Trust No One

[nextgalaxy43]

you cant doing big business if you are not going  to risk .
but you should understant the walue of risk specifically for you.

[WikileaksDude]

I don't see the point of acquiring BTC and put them into an off-line wallet and not use them for years unless you know for sure it will go high.

I think the purpose of bitcoin is to exchange and invest.

I agree. It seems hard to use Bitcoins if they are stored offline. Coinbase seems like a reputable company that I trust with my coins. Coinbase also offers offline wallets, but I haven't used those yet.

here

http://blog.coinbase.com/post/51573799308/use-coinbase-to-export-your-bitcoins-to-a-paper-wallet

[ThirstyManatee]

Seriously. Don't trust the exchanges, don't trust online wallet services, don't trust your anti-virus software, and don't trust anybody online.

When I needed people to trust me to hold bitcoins for a contest, I deposited 50 bitcoins as a bond with a well-respected forum member,

Am I the only one who finds it ironic?

After all, the two person would be in cahoots so while A claims to have left insurance with B, they are actually on the same team.

This is the sort of paranoia we need more of around here!

In this case, a less trusted forum member (me) was leveraging the trust of someone who was much more trusted. Michael Hendrix met all my requirements for how to choose someone to trust if you must (listed above), except obviously he had no insurance himself. In that forum thread I was telling the people placing bets that they don't need to trust me if they trust him, since he was holding my bond.

We could have been in cahoots, but there wouldn't be any point to doing that. Michael already has a lot of trust - he doesn't need my help to scam people if he decides he wants to do so.

Building trust seems akin to a social version of Proof of Work.

[alexmax008]

hello Stunna

i send email to suppot but me missed ho tro as vay me logged in them in here you can you will support me faster

I make cashout for 0061 BTC to 1BjAGVLqWw7xMrSdzzSRsz9gRENCLMZviA

of me, but I have not received them, please check and pay them for me, thank you

[MAbtc]

hello Stunna

i send email to suppot but me missed ho tro as vay me logged in them in here you can you will support me faster

I make cashout for 0061 BTC to 1BjAGVLqWw7xMrSdzzSRsz9gRENCLMZviA

of me, but I have not received them, please check and pay them for me, thank you

Should probably take this to one on of the Primedice threads or PM Stunna.

[CEG5952]

good thread. thanks, op.

[IamNotSure]

Great thread, nice to see taht when it was started, BTC was worth 10$

[vokain]

wonderful wonderful thread. thank you JR

[GnB]

Frankly if we are going to get this market off the ground we have to trust SOMEBODY.  I like your guidelines.  If you know where and who the person is, you have a leg up in litigating your funds back (since bitcoins do have an estimate-able value, theft is a criminal action.)  Another thing you should require is a merchant agreement.  When you are making a purchase online you want there to be a page (or better yet, receive and e-mail) that says exactly what product or service you are receiving and the cost in bitcoins.  You also want this to include the deposit address for the wallet, so you can prove that you paid to that address the specified amount from your transaction history. (print off the webpage.)

Another important factor is if they