I think I got it

[MoonShadow]

Do not use online wallets as your main wallet, You should always keep your main wallet offline,

Why? Provided that you can export and backup the private keys, wouldn't an online wallet (like blockchain.info/wallet or strongcoin.com) be just as safe?

The issue is that (generally speaking) online wallets keep the private keys on the server.  Even if the operator of the site (and all his employees) are trustworthy, if the server is hacked you could stand to lose everything that you have in the online wallet.  Online wallets certainly have their place, think of them as mini-Paypals, but would you keep your life's savings in Paypal even if you trusted them?  There is a precident as well, two major online wallet services have been hacked, and also Mt.Gox has been compromised once.  The more money that they concentrate, the tastier the hack target that they become.  What sum that you may have in your personally operated client wallet generally isn't worth the efforts, if they know that you have anything at all.  Mind you, some of them have learned their lesson, and have become relatively hard targets, but that doesn't mean it's impossible.  It is impossible to steal your bitcoins from your not running, not online and encrypted wallet.dat file.

That said, I don't entirely take my own advice here, as I have the majority of my funds in a BitcoinSpinner account attached to my android cell phone.  But the cavet there is that BitcoinSpinner uses a 'split wallet' design that keeps the actual private keys on my cell phone.  The risk for me, then, is the loss or destruction of my cell phone/memory card.

Really, the matter comes down to risk versus convience.  If your only dealing with a couple hundred dollars worth of bitcoins, and can afford to risk it, then an online wallet service is very fast and convient; like modern banking.  Often easier than Paypal.  But if you start to accumulate a very large value in that online account, perhaps a more secure 'savings account' is justified.  Either way, if something bad happens to the online service and you lose your shirt, don't blame bitcoin.

[MoonShadow]

Make backups everyday!

That is entirely not necessary for bitcoin.  Certainly once a week is more than enough.  I use Time Machine and don't even have to think about it, but if you're doing manual backups of the wallet.dat file the standard client creates 100 private keys.  So if you backup right after starting up, setting up, and shutting down the client for the first time; the client can completely recover from a catastrophic event as long as you have not exceeded 100 transactions since last backup.  You can also force the client to create more, and have mine set to 2000; which makes for a huge wallet.dat file but my disk drive is fat.

[themanone]

Okay.  So its safe to say tomorrow can I can goto CVS, use bitinstant to have money transferred to MtGox.  Then buy bitcoins on the market, then transfer them to my wallet in a fairly short amount of time (1 day)?

Thanks

[Rotsor]

... wouldn't an online wallet (like blockchain.info/wallet or strongcoin.com) be just as safe?

The issue is that (generally speaking) online wallets keep the private keys on the server.  

The problem with this statement is that neither blockchain.info nor strongcoin.com seem to do that.

...it's true that Mt.Gox doesn't wait for confirms...

It's ... not a security vulnerability for Mt.Gox.

Wrong. Allowing PK import without waiting for confirmations on the emptying transaction carries the same risk as acceptance of any 0-confirmation transactions.

...If you have the foresight to buy a private key...

This doesn't make much sense either. The PK purchase is being advertised as instant. You don't need any foresight for that.

[Rotsor]

Okay.  So its safe to say tomorrow can I can goto CVS, use bitinstant to have money transferred to MtGox.  Then buy bitcoins on the market, then transfer them to my wallet in a fairly short amount of time (1 day)?

Thanks

Yes, bitinstant tries to be, well, almost instant (it doesn't always succeed though ). It advertises expected transfer time on the order of minutes. You can do an instant trade on Mt.Gox as well, and an instant transfer of bitcoins to your wallet. So the whole thing should take minutes.

[MoonShadow]

... wouldn't an online wallet (like blockchain.info/wallet or strongcoin.com) be just as safe?

The issue is that (generally speaking) online wallets keep the private keys on the server.  

The problem with this statement is that neither blockchain.info nor strongcoin.com seem to do that.

That may be true, but make certain.

...it's true that Mt.Gox doesn't wait for confirms...

It's ... not a security vulnerability for Mt.Gox.

Wrong. Allowing PK import without waiting for confirmations on the emptying transaction carries the same risk as acceptance of any 0-confirmation transactions.

Not for Mt.Gox.  Whether they create a transaction to empty the address or not, the risk is with you, not them.  If you put funds into Mt.Gox via a compromised private key, and then that address gets raped, it's you who loses money, not MT.Gox.  Sure you can get funds in fast in order to make a quick trade, but you can't also get the dollars out within an hour.

...If you have the foresight to buy a private key...

This doesn't make much sense either. The PK purchase is being advertised as instant. You don't need any foresight for that.

Perhaps you need the wisdom not to bite?

[Rotsor]

Oh, it turns out Mt.Gox does not accept PKs without confirmations. The argument is in vain, lol.

[themanone]

Thank you.  Well I messed it up, kept typing in the wrong pass to many ties and got blocked for 24 hours on mtgox! >:| Is bitstamp just as good and fast because I need to do it by noon EST tommrow?

Thanks