier]

Sorry for this offtop

Its usually fine in beginners and help for some reason, just dont make it habit when posting on the rest of the board.

but I'm a newbie too

Welcome.

and before I start interacting with bitcoin I'd like to know how to prepare my devices for this kind of stuff generally (min. charasteristics of pc/laptop, viruses protection and so on). Is there a special topic or useful links or anything?.. 

Thanks

I have very old laptops (>7 years) I use as offline systems. As long as you dont use a heavy wallet like e.g. Armory or bitcoin core you should be fine even with older hardware. Old desktop machines (~5 years old) are perfectly fine to run bitcoin core. There are wallets for phones and online wallets that can be used on any system that you could use to post here. In short the hardware of the machine you are using should not be an issue.

Same goes for operation systems. There are wallets for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS and probably other less common operation systems.

Viruses, Trojan Horses, Keylogger and malware in general is a risk factor and considering that you plan to store money on your computer you are now a juicier target. Anti Virus Software can only detect what is already known, but it does never hurt to keep it running and most importantly updated.

More important IMHO is to rethink your behaviour. Do you download software just to try it out? If you do so, do you check its source and whether it was manipulated? Do you keep the software you use updated?  Browsers and plug-ins mainly, but also other software that can access the internet. Are the passwords you use unique and strong enough? Do you have a habit of creating (offline) backups of critical files?

Not all of these points are important if you just plan to get your feet wet with a fraction of a bitcoin, but incorporating these practices will help you, not only with bitcoin.

Oh thank you very much, your advice is incredibly helpful, now I know I have to check so much software indeed I'm gonna go step by step following your post.

Sorry for this offtop but I'm a newbie too and before I start interacting with bitcoin I'd like to know how to prepare my devices for this kind of stuff generally (min. charasteristics of pc/laptop, viruses protection and so on). Is there a special topic or useful links or anything?.. 

Thanks

you can use a old pc with a good hd to sync fast, and dedicate that pc only to bitcoin, so no surfing no installing anything ecc...just bitcoin client, add malwarebyte anti-malware for protection

That's exactly what I thought too! I have an old Asus netbook and there's some kind of huge flash disk in it instead of hdd so I guess it should be faster. Thank you!

[traderbit]

i am new to bitcoin.
I set up on old hp.I downloaded bitcoin core,it runs my wallet but says its out of sync on balances/transactions.
What to do?

I also highly recommend online Wallet blockchain.info
Welcome to the forum.  There is certainly tons of information in the thousands of threads here.

[notlist3d]

Sorry for this offtop but I'm a newbie too and before I start interacting with bitcoin I'd like to know how to prepare my devices for this kind of stuff generally (min. charasteristics of pc/laptop, viruses protection and so on). Is there a special topic or useful links or anything?.. 

Thanks

I will go a little deeper to explain the hot and cold wallets.

You will want to keep small amounts easy to get to in online, or on your PC.  The amount you do is really dependent on how much you spend.  I would say keep a week spending.

And this is most important look into cold wallets.  Here you will want to store the majority of your BTC.  Keep it offline on a usb or paper wallet.  Treat it like gold.  If you are able to have a computer you use for it that you don't surf the internet with.  Transfer money from it as needed. (The less you go to it the better).

Using these wallets proper you can reduce risk off a virus ruining your crypto worth.

[bitfancier]

Sorry for this offtop but I'm a newbie too and before I start interacting with bitcoin I'd like to know how to prepare my devices for this kind of stuff generally (min. charasteristics of pc/laptop, viruses protection and so on). Is there a special topic or useful links or anything?.. 

Thanks

I will go a little deeper to explain the hot and cold wallets.

You will want to keep small amounts easy to get to in online, or on your PC.  The amount you do is really dependent on how much you spend.  I would say keep a week spending.

And this is most important look into cold wallets.  Here you will want to store the majority of your BTC.  Keep it offline on a usb or paper wallet.  Treat it like gold.  If you are able to have a computer you use for it that you don't surf the internet with.  Transfer money from it as needed. (The less you go to it the better).

Using these wallets proper you can reduce risk off a virus ruining your crypto worth.

I've heard something about it already , thanks for uncovering the idea

Now I'm gonna go hammer tons of threads 

[dilesmavis]

I purchased an Antminer S3,and I was able to get LuCI loaded up the first time I connected.I changed the ip addy and I am using that Ip to try to get back in to get the machine up and running.I have watched videos,reset my modem,router restarted all equipment.Now I have all this equipment just sitting with a "page will not Load screen"
What do I do?