Question about securing wallet

[shadylane318]

I ordered a flash drive with encryption built in and I was wondering about a step in securing my wallet.dat file.

I understand that I need to backup my wallet and then place in a secure location (thumb drive). The next step I'm confused...

I need to write down the receiving address? That way I can continue funding the offline wallet? Please explain or confirm that I understand this correctly.

How do I confirm that the money has be properly funded without having to load up the offline wallet.dat file? blockexplorer.com?

When I wanted to bring the wallet.dat file back online...all I need is the file and then the passphrase?

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[spamwatch]

Create a public address and watch it.  For example look at:

http://blockchain.info/address/148KkS2vgVi4VzUi4JcKzM2PMaMVPi3nnq

You can send BTC to the public address and verify the amount.  But only if you have the private key associated with the wallet.dat file can you retrieve the BTC.

Restoring it is easy, just install the bitcoin client and replace the wallet.dat with your existing wallet.dat  -  Just be sure to keep multiple secure back-ups.

Also I would highly recommend  Armory  -  bitcoinarmory.com  - very well trusted in the community.  I met those guys at the bitcoin conference and they are very reputable!

[shadylane318]

Create a public address with Bitcoin-QT and add to blockchain.info?

Do they have a stable Mac version for Armory?

[beoswind]

1. You can export private key (dumpprivkey in console) and print them on paper and then even if you lost/delete wallet.dat you can easy retrieve wallet.dat file on any PC/Mac

2. Split your wallet and money on 10 wallets and store it on external HDD/USB stick

3. I only copy ONE wallet.dat file when I need SEND money and after that delete it from my system

4. Install Linux as second system or run it from USB key to increase security

[nnyld]

In need of a stable Mac version for Armory.

[thestringpuller]

Doesn't bitcoin-qt/bitcoind have wallet encryption built in? The walletpassphrase feature uses strong encryption via a passphrase to unlock it before letting the system see the private keys in the wallet.dat

If your wallet.dat is encrypted with a strong passphrase this should be all you need. You can back up as many times as you want and even if you lose your wallet.dat to someone else, they can't open it without your passphrase. (So choose a strong one so they can't brute-force it).

When generating a paper wallet via a unix terminal or some other program. Make sure the private key generated with the public/private key pair isn't stored in the system history. For instance with Unix, sometimes even the clear command can leave remnants of printed data to SystemOut in programs like xterm, or even a traditional tty.

[suprabitz]

only problem is if someone has a keylogger installed they will capture your password next time you send coins

[rolloffacliffpleaseanddie]

yes thats plenty safe enough