Where is my wallet actually located?

[FFMG]

Hi,

I created an wallet/account at blockchain.info and I have a tiny amount of coins in it, (I am mining it very slowly using an old machine).
As months/years go by I expect the number of coins to reach 10, 20BTC, I also run a free website where I want to accept bit coin donations.

Before I go any further I want to make absolutely certain that I know where it is all located.

For one thing, I am curious, where is that wallet actually located?
Is it in the clouds? or Does it not, technically speaking, belong to blockchain.info?
I know the concept of banks does not really apply to Bitcoin, but blockchain could close their website and I would have no access to my coins.

So where is my wallet actually located?

Or is my wallet not physically located anywhere?

Could I login somewhere else with my Identifier and password and check my balance there?

Thanks

FFMG

[NoProb1ems]

It's "in the cloud", aka the blockchain

I am not talking about the website blockchain.info (it's confusing they use the same term).

It's in the blockchain that bitcoin uses, part of public record

Only you have the "private key" to do anything

I'm honetly not sure how blockchain.info doesn't ahve your private key. They need it to do anything.
I think they store, on there servers, some peice of data, that when combined with your password, turns into the
private key

[NoProb1ems]

some more thoughts...

You should download from them your "private keys" if you want a backup (just make sure you don't have a virus, etc, so they arent stolen)

You could then import that to Bitcoin (the client .exe program) or any other site.

The private key is what really matters, it's what lets you spend money from an address.
I assume blockchain.info must have it, otherwise they couldn't do anything with your coins.
But I think they don't store it all  - only part, that when combined with your Blockchain.info password, gives them the entire private key. That's my guess

FYI A wallet is made from several addresses , each has its own private key

example, my address

13oNwed89qeuUWxredNj465D4sEdMuJ9NQ

has a private key that , if I import it into bitcoin.exe running on a nother computer, lets me spend from it

[whiskers75]

blockchain.info store your encrypted wallet on their servers, and send you javascript and the encrypted wallet when you want to access it. To prevent from JS hijacking, a browser extension is available. However, secure your wallet with 2 Factor Authentication or a REALLY REALLY strong password - as 108 BTC was recently stolen from users' wallets (including mine  ) Blockchain DO NOT keep unencrypted private keys or passwords, it's all done client side - therefore, it's impossible for someone at blockchain to access the wallets (without guessing the password, which is a risk anyhoo)
In their own words:

Where is my wallet stored?
We use MySQL Cluster to store your wallet data. Upon creation your wallet is synchronously saved on at least 2 separate privately owned servers. Our servers are located in a locked cabinet at a datacenter with a dedicated security guard. Every 24 hours a database backup is saved to an off site location.

If by chance you do happen to make a reasonable amount of BTC, create a Paper Wallet. I use this for my new 1.2 BTC and I have not been hacked since! And yes, you can send coins without compromising the security of the wallet - blockchain lets you do this as normal, while asking for the private key to be scanned or typed in.

And if you happen to appreciate the time taken for that big hunk of text, my BTC address is down there
-whiskers75

[FFMG]

You should download from them your "private keys" if you want a backup (just make sure you don't have a virus, etc, so they arent stolen)

There is an option to export my private key, (encrypted or not).
Technically, I can save it somewhere secure and that should protect my coins.

Having said that, if blockchain has my private key, (I suspect they have to have it in order to give to me in the first place), they also have my password, (yes, they can claim that it is encrypted and so forth).

So with those two values they could take coins out of the wallet, could they not?

Is that not right or am I still missing something?

FFMG

[FFMG]

blockchain.info store your encrypted wallet on their servers, and send you javascript and the encrypted wallet when you want to access it. To prevent from JS hijacking, a browser extension is available. However, secure your wallet with 2 Factor Authentication or a REALLY REALLY strong password - as 108 BTC was recently stolen from users' wallets.

Ouch, sorry about that.

I use their ''Double encryption" settings with some fairly strong passwords, once/if I ever have a substantial amount of coins I will consider using paper wallet.

Or maybe I will create multiple wallets so as to limit the losses in case of hacking/theft.

But I will look into it more if I ever reach 5BTC or more.

And if you happen to appreciate the time taken for that big hunk of text, my BTC address is down there

lol, I have so few coins i am in need of donations myself , but I do appreciate the help.

FFMG

[FFMG]

I'm honetly not sure how blockchain.info doesn't ahve your private key. They need it to do anything.
I think they store, on there servers, some peice of data, that when combined with your password, turns into the
private key

That's my point really, as far as I know they have all the information needed to empty my wallet.

I do not know them well enough, and I guess the same could be said about any bank in the world.

I guess what I am trying to say is, not wallet is truly 100% secure, (but as I said, the same could be said about any currency, look at Greece or Cyprus for example).

FFMG

[DannyHamilton]

I'm honetly not sure how blockchain.info doesn't ahve your private key. They need it to do anything.
I think they store, on there servers, some peice of data, that when combined with your password, turns into the
private key

That's my point really, as far as I know they have all the information needed to empty my wallet.

No, they do not.  They have only the encrypted private key.  It can not be used without decrypting it.  The encryption is done by you (by your browser) using javascript, and only the encrypted private key is sent to them for them to store in their database.

I do not know them well enough, and I guess the same could be said about any bank in the world.

You don't need to know them.  The code is open source.  You are welcome to read it (or hire someone to analyze it for you).  Analysis of the source code makes it clear that the unencrypted private key is not supplied to blockchain.info.  It is also clear that the password is not sent to blockchain.info.

[digicoins]

Blockchain seem to be quite safe

[FFMG]

Blockchain seem to be quite safe

Well, that settles it then

FFMG