How to create a secure Bitcoin Vanity Paper Wallet on Ubuntu live USB & Windows

[Chris!]

Edit for my future reference or anyone else that would like a guide on how to make a secure vanity wallet or paper wallet on Windows and using a Ubuntu Live USB/CD.

1. Go on bitaddress.org offline, on a Ubuntu live USB
2. Generate as many single addresses as you want
3. Convert to Hex (wallet details on bitaddress.org)
4. Make a list of hex addresses + private keys and print it out (don't save it on USB. That's going to run on Windows again)
5. Shut down. Boot up windows
6. Start > Run > Cmd
7. Drag over vanitygen64 to cmd (enter) drag over vanity address again (space) -v -P (hex pub key) 1xxx (whatever you want as your vanity) (enter)
8. Copy partial private key down on USB
9. Shut down windows - Boot up Ubuntu Live USB
10. Open bitaddress again and go to vanity address and put in the private key (from step 4) and the partial private key. This should give you the vanity address that was calculated on vanitygen. If not you did something wrong.
11. Print out the wallet details page (to have the QR codes)
12. Import the public address into your favourite wallet.

Optional: Import the private key. If you don't it's a paper wallet, if you do it's a hot wallet.

Original post
-------------------------

First thing's first: I don't really understand code. I'll probably need this fairly dumbed down. Example: Type this.. hit enter.. type this, this, this hit enter and you're good to go!)

I'm trying to make a secure vanity address and/or a secure paper wallet vanity address. I've found a few guides on how to get vanitygen to work on Linux (specifically Ubuntu 14.04.3) but I'm using a live USB.

The location of the vanitygen-master would be file:///cdrom/vanitygen-master

When I type this in Terminal it can't find it. Am I doing something wrong? Is this not possible from a live USB?

So far I've tried:

File:///cdrom/vanitygen-master

cdrom/vanitygen-master

cdrom/vanitygen-master/vanitygen-master

Cd/vanitygen-master

File:///cd/vanitygen-master


What am I doing wrong (if this is possible)? Thanks!

[OgNasty]

https://nastyfans.org/download/oclvanitygen.txt

#!/bin/sh

# 2015-10-09
#
# This is the procedure to get oclvanitygen running with AMD Raedon 7xxx
# on a fresh install of Ubuntu 64-bit. (tested with Ubuntu 12.04 and 14.04)

# install tools, dependencies and driver
sudo add-apt-repository "deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu $(lsb_release -sc) restricted"
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential git libssl-dev libpcre3-dev opencl-headers fglrx fglrx-dev
sudo env DISPLAY=:0.0 aticonfig --adapter=all --initial
sudo reboot

# get source and compile oclvanitygen
git clone https://github.com/samr7/vanitygen.git
cd vanitygen
wget https://nastyfans.org/download/patch-oclvanitygen-amd.diff
patch -p1 < patch-oclvanitygen-amd.diff
wget https://nastyfans.org/download/AMD-APP-SDK-v2.7-lib-lnx64.tar.gz
mkdir sdklib
tar -xzvf AMD-APP-SDK-v2.7-lib-lnx64.tar.gz -C sdklib
make oclvanitygen

# run oclvanitygen (from inside vanitygen directory)
env LD_LIBRARY_PATH=./sdklib ./oclvanitygen -D 0:0 -k 1Nasty

[Chris!]

  I'm sure that's a very very helpful post but I just don't understand what I should type to be honest. Sorry. I know it's probably a really dumb question. Pretend I'm 6 years old

IIRC there are no precompiled linux versions of vanitygen, so you would need to compile it yourself every single time in order to use it on the live usb.

Reserving this spot while I type up detailed instructions.

Thanks! Yes I understand I would have to compile it myself each time. I'll always have this thread to come back to haha!

[achow101]

IIRC there are no precompiled linux versions of vanitygen, so you would need to compile it yourself every single time in order to use it on the live usb.

Type these into terminal to build

Code:

sudo apt-get install build-essential git libssl-dev libpcre3-dev
git clone https://github.com/samr7/vanitygen.git
cd vanitygen
make

In the terminal, in the vanitygen's directory, run it as you normally would from the command line.

