Have you ever lost BTC from getting infected?

[Vaskiy]

Haven't experienced such a infection due to some of the software or other malware issues. I have been using online wallet from the start of bitcoin. Till date no problem of security or other error has happened.

[zcashcoins]

Yes, i do, about 1.2Btc and worth about 800$ that time

[Wandering Soul~]

Not yet but might happen if I'm not careful enough. These are the things that I'm doing to prevent it:

1). Search before you install
2). Don't click unknown/malicious links/ads
3). Install Anri-virus
4). Don't download pirated stuffs or from malicious sites
5). Don't enter your private key to any unknown site/app/software

Hope it helps  

[xuan87]

I don't have that kind of experience, since the first time i knew bitcoin,my friend already reminds me of hackers and virus, he also reminds me of not click on link from random guys, my friend had ever become the victim someone send him the link and he opened it, and the next day he lost 1 btc

[Mometaskers]

i fortunately never experienced it. Besides, I don't have much bits anyway. It would really be helpful if you use two-way authentication whenever it's available. Might have to be careful with downloaded files though. A week ago I was installing a program and the keygen it came with that has always worked and was never flagged before was declared infected by Avast.

[bncbnc]

Have you ever downloaded and run software that exploited your Bitcoin wallet? What software was it and how much Bitcoin have you lost?

Do not post URLs please, just write your experience ))

When I was young, I downloaded a "Steam account cracker", which of course was a nasty trojan and not in the good meaning. Fortunately, I haven't lost Bitcoin from the case. Maybe because I didn't have any that time  But my system behaved very strange and after virus removal, I had to change all my passwords.

That means you do not have a strong anti malware and anti virus.these crackers are not safe and they usually give it free to gain access with your computer,this is why they crack it and gave it free ,so far I have not encountered getting my computer compromise I use a three anti virus and before I run any software I check it on Virustotal.

i think you need to use a recommended anti virus, some time anti virus do not play their role in an effective way. i personally do not face any such kind of problem in my life. but still adopt different defensive strategy. 

[smho_16]

It never happened to me until now and I think it will not happen as I have switched to hardware wallet. However even when I didn't have this hardware wallet and was running electrum and multibit I was always careful and used them mainly in Linux , but even in Windows I always used the Avira Pro Antivirus so yes, nothing have ever happened to me and I am very proud about this.

[Dite1989]

Yes, i do, about 1.2Btc and worth about 800$ that time

and how did it happen if you don't mind me asking the details? I want to help people around be more cautious and to be more cautious myself.

Not yet but might happen if I'm not careful enough. These are the things that I'm doing to prevent it:

1). Search before you install
2). Don't click unknown/malicious links/ads
3). Install Anri-virus
4). Don't download pirated stuffs or from malicious sites
5). Don't enter your private key to any unknown site/app/software

Hope it helps 

Thank you! These are really useful suggestion. I've included it in the thread with giving credits so that we could help more people with your very good points.

i fortunately never experienced it. Besides, I don't have much bits anyway. It would really be helpful if you use two-way authentication whenever it's available. Might have to be careful with downloaded files though. A week ago I was installing a program and the keygen it came with that has always worked and was never flagged before was declared infected by Avast.

Thank you for ponting out the importance of two-way authentication! Fortunately, many sites support it nowadays. I could say that it became a standard and if a site doesn't have it, that's suspicious by default. So, I've added this suggestion to the thread with giving credits.

[jacobmayes94]

I never had that many coins in my wallet, to lose them due to trojan infection. Also, never stored any of my coins in my laptop or mobile. I have always used Blockchain.info to store my coins. That eliminates the risk of losing coins as a result of virus infection.

Using online wallet... HW wallets for the win, online wallets are asking for trouble


I was infected by something that nabs coins but was saved due to the use of hardware wallets which act as a trusted device to sign transactions within them.

[Dite1989]

I'm continually updating the thread with new advice based on cases. If I left any good suggestion out, please let me know! If you suggested the same thing earlier than the listed members, please let me know! I'll give credits to everyone and together we'll raise community awareness.

[mrkevio]

I did, that was a while ago. It wasn't a virus really or a keygen, it was a rigged software that had a script in it for a gambling website. People said it was the best and it was, until the developer updated the app to a new version which.. Stole your money.

