wallet help

[cactus-pits]

can someone point me towards some info on wallets?
-safe and simple
-paper vs. other?

I'd like to have 2...one for sitting on and one to use for learning how to do transactions.

[rigel]

There's already a thread on this: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=310081.0

[odolvlobo]

My recommendation is to get a blockchain.info wallet. It does all the basic stuff and it is available anywhere.  Play around with it and then look at other wallets. Different wallets have features that you might want. Last time I looked, bitcoin.org had a selection guide. Avoid online wallets where you don't control the private keys.

[hromobiti]

can someone point me towards some info on wallets?
-safe and simple
-paper vs. other?

I'd like to have 2...one for sitting on and one to use for learning how to do transactions.

You can do both with armory client

[MakeBelieve]

Always search up a issue before opening another thread about it.

[cowandtea]

can someone point me towards some info on wallets?
-safe and simple
-paper vs. other?

I'd like to have 2...one for sitting on and one to use for learning how to do transactions.

inputs.io (online)
bitcoin-qt (download)

Those 2 are good.

[DannyHamilton]

inputs.io (online)

That's not a wallet.  That's a bank account.  Don't let anyone tell you differently.

If you don't have the private key, then you don't have the bitcoins.  It's as simple as that.  You have generously given away your bitcoins to a complete stranger based on a promise that they've given you that they will send those bitcoins anywhere you like anytime you like whenever you ask them to.

Imagine.  You're walking down the street with $1000 in your pocket.  You come to a corner where someone has set up a folding table and put out a sign printed on a piece of cardboard.  You're curious so you ask them what they're doing. They explain to you that they are operating a corner bank.  They tell you that if you give them all the cash in your pocket, they will hold on to it for you.  Then at any time in the future, you can just ask them to spend it for you and they will deliver the cash wherever you like.  They are not insured by the FDIC (or anyone else). They do not go through any sort of audit or submit to any oversight. You are not allowed to know how much total cash they are holding right now.

Do you hand them your $1000 and walk away, hoping that they'll still be there with their folding table tomorrow when you come back to ask for some of that cash to be sent somewhere?  If not, why would you do the same with your bitcoins?

[galbros]

inputs.io (online)

That's not a wallet.  That's a bank account.  Don't let anyone tell you differently.

If you don't have the private key, then you don't have the bitcoins.  It's as simple as that.  You have generously given away your bitcoins to a complete stranger based on a promise that they've given you that they will send those bitcoins anywhere you like anytime you like whenever you ask them to.

Imagine.  You're walking down the street with $1000 in your pocket.  You come to a corner where someone has set up a folding table and put out a sign printed on a piece of cardboard.  You're curious so you ask them what they're doing. They explain to you that they are operating a corner bank.  They tell you that if you give them all the cash in your pocket, they will hold on to it for you.  Then at any time in the future, you can just ask them to spend it for you and they will deliver the cash wherever you like.  They are not insured by the FDIC (or anyone else). They do not go through any sort of audit or submit to any oversight. You are not allowed to know how much total cash they are holding right now.

Do you hand them your $1000 and walk away, hoping that they'll still be there with their folding table tomorrow when you come back to ask for some of that cash to be sent somewhere?  If not, why would you do the same with your bitcoins?

This is a good point, but I think it applies to most online wallets, correct?  It certainly applies to any site, like the gambling sites, where you choose to keep a balance or the trading sites like Mt Gox or Bitstamp.

Regardless caution is always warranted. 

My concern with inputs.io is not so much that the owner isn't trustworthy, he's more walking up to a big imposing building than a guy with a card table on the corner, but that so many inputs.io users want an email address rather than a btc address.

Good Luck and welcome!

[DannyHamilton]

This is a good point, but I think it applies to most online wallets, correct?

Correct.  Which is why blockchain.info is the only web hosted solution that I'm aware of that I'd be willing to call a "wallet".

It certainly applies to any site, like the gambling sites, where you choose to keep a balance or the trading sites like Mt Gox or Bitstamp.

Agreed, which is why you should not store any more at any of those sites than you absolutely must to accomplish your goal.  Furthermore, you should be financially, mentally, and emotionally prepared to have the entire balance that you store at any of those sites simply vanish in the blink of an eye.  If you feel it would be devastating to lose the amount that you've stored there, then you should have that much there to start with.

Regardless caution is always warranted. 

Absolutely

My concern with inputs.io is not so much that the owner isn't trustworthy, he's more walking up to a big imposing building

A big imposing building suggests an investment of several million dollars in establishing a presence.  It is very difficult for a building to simply vanish in the blink of an eye.  It is also very difficult to purchase a big imposing building without leaving a significant paper trail that would subject you to capture and prosecution if you should fail to deliver on the contracts that you issue.

I just don't see that sort of investment or permanence in a website like inputs.io.  A website (like a folding table on the corner) can easily vanish in the blink of an eye and tracing and prosecuting the owner of the site can be extremely difficult.