AFAIK this will not compile the gpu accelerated versions, so you will need to get the drivers and libraries for that, but it is also card specific, so it depends on your computer.

[Chris!]

IIRC there are no precompiled linux versions of vanitygen, so you would need to compile it yourself every single time in order to use it on the live usb.

Type these into terminal to build

Code:

sudo apt-get install build-essential git libssl-dev libpcre3-dev
git clone https://github.com/samr7/vanitygen.git
cd vanitygen
make

In the terminal, in the vanitygen's directory, run it as you normally would from the command line.

AFAIK this will not compile the gpu accelerated versions, so you will need to get the drivers and libraries for that, but it is also card specific, so it depends on your computer.

I got this: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

E: unable to locate package clone
E: Unable to locate package https

And a few others it couldn't locate

Edit: Also please note I'm not connected to the internet. I don't know if this will make a difference. I just thought I'd mention this because I see the github link (which is where I got vanitygen from in the first place).

[achow101]

IIRC there are no precompiled linux versions of vanitygen, so you would need to compile it yourself every single time in order to use it on the live usb.

Type these into terminal to build

Code:

sudo apt-get install build-essential git libssl-dev libpcre3-dev
git clone https://github.com/samr7/vanitygen.git
cd vanitygen
make

In the terminal, in the vanitygen's directory, run it as you normally would from the command line.

AFAIK this will not compile the gpu accelerated versions, so you will need to get the drivers and libraries for that, but it is also card specific, so it depends on your computer.

I got this: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

E: unable to locate package clone
E: Unable to locate package https

And a few others it couldn't locate

Edit: Also please note I'm not connected to the internet. I don't know if this will make a difference. I just thought I'd mention this because I see the github link (which is where I got vanitygen from in the first place).

You need to be connected to the internet to set this up. I suppose you can download the stuff from github and the offline packages you need for installing, but that will be harder to do.

[lihuajkl]

IIRC there are no precompiled linux versions of vanitygen, so you would need to compile it yourself every single time in order to use it on the live usb.

Type these into terminal to build

Code:

sudo apt-get install build-essential git libssl-dev libpcre3-dev
git clone https://github.com/samr7/vanitygen.git
cd vanitygen
make

In the terminal, in the vanitygen's directory, run it as you normally would from the command line.

AFAIK this will not compile the gpu accelerated versions, so you will need to get the drivers and libraries for that, but it is also card specific, so it depends on your computer.

I got this: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

E: unable to locate package clone
E: Unable to locate package https

And a few others it couldn't locate

Edit: Also please note I'm not connected to the internet. I don't know if this will make a difference. I just thought I'd mention this because I see the github link (which is where I got vanitygen from in the first place).

You need to be connected to the internet to set this up. I suppose you can download the stuff from github and the offline packages you need for installing, but that will be harder to do.

This is too complicated for the normal ppl. Why not buy one from here https://bitcoinpaperwallet.com/ ?

[Chris!]

IIRC there are no precompiled linux versions of vanitygen, so you would need to compile it yourself every single time in order to use it on the live usb.

Type these into terminal to build

Code:

sudo apt-get install build-essential git libssl-dev libpcre3-dev
git clone https://github.com/samr7/vanitygen.git
cd vanitygen
make

In the terminal, in the vanitygen's directory, run it as you normally would from the command line.

AFAIK this will not compile the gpu accelerated versions, so you will need to get the drivers and libraries for that, but it is also card specific, so it depends on your computer.

I got this: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.

E: unable to locate package clone
E: Unable to locate package https

And a few others it couldn't locate

Edit: Also please note I'm not connected to the internet. I don't know if this will make a difference. I just thought I'd mention this because I see the github link (which is where I got vanitygen from in the first place).

You need to be connected to the internet to set this up. I suppose you can download the stuff from github and the offline packages you need for installing, but that will be harder to do.

This is too complicated for the normal ppl. Why not buy one from here https://bitcoinpaperwallet.com/ ?

Why not just store all my Bitcoins on blockchain.info? I don't want anyone else to have access to my private keys.

I'll have to poke around with this later and see what we can do...

[shorena]

-snip-
Why not just store all my Bitcoins on blockchain.info? I don't want anyone else to have access to my private keys.

I'll have to poke around with this later and see what we can do...

Vanity addresses can be created without anyone else knowing your private key while at the same time allowing someone else to do the majority of the work. Its called split key vanity gen. Let me know what prefix you want for the address and I can make you an offer.

[Chris!]

-snip-
Why not just store all my Bitcoins on blockchain.info? I don't want anyone else to have access to my private keys.

I'll have to poke around with this later and see what we can do...

Vanity addresses can be created without anyone else knowing your private key while at the same time allowing someone else to do the majority of the work. Its called split key vanity gen. Let me know what prefix you want for the address and I can make you an offer.

*mind blown*

How does that work exactly? The prefix I'd want is Chris.

Edit: Wow. I've been going about this all wrong. I could simply make a vanity address on vanitygen on Windows then crack open bitaddress on Ubuntu Live USB. Right?! Oh Shorena... What would I do without you?

Edit2: OK so I made my vanity address... But I'm a little confused as to what to do with it on bitaddress.org. Do I punch in The vanity address at all? Or the private key for the vanity address + the private key calculated on bitaddress.org? Neither seem to give me a new vanity address.

P.s. The random smelly German oil is on it's way!  

[shorena]

-snip-
Why not just store all my Bitcoins on blockchain.info? I don't want anyone else to have access to my private keys.

I'll have to poke around with this later and see what we can do...

Vanity addresses can be created without anyone else knowing your private key while at the same time allowing someone else to do the majority of the work. Its called split key vanity gen. Let me know what prefix you want for the address and I can make you an offer.

*mind blown*

How does that work exactly? The prefix I'd want is Chris.

Edit: Wow. I've been going about this all wrong. I could simply make a vanity address on vanitygen on Windows then crack open bitaddress on Ubuntu Live USB. Right?! Oh Shorena... What would I do without you?

Edit2: OK so I made my vanity address... But I'm a little confused as to what to do with it on bitaddress.org. Do I punch in The vanity address at all? Or the private key for the vanity address + the private key calculated on bitaddress.org? Neither seem to give me a new vanity address.

P.s. The random smelly German oil is on it's way!  

I hope it smells good.

1Chris is relativly easy. I have a quick how to in my thread -> https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1257817.0

If you want, I can do the repfix for a donation.

[Chris!]

-snip-
Why not just store all my Bitcoins on blockchain.info? I don't want anyone else to have access to my private keys.

I'll have to poke around with this later and see what we can do...

Vanity addresses can be created without anyone else knowing your private key while at the same time allowing someone else to do the majority of the work. Its called split key vanity gen. Let me know what prefix you want for the address and I can make you an offer.

*mind blown*

How does that work exactly? The prefix I'd want is Chris.

Edit: Wow. I've been going about this all wrong. I could simply make a vanity address on vanitygen on Windows then crack open bitaddress on Ubuntu Live USB. Right?! Oh Shorena... What would I do without you?

Edit2: OK so I made my vanity address... But I'm a little confused as to what to do with it on bitaddress.org. Do I punch in The vanity address at all? Or the private key for the vanity address + the private key calculated on bitaddress.org? Neither seem to give me a new vanity address.

P.s. The random smelly German oil is on it's way!  

I hope it smells good.

1Chris is relativly easy. I have a quick how to in my thread -> https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1257817.0

If you want, I can do the repfix for a donation.

Oh I've already calculated my address with 1Chris. I'm just trying to figure out how I go ahead and "blend" the two together on bitaddress (or however you word that).

[shorena]

Did you run vanitygen with the pubkey option -P or without (just 1Chris)?

If you ran it without -P you can just import the private key into your wallet.

If you ran it with -P you need to conver the private key from vanitygen its hex version. You can do this via bitaddress with the "Wallet Details" options. Once you have both private keys in hex format you go to "Vanity Wallet" and put them in the fields for Step 2. Select add and click Calculate. The private key you get can be imported in your wallet.

[Chris!]

Did you run vanitygen with the pubkey option -P or without (just 1Chris)?

If you ran it without -P you can just import the private key into your wallet.

If you ran it with -P you need to conver the private key from vanitygen its hex version. You can do this via bitaddress with the "Wallet Details" options. Once you have both private keys in hex format you go to "Vanity Wallet" and put them in the fields for Step 2. Select add and click Calculate. The private key you get can be imported in your wallet.

Oh I ran it without -P... I didn't know that's how you did it. Rather than importing the key I made on Windows (not too secure) I'll look into the other method. Thank you very much!

Off topic: The oil came in today and my wife loves it. Also got a freebie from them that smells like orange. She seems to like that one too! Woohoo! "It smells like vitamin C tablets!" lol.

[shorena]

Did you run vanitygen with the pubkey option -P or without (just 1Chris)?

If you ran it without -P you can just import the private key into your wallet.

If you ran it with -P you need to conver the private key from vanitygen its hex version. You can do this via bitaddress with the "Wallet Details" options. Once you have both private keys in hex format you go to "Vanity Wallet" and put them in the fields for Step 2. Select add and click Calculate. The private key you get can be imported in your wallet.

Oh I ran it without -P... I didn't know that's how you did it. Rather than importing the key I made on Windows (not too secure) I'll look into the other method. Thank you very much!

If you do it yourself its perfectly fine to run it without -P the option is just to allow someone else to do the work for you without them knowing the final private key. If you do the work on your own machine its fine to run it just with the prefix you want.

If you dont trust the machine you can do split key vanity over two machines you own, but its probably better to make sure you can trust your own computer as much as possible.

Off topic: The oil came in today and my wife loves it. Also got a freebie from them that smells like orange. She seems to like that one too! Woohoo! "It smells like vitamin C tablets!" lol.

lol, as long as she enjoys it I guess

[Chris!]

I successfully made my first few bitcoin paper wallets! Updated OP to show my method.

I'll edit the title so people can search it easily.

1Chris4GEoLLjdh4juFXGwY7snaazuxvKb

The snaaz is because I'm snazzy (I can only assume )

[LoyceV]

Google brought me to this old topic. I was looking for a method to import a vanity address into a paper wallet printed by bitaddress.org (but I didn't find what I was looking for).
I'd like to combine two posts into one new post:

1. Go on bitaddress.org offline, on a Ubuntu live USB
11. Print out the wallet details page (to have the QR codes)

This gives you a simple (but ugly) printed page.

This is too complicated for the normal ppl. Why not buy one from here https://bitcoinpaperwallet.com/ ?

I wouldn't say "buy", as the site doesn't sell paper wallets (they do sell related items though). Bitcoinpaperwallet.com is the easiest site I've found to print a vanity address into a paper wallet that looks nice.
Bitaddress.org can print good looking (small) paper wallets, but it doesn't give the option to import a private key. Bitcoinpaperwallet.com makes this possible. The paper wallets are quite large though.

Bitaddress.org produces this (no vanity, fold into 3 layers, then use tape or laminate it):


Bitcoinpaperwallet.com produces this (vanity possible, fold the right side into 3 layers):


Not only does it look better than just printing the overview-page from bitaddress, it's also not possible to copy the private key for anybody who sees the paper without leaving evidence.

[Chris!]

Google brought me to this old topic. I was looking for a method to import a vanity address into a paper wallet printed by bitaddress.org (but I didn't find what I was looking for).

Thanks for the post! That's true it does look better. I wasn't to concerned about someone finding this hidden in my house (for 2 reasons, I don't have anyone over that I don't trust and I know most people wouldn't know what they were looking at anyways) but for people who are,this would be a great option. I this something that can be don offline though? I was trying to do this as securely as possible.

[LoyceV]

I this something that can be don offline though? I was trying to do this as securely as possible.

You can do it offline, from a LIVE Linux CD that hopefully recognizes your dump printer that connects with a cable and doesn't save the pages in its memory.

[Chris!]

I this something that can be don offline though? I was trying to do this as securely as possible.

You can do it offline, from a LIVE Linux CD that hopefully recognizes your dump printer that connects with a cable and doesn't save the pages in its memory.

Very nice. Thanks for the addition! I wasn't able to find anything about it when I Googled back in the day so that's why I set out to figure it out. I store 99% of my bitcoins on paper wallets because I'm paranoid ever since I lost 0.05BTC from Blockchain.info when I just started out with bitcoins.