Don't use online wallet services.

[LeFBI]

Online wallets are most likely the best way to get Bitcoins widely accepted!

I don't buy this one bit. IMHO it is foolish and dangerous to make such an assertion.
[...]
Linuxcoin works and works very well.[...]

Of course it does work well. But you are also a geek. Try to explain that to a none-geek:
"LinuxCoin? What's an .iso file? how do i burn it to cd? how do i create a bootable usb stick? WTF, i have to reboot my pc nao? Why the fuck do i have to download several hundred MB for that stupid Blockchain? What is that anyway? How do i get coins now? What's mining? What's an exchange? How do i use it? What, i need dwolla or LibertyReverse first?"
If you can quickly guide none-geek users through this, so that they actually understand it, let me know how.
Average Joe will just say "fuck this, to complicated. I'll just sign up at paypal that's what they use on ebay anyway". As long as Bitcoins aren't as easy to use like paypal, it will be stigmatized as hacker and geek currency.
Online wallets/Paypal like platforms can help to get Bitcoins widely acceptable and easily useable for average internet users and also for smartphone users.
Such a platform however, as already said, must be run by a trustworhty professional organization that is liable and has a real office and not by some random anonyous guy. Your real bank account is not much different to that.
I'm not saying that you, as a geek, should use it. I'm just saying a trustworthy online wallet service can help gaining acceptance ammong the average internet users.

[1714154886]

1714154886

[1714154886]

1714154886

[1714154886]

1714154886

[Bitportal]

Don't use online wallets, ever.

[ffuentes]

Online wallets are most likely the best way to get Bitcoins widely accepted!

I don't buy this one bit. IMHO it is foolish and dangerous to make such an assertion.
[...]
Linuxcoin works and works very well.[...]

Of course it does work well. But you are also a geek. Try to explain that to a none-geek:
"LinuxCoin? What's an .iso file? how do i burn it to cd? how do i create a bootable usb stick? WTF, i have to reboot my pc nao? Why the fuck do i have to download several hundred MB for that stupid Blockchain? What is that anyway? How do i get coins now? What's mining? What's an exchange? How do i use it? What, i need dwolla or LibertyReverse first?"
If you can quickly guide none-geek users through this, so that they actually understand it, let me know how.
Average Joe will just say "fuck this, to complicated. I'll just sign up at paypal that's what they use on ebay anyway". As long as Bitcoins aren't as easy to use like paypal, it will be stigmatized as hacker and geek currency.
Online wallets/Paypal like platforms can help to get Bitcoins widely acceptable and easily useable for average internet users and also for smartphone users.
Such a platform however, as already said, must be run by a trustworhty professional organization that is liable and has a real office and not by some random anonyous guy. Your real bank account is not much different to that.
I'm not saying that you, as a geek, should use it. I'm just saying a trustworthy online wallet service can help gaining acceptance ammong the average internet users.

Yes, LinuxCoin is too geek, but you don't need using LinuxCoin to maintain your wallet in your HD.

I believe that banks (real ones) or a big Internet company like PayPal would be interested in it if the number of people using Bitcoin grows.

[pekv2]

I could not imagine what is going through the persons head that might have lost all of their bitcoins, due to this problem.

[BadPenny]

Some people say, "Don't even trust your own computer!"

Other people say, "Online wallets FTW!  What, me worry?"

It seems to me that keeping at least two copies of one's wallet.dat files, strongly-encrypted, on two separate USB drives or CDs/DVDs is the way to go for now,
maybe even renaming them and changing the file extension while they are stored away, only moving them to the Bitcoin datadir when one is using the client.

I love the simplicity of everything being in that one .dat file, but that also seems to be its biggest flaw\vulnerability.

Hopefully, Bitcoin will evolve and become more secure, or it will succumb to increasingly more scammin' bastards.

[heigan]

I agree.

[pekv2]

Some people say, "Don't even trust your own computer!"

Other people say, "Online wallets FTW!  What, me worry?"

It seems to me that keeping at least two copies of one's wallet.dat files, strongly-encrypted, on two separate USB drives or CDs/DVDs is the way to go for now,
maybe even renaming them and changing the file extension while they are stored away, only moving them to the Bitcoin datadir when one is using the client.

I love the simplicity of everything being in that one .dat file, but that also seems to be its biggest flaw\vulnerability.

Hopefully, Bitcoin will evolve and become more secure, or it will succumb to increasingly more scammin' bastards.

Are you spying on me ?

Ima look for those camera's.

[Chick]

Title fix'd.

[pekv2]

Title fix'd.

What is stopping other services like mybitcoin, happening to them as what happened to mybitcoin?

[BadPenny]

What is stopping other services like mybitcoin, happening to them as what happened to mybitcoin?

NOTHING is stopping other "services" from doing what MyBitcoin has done.
A person really needs to be responsible for their own wallet and security habits, instead of trusting one of these fly-by-night online wallet scams.
At least until the Bitcoin client (hopefully) addresses wallet security in a future version.
I'm sure more MyBitcoins will crawl out of the woodwork, looking to earn your trust.

Caveat emptor.  Abundans cautela non nocet.

[dacoinminster]

Anyone thinking of developing or using an online wallet service should be thinking about offline reserves, as discussed here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=34011.0

[JCbit]

I think at this point its fair to say you shouldnt trust your coins
to ANY third party

[Peter-Jan Celis (BitFlow)]

The reality is that Bitcoin will never get mainstream adoption without easy to use online wallets.

Obviously there is a trust issue in the market now but nothing that the market can't solve going forward.

[ffuentes]

The reality is that Bitcoin will never get mainstream adoption without easy to use online wallets.

Obviously there is a trust issue in the market now but nothing that the market can't solve going forward.

And we have another problem with the mainstream adoption. When I pay to another address some coins, that transaction may take at least 10 minutes to get over.

Online wallets must also resolve this issue.

[Peter-Jan Celis (BitFlow)]

The reality is that Bitcoin will never get mainstream adoption without easy to use online wallets.

Obviously there is a trust issue in the market now but nothing that the market can't solve going forward.

And we have another problem with the mainstream adoption. When I pay to another address some coins, that transaction may take at least 10 minutes to get over.

Online wallets must also resolve this issue.

That's where green wallets kick in i.e. the online wallets send their payments via one of their central wallets so people know (from experience, reputation) that the payment is real even if it still needs to get confirmed.

[BadPenny]

BitFlow = another MyBitcoin?

[leniad]

i still think the safest place for your wallet is in your personal computer, that only you have access to.

[Peter-Jan Celis (BitFlow)]

BitFlow = another MyBitcoin?

BitFlow will be an exchange. I'd also appreciate it if you don't compare us with a scam outfit.

[BadPenny]

BitFlow will be an exchange. I'd also appreciate it if you don't compare us with a scam outfit.

U Mad Bro?

In case you haven't noticed, anyone that shows up on these boards claiming to keep others BTC safe with their site MyUberSafeWalletTown.org or whatshisname raises red flags (or should) for most people, myself included. 
You know, since it's an untraceable anarchocryptocurrency and all.  Too easily exploited at this juncture, my man, by people who want to earn just the minimum amount of trust needed to take the money and run. 
Your site looks like a half-assed template, it's hosted by GoDaddy, and the email is a Gmail account.  Plus you're wearing an argyle sweater vest and tooling around in your dinghy.
Red flags to me, chief.

[timmey]

BitFlow will be an exchange. I'd also appreciate it if you don't compare us with a scam outfit.

Being an exchange doesn't necessarily mean better, look at bitomat.pl... they "lost" their wallet

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=33457.0