[zubelutte]

I dont believe there is much difference if you have the private key together with online wallet operator, because the online wallet can transfer the funds anytime leaving you with private key to 0 ballance. There must be big trust to online wallet operator, eighter input.io or blockchain.info if you want keep coin there

[DannyHamilton]

I dont believe there is much difference if you have the private key together with online wallet operator, because the online wallet can transfer the funds anytime leaving you with private key to 0 ballance. There must be big trust to online wallet operator, eighter input.io or blockchain.info if you want keep coin there

blockchain.info does not have your unencrypted private key, nor do they have the password necessary to decrypt your private key.  Therefore, they cannot "transfer the funds anytime leaving you with private key to 0 ballance".

If you don't have the private key, then you don't have bitcoins.  All you have is a promise from some unknown person that they will allow you to spend their bitcoins.

If you and someone else both have the private key, then you at least have control over the bitcoins while they are associated with that key.  You have shared ownership and can send them anywhere you like any time you like as long as the other owner doesn't send them first.  But you have to trust that the other owner won't steal from you or release the private key to others.

The best wallets are the ones where you have sole control of the private keys.  The wallets that I'm aware of that fit this description are:

Armory
Bitcoin-Qt
Electrum
MultiBit
blockchain.info

If you know of any others, let me know and I'll consider adding them to my list in the future.

[Sword Smith]

Use a paper wallet to sit on and use a web wallet (blockchain.info) for transactions. And then accumulate bitcoins on your paper wallet. There is no reason to use a desktop wallet in my opinion.

[tspacepilot]

MultiBit works nicely for me.

I like the plain old Satoshi client as well.  The only problem there was downloading the entire blockchain was a bitch.

[zendantom]

can someone point me towards some info on wallets?
-safe and simple
-paper vs. other?

Paper wallets are very secure if created on offline computer. Make sure you test how paper wallets works with very small amounts first, just in case 

[b!z]

Personally, I use a cold wallet (paper wallet) to store the majority of my BTC. I keep the rest in an online wallet for immediate use, so I can access them quickly, no matter where I am.

[faiza1990]

I used mostly blockchain  in start I have some problem but now all set and enjoying this and I sure its one of best wallets around here

[btcinstant]

blockchain is absolutely the best

[DannyHamilton]

I would recommend inputs.io. It's a really safe wallet.

That's not a wallet.  That's a bank account.  Don't let anyone tell you differently.

If you don't have the private key, then you don't have the bitcoins.  It's as simple as that.  You have generously given away your bitcoins to a complete stranger based on a promise that they've given you that they will send those bitcoins anywhere you like anytime you like whenever you ask them to.

Imagine.  You're walking down the street with $1000 in your pocket.  You come to a corner where someone has set up a folding table and put out a sign printed on a piece of cardboard.  You're curious so you ask them what they're doing. They explain to you that they are operating a corner bank.  They tell you that if you give them all the cash in your pocket, they will hold on to it for you.  Then at any time in the future, you can just ask them to spend it for you and they will deliver the cash wherever you like.  They are not insured by the FDIC (or anyone else). They do not go through any sort of audit or submit to any oversight. You are not allowed to know how much total cash they are holding right now.

Do you hand them your $1000 and walk away, hoping that they'll still be there with their folding table tomorrow when you come back to ask for some of that cash to be sent somewhere?  If not, why would you do the same with your bitcoins?

[DannyHamilton]

Then you should take an offline wallet.

Correct.

I don't think the comparison is accurate, since you can always access your wallet instead of having to go somewhere.

Ok, fine.  Give the guy on the corner a burner mobile phone.  Now you trust him to hold your $1000?

Inputs.io is really reliable and well known amongst the btc community.

Right up until it isn't.  Just like Bitcoinica, Bitfloor, Instawallet, etc.  All of them were reliable, well known, and trusted.

No matter how well known and reliable it is, it isn't immune to:

• Human Error
• Unexpectedly disguntled or greedy employees
• Death of the controlling individual
• Confiscation and seizing by governmental agencies

It also depends on the amount of btc you own. I would store 5+ BTC on a online wallet. I use inputs.io for smaller transactions only.

So, what you're saying is that you'd be ok with giving that "corner banker" $1000, but not $5000?

I just don't understand why people think a pretty web page is more trustworthy than a folding table on the corner of a street intersection?

[odolvlobo]

Then you should take an offline wallet.

Correct.

Well, let's be clear here. The distinction is whether or not you control the wallet (more specifically, the private keys).

If you have an inputs.io account or you have BTC at an exchange, you are storing your money in somebody else's wallet, and you are taking an unnecessary risk. If the BTC is lost or stolen, or the website goes down, then you will lose all of your money. People are constantly losing money because of this. Don't think it can't happen to you, too.

If you want a wallet that you can access from anywhere, get a blockchain.info wallet. Even though it is accessed through a website, you still have exclusive control over the wallet and the private keys.