Electrum question

[Mautje]

Hi guys,

I have a quick safety related question related to Electrum. For some reason, I guess because I"m a newbie, I can't post in the other forums sections.

I downloaded electrum, as advised on their website I created my wallet on an offline, "safe" computer with a seed. Then with a master-key i created a wallet on my online computer which is a "view only" wallet. I thought I'd be safe in case someone had access to my computer. But here it goes:
electrum doesn't ask for a password  when you start it. I read somewhere it does when you send bc, so it "doesn't matter".
However I can go into the menu and export my private keys! This doesn't ask for a password and isn't it true with those private keys, address combinations I could use those to send them in another wallet / program?

How is this system "safe" as they advise on their website.

I'm still a newbie when it comes down to bc, so any help on this would be great!

Thanks

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[MAbtc]

You created/restored the wallet from seed, but have you encrypted in the first place? I don't use Electrum, but isn't there an option to "add password" (after which your private keys are encrypted)? The keys wouldn't be encrypted if you haven't set this, I think. Also, if your Electrum private keys are encrypted, you should, as you indicated, be prompted for your pass phrase upon sending any outputs.

[DannyHamilton]

i created a wallet on my online computer which is a "view only" wallet.

I'm not familiar with Electrum having a "view only" wallet.  Perhaps they've added new features since the last time I looked at Electrum?  Can you provide a link to where Electrum "view only" wallets are discussed?  Where did you find out about this feature?

[MAbtc]

i created a wallet on my online computer which is a "view only" wallet.

I'm not familiar with Electrum having a "view only" wallet.  Perhaps they've added new features since the last time I looked at Electrum?  Can you provide a link to where Electrum "view only" wallets are discussed?  Where did you find out about this feature?

Here is a link: http://electrum.org/tutorials.html

Go to the section titled "How to make offline transactions using your Master Public Key"... it explains how to make a view-only wallet for online use/giving out addresses that can't send outputs.

[beetcoin]

it's a bug and very confusing.

the private key that you generate with your watch-only wallet isn't your actual private key. i was setting up a wallet with the 1.9 client was experienced the same thing. instead of taking my word for it, you can do the following to check for yourself. the 1.9 client is very bugged btw.

1) save your private key on the watch-only wallet.
2) remove your .dat file and you will be left with "no wallet." now try importing your private key. Is the balance 0? that's probably because the private key is not the same as your original.

[DannyHamilton]

i created a wallet on my online computer which is a "view only" wallet.

Can you provide a link to where Electrum "view only" wallets are discussed?  Where did you find out about this feature?

Here is a link: http://electrum.org/tutorials.html

Go to the section titled "How to make offline transactions using your Master Public Key"... it explains how to make a view-only wallet for online use/giving out addresses that can't send outputs.

Thanks!  Very educational.  Seems even after 2 years of learning everything I can about Bitcoin, I'm still constantly learning something new.

it's a bug and very confusing.

the private key that you generate with your watch-only wallet isn't your actual private key.

Good to know.

[Nimble5]

I am slightly confused ...

I installed electrum on Windows a year ago - maybe it was version 1.6 or 1.7. At that time, the wallet was called "electrum.dat". I saved that file in a secure location, and I still have the original password and the original seed pass-phrase.

Now that electrum 1.9 has renamed the wallet to "default_wallet", have any of the original wallet properties changed in any significant way? Using the 1.9 Windows client, I tested the orig. password and seed, and everything appears to be unchanged. The 1.9 client opens, and my BC balance and transaction history is correct.

Just wonderin' if I missed something. Thanks.
 

[Mautje]

it's a bug and very confusing.

the private key that you generate with your watch-only wallet isn't your actual private key. i was setting up a wallet with the 1.9 client was experienced the same thing. instead of taking my word for it, you can do the following to check for yourself. the 1.9 client is very bugged btw.

1) save your private key on the watch-only wallet.
2) remove your .dat file and you will be left with "no wallet." now try importing your private key. Is the balance 0? that's probably because the private key is not the same as your original.

Thanks for your answer.. so if those private keys are not the real private keys.. what can they be used for then?

I thought Electrum was a pretty well known and used wallet.. it's full of bugs?

[DannyHamilton]

I thought Electrum was a pretty well known and used wallet.. it's full of bugs?

I'd say that "full of bugs" is a bit of an exaggeration.

There are several wallets to choose from that all have a rather large userbase:

• Armory
• Bitcoin-Qt
• Electrum
• MultiBit
• blockchain.info/wallet

Each of those wallets has its own "quirks".  Things that don't necessarily operate in the way that an inexperienced or unknowing user might assume.

[beetcoin]

it's a bug and very confusing.

the private key that you generate with your watch-only wallet isn't your actual private key. i was setting up a wallet with the 1.9 client was experienced the same thing. instead of taking my word for it, you can do the following to check for yourself. the 1.9 client is very bugged btw.

1) save your private key on the watch-only wallet.
2) remove your .dat file and you will be left with "no wallet." now try importing your private key. Is the balance 0? that's probably because the private key is not the same as your original.

Thanks for your answer.. so if those private keys are not the real private keys.. what can they be used for then?

I thought Electrum was a pretty well known and used wallet.. it's full of bugs?

it's just another wallet address... but it's not tied to your current funds.