So, I was trying to participate in this thread:
http://forum.bitcoin.org/index.php?topic=15068.0, and I couldn't find the reply button. After a few minutes, I realized I was relegated to this ghetto. So, I figured I'd post what I was going to post here.
Here's the ruby script I use to backup my wallet.dat file
require 'rubygems'
require 'zip/zip' # http://rubyzip.sourceforge.net/
now = Time.now
wallet_location = '~/Library/Application Support/Bitcoin/wallet.dat'
backup_folder = '~/backups/bitcoin'
puts "Please ensure the Bitcoin client is not running"
print "Wallet name: "
wallet_name = gets.strip
backup_zip = "wallet-backup_#{wallet_name}_#{now.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}_#{now.to_i}.zip"
backup_wallet = "wallet.dat.#{now.strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}.#{wallet_name}.aes-256-cbc"
md5 = `md5 -l -n #{wallet_location}`.strip
`openssl aes-256-cbc -a -salt -in #{wallet_location} -out #{backup_folder}/#{backup_wallet}`
info = <<EOF
Wallet MD5: #{md5}
Wallet Name: #{wallet_name}
Decryption command:
openssl aes-256-cbc -d -a -salt -in #{backup_wallet} -out wallet.dat
EOF
zip = Zip::ZipFile.open("#{backup_folder}/#{backup_zip}", true)
zip.get_output_stream(backup_wallet) { |f| f.puts(File.read("#{backup_folder}/#{backup_wallet}")) }
zip.get_output_stream('info.txt') { |f| f.puts(info) }
zip.close
File.delete("#{backup_folder}/#{backup_wallet}")
This script is based on a bash backup script found here:
https://github.com/mrkva/BitcoinBackup.sh/blob/master/BitcoinBackup.sh I prefer ruby though, so I re-wrote it.
This script encrypts and backs up my wallet. It includes instructions of how to decrypt it, and an md5 hash of the decrypted wallet for verification purposes. After running the script, I upload the wallet to gmail and save it to a backup disk. I also verify that I can fully decrypt and access the wallet by decrypting it on a different computer with a fresh install of bitcoins.
What processes to others use to manage their wallet backups?