[Soros Shorts]

No, but I lost about 2 BTC from my localbitcoins wallet when I accidentally entered my password into a phishing site that went something like localbitcions.com. I just got a new phone and had 2FA turned off and was actually logging back in to turn it back on against the Google Authenticator on my new phone. My stupid new phone autocompleted the URL to the phishing site and almost instantly I lost the 2BTC that I had in the wallet because I was about to sell them.

[Skarner21]

For me i am still not experience to lost btc in my wallet i just always use the best anti virus kaspersky and always updated..
many viruses right now are spreading through the internet most of them are malware and trojan..
Also before i was infected of ransomware but i fix it when i was using kaspersky and recover my files because of those ransomware they lock all my files except the electrum wallet but i fix before my electrum wallet affected..

[nara1892]

never. I just have an online wallet, and I rarely use my computer to download something. and then when I earn bitcoin, I use it to buy things I need. I rarely save my bitcoin because it is my main job to live. so I do not often have bitcoin.

[Dite1989]

I haven't lost any BTC from getting infected.  I have Malwarebytes and ESET installed in my sytem.  Aside from that I am very cautious in clicking ads  or link even downloading software.  When it comes to wallet I always try to scan it with virustotal. 
Whenever I came across a suspected website, it is either malwarebytes or eset blocking it.

It makes the hackers' job more difficult too by sending the infected file to the AV companies for further analysis. It's called distribution and hackers hate it because AV companies tend to catch tricky viruses too sooner or later. Once they can do it, their products'll recognize it in the next scan.

[eternalgloom]

No, but I lost about 2 BTC from my localbitcoins wallet when I accidentally entered my password into a phishing site that went something like localbitcions.com. I just got a new phone and had 2FA turned off and was actually logging back in to turn it back on against the Google Authenticator on my new phone. My stupid new phone autocompleted the URL to the phishing site and almost instantly I lost the 2BTC that I had in the wallet because I was about to sell them.

Wait.. it autocompleted the URL to a phishing site? How is that even possible, where did it get the URL from?
I can't imagine the phishing site would get higher in the search results than the original one. Or maybe it autocompleted after you mistyped a letter?

[acroman08]

I haven't lost any BTC from getting infected.  I have Malwarebytes and ESET installed in my sytem.  Aside from that I am very cautious in clicking ads  or link even downloading software.  When it comes to wallet I always try to scan it with virustotal. 
Whenever I came across a suspected website, it is either malwarebytes or eset blocking it.

It makes the hackers' job more difficult too by sending the infected file to the AV companies for further analysis. It's called distribution and hackers hate it because AV companies tend to catch tricky viruses too sooner or later. Once they can do it, their products'll recognize it in the next scan.

So, are these two better than AVG?
I'm currently only using AVG but I recently read somewhere that it's not that good and it's failing to catch some virus/malware. So, I'm in the market for a better one.

Anyway, so far I've managed to keep my coins safe. Thankfully. Haven't lost anything either on my online or desktop wallets, and I hope to keep it that way. Probably because none of them are holding much. 

The only things I download are books and those are from sites I've used for years now.

[BoXXoB]

I haven't lost any BTC from getting infected.  I have Malwarebytes and ESET installed in my sytem.  Aside from that I am very cautious in clicking ads  or link even downloading software.  When it comes to wallet I always try to scan it with virustotal. 
Whenever I came across a suspected website, it is either malwarebytes or eset blocking it.

It makes the hackers' job more difficult too by sending the infected file to the AV companies for further analysis. It's called distribution and hackers hate it because AV companies tend to catch tricky viruses too sooner or later. Once they can do it, their products'll recognize it in the next scan.

So, are these two better than AVG?
I'm currently only using AVG but I recently read somewhere that it's not that good and it's failing to catch some virus/malware. So, I'm in the market for a better one.

Anyway, so far I've managed to keep my coins safe. Thankfully. Haven't lost anything either on my online or desktop wallets, and I hope to keep it that way. Probably because none of them are holding much. 

The only things I download are books and those are from sites I've used for years now.

As long as you have a decent antivirus program and some common sense AVG should do the job. I went for a long time without any kind of antivirus and I had little to no problems at all.

To answer the question of the topic, no I haven't lost any coins. Not even from holding them on gambling sites

[HappyLizard]

For years I kept my coins in a wallet on my PC, luckily I never had any stolen. Thankfully we have good, affordable hardware wallets now.

[jack1111]

I am still using online wallet (blockchain) so I have not tried the desktop wallets, however I have anti-malware and antivirus on my computer. my biggest concern is the keyloggers which can steal your passwords easily, some passwords may worth much more than the money in my wallet.