Absolute new user needing help

[di4medollaz]

Hi i am gonna setup a bitcoin whatever and i like to search on my own before asking questions but after googling for a few hours on everything bitcoin i am too confused , http://cryptorials.io/how-to-use-bitcoin-anonymously/ looked promising but too confusing. There is to much info and alot of sites that are just advertising , so i thought i would try here

I have never used a bitcoin or anything of the sort exept i downloaded a wallet like 4 years ago with a massive file.

Basically i have heard good and bad things about bitcoin as money storage , like people losing money or hacked ect ect.
So i want a Bitcoin thats secure and most importantly private. I have heard of government confiscating bitcoins from bitcoin dealers and users alike but as you know i dunno whats true and whats  not cause i have never used it before.

So whats the best way for me to get started "like absolute first step" and what is the best way to go about privacy and security? i read alot of hardware vs software pages but it is pretty confusing ,
those devices "trezor" you buy look cool but couldnt it just get confiscated? And if you have it on a computer isnt it risky? I dont even know what a wallet is so if my questions sound stupid im sorry
I just want the info before i take my leap and would greatly appreciate the help

[gregyoung14]

I think it's easier to just browse over there in the Beginners section.

People there are nice and they will surely help you out.

[Blind Legs Parker]

There is no perfectly safe way. Usually people will sell you either paper wallets either hardware wallets (such as trezor) as the safest ones out there. Having bitcoins on an online wallet like is usually not a good idea but a desktop wallet (or if you absolutely want an online wallet, then blockchain.io) will offer satisfactory levels of safety, depending on what you do with your computer. If you have the habit of clicking wherever you mouse goes and downloading boatloads of stuff using torrent you're facing a greater risk than if you're using your computer solely for bitcoin.
That was for hackers.

Now usually governments don't confiscate bitcoins (apart if you're in Russia, maybe? I don't even know). Bitcoins are private property and usually will be legal (or at least tolerated) about wherever you go. The confiscations you've heard about might have been related to the silk road case, where governments confiscated fundings from an illegal drug selling company. Bitcoin only happened to be the currency used for these fundings. It would have been the same if they'd used dollars or euros.

[di4medollaz]

another question is how do you even buy bitcoins? i looked on craglist in my area and its mostly people who wanna buy bitcoins. There is a few with some fore sale with minimium $500 purchase wich is about what i want but how would i safely go about that and not get ripped off? I am willing too buy whatever device or purchase whaever way to get started of up to a few hundred dollars if its worth it , And i see alot of traders who want you to transfer funds from youre bank or show id , wouldnt that defeat the whole purpose?
 
i realize i should of went to the begginer section and i am sorry but would greatly appreciate any help , we have all been here at one point lol.

[calkob]

My 1st question would be how much are you looking to purchase and what is the use case, these questions once answered will allow the best advise.  for example i have about a substansial amount of bitcoin and i rarly use them day to day, so i keep them on a paper wallet in a safe and backed up on a usb pen.  This is classed as cold storage.  but if you used your bitcoin daily then this form of storage is not as easy to access.  The website bitcoin.org has a FAQ section which i think is very good.  read it as  a beginning.

[Blind Legs Parker]

A lot of people buy on https://localbitcoins.com/ , I think.
Or you can transfer money in dollars/euros/another currency to an exchange such as Kraken or Bitfinex and then convert it to bitcoins through the exchange.

It's all down to how much anonymity you need. Localbitcoins can provide full anonymity if you want but exchanges will always ask for a lot of information about you.

As for me I buy at Family Mart, which is probably the easiest, cheapest, as well as safest way available. But that's only for if you live in Taiwan (or are there just for travelling, for that matter). Only one thing: it's not anonymous at all since you need an available phone number (of course linked to your ID). Sometimes I also buy directly from a friend.

Based on that you should be able to find you own way.

[tenthcoin]

Using bitcoins without sharing your password to anyone we can called it anonymous..

[notlist3d]

those devices "trezor" you buy look cool but couldnt it just get confiscated? And if you have it on a computer isnt it risky? I dont even know what a wallet is so if my

You get what are called "seed words" that if Trezor is lost or taken you could recover the address on a wallet.  These words are VERY important I suggest keeping in a place such as safty deposit box.

Trezor is by far he most popular here is a hands on with it, it might help you decide if you want to go hardware wallet route.- https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1298917.0


And on other question as first step I would ask what country are you in?   And with this I would point you to a good legit exchange to buy some BTC at.  You need to read and learn.  But buying is pretty common in first steps.