Wallet protection services?

[MarkRWC]

Hi,

Still learning about Bitcoin. I've come across references to wallet protection services (referenced in BIP11 and other places) as a way for on-line wallets to be more secure. Do any on-line wallets use something like this? And if not (I can't find any), why not?

Thanks,
Mark

[greyhawk]

You can send your wallet to me and I will protect it. No problem.

[RodeoX]

The only real protection you can count on is possession.  The moment you turn over your BTC to a person or business they are at greater risk. Even if the company is an honest one, they are not at all likely to have insurance. What do you think will happen when their servers are compromised and all the coins are gone?

Eventually we may see insurers backing a bank's holdings of bitcoin, but for now I would make a copy of my big wallet and keep it in a safe deposit box. Then you can risk storing a few coins in an online wallet.

[zocipro]

You can send your wallet to me and I will protect it. No problem.

Under pillow

[Buffalo66]

Your best bet with an online wallet is some form of 2-factor authentication, such as an SMS verify code.