New to Bitcoin, help with wallet program?

[DannyHamilton]

How I came to try to use Bitcoin was I had an internet service I wanted to pay for . . . I went to their page and just seen the guide saying I would need a wallet to get started . . .

 
Their page? Does that mean a guide page about bitcoin at the internet service?  Or does it mean bitcoin.org, weusecoins.com, or some other page created by a bitcoin user?

. . . to go about buying a Bitcoin looked a bit like a stock exchange . . .

Well, with bitcoin being a currency, it probably looked more like a currency exchange, but I see your point.

I fell back to what I know EBAY.

I don't know what you paid, but bitcoins on Ebay can be a bit expensive at times.  In the future you may want to look into localbitcoins.com.  Depending on where you live, they may be able to help you find someone local who is willing to exchange bitcoins for local currency in person.  You could also look into BitInstant.com although they are a bit limited as to which countries they operate in. You can look at the following page to get an idea for approximately what the current exchange rate is between bitcoin and your favorite currency: http://bitcoincharts.com/markets/currencies/

I have appreciated all the replies, especially with the fact that it all seems very technical to me and above my head.

Like with any public forum, you can encounter some pretty rude, and/or unhelpful people here, but you'll find that many of the people here sincerely want bitcoin to succeed on a global scale as a mainstream currency.  Because of this, there are some very intelligent, and highly educated people here who are very willing to share their expertise and assist you in learning as much as you'd like to know about bitcoin.

[Groovegal]

I got the wallet program from weusecoins.com

I am getting there currently 2676 blocks remaining I will soon be able to utilise my Bitcoin

I paid 12.99 on ebay, I was willing to do that to get started but in future would look to learn more about how to use the currency. 

I am intrigued

[DannyHamilton]

I got the wallet program from weusecoins.com . . .

I assume you mean from this page:
http://www.weusecoins.com/getting-started.php

I really wish they'd update that page to at least include Electrum and blockchain.info in the "Step 1 - Get A Wallet" section.  Even better if they'd explain the benefits of these other wallets.

[DannyHamilton]

I really wish they'd update that page to at least include Electrum and blockchain.info . . .

. . .The only benefits of that is not waiting for the blockchain . . .

Not true.  Electrum has the added benefit of providing a "Deterministic" wallet.  Increasing the diversity of clients being used also decreases the chances of a weakness/flaw in one client being exploited to affect the entire network.

blockchain.info has improved usability since it isn't tied to a single computer, and provides useful and easy to use tools to backup your wallet and receive alerts.

[DannyHamilton]

- A bunch of ranting about alternate wallets removed for bevity -

All wallets (including the reference client Bitcoin-Qt) have weaknesses and drawbacks.  This doesn't mean that they don't also have strengths and benefits as well.  What is needed is good education about the options available so that users can make educated decisions.  The users and the community do not benefit from hiding the fact that other wallet options exist and refusing to talk about them.

[gweedo]

- A bunch of ranting about alternate wallets removed for bevity -

All wallets (including the reference client Bitcoin-Qt) have weaknesses and drawbacks.  This doesn't mean that they don't also have strengths and benefits as well.  What is needed is good education about the options available so that users can make educated decisions.  The users and the community do not benefit from hiding the fact that other wallet options exist and refusing to talk about them.

There isn't hiding, but full nodes need to be publicized more they are what keeps the network healthy, and not these programs that are meant to be run along sided a full node.

[DannyHamilton]

- A bunch of ranting about alternate wallets removed for bevity -

All wallets (including the reference client Bitcoin-Qt) have weaknesses and drawbacks.  This doesn't mean that they don't also have strengths and benefits as well.  What is needed is good education about the options available so that users can make educated decisions.  The users and the community do not benefit from hiding the fact that other wallet options exist and refusing to talk about them.

There isn't hiding, but full nodes need to be publicized more they are what keeps the network healthy, and not these programs that are meant to be run along sided a full node.

But if a user would rather avoid bitcoin than use a full node, then the network isn't going to get any assistance from them anyhow.  At least with a "lightweight" client, the bitcoin community would get the benefit of increased user base. Those who have an interest in running a full node can do so.  Those who would choose to use a lightweight client should at least be told that the option exists.

[DannyHamilton]

Obviously your not understanding,

Clearly.

. . . I think those people should NOT be using bitcoin at this point.

And I disagree.

[SellBitcoinsTo]

Obviously your not understanding,

Clearly.

. . . I think those people should NOT be using bitcoin at this point.

And I disagree.

Why do you disagree? You do know SPV clients are very weak in some situations of bitcoin.

Which are?

[gweedo]

Obviously your not understanding,

Clearly.

. . . I think those people should NOT be using bitcoin at this point.

And I disagree.

Why do you disagree? You do know SPV clients are very weak in some situations of bitcoin.

Which are?

So many, like not validating blocks them selfs, which leads them to use the block depth as a way to validate transactions have gone thru when that isn't true. Also double spending attack is a lot easier with a SPV client.

http://code.google.com/p/bitcoinj/wiki/SecurityModel.

There is a reason that SPV is the main client or should be endorsed as a main only client.

[molecular]

Please tell us more how deterministic wallets are so amazing, NOT.

You can restore your wallet from something in your head. Secure backups are harder and more expensive (at least for me) to accomplish securely than memorizing 12 words.

I do have encrypted backups of my satoshi wallet.dat at different places (at friends, on usb sticks, various hd backups). But I spent more time doing these (and have to do them all over again periodically) than memorizing my electrum seed... once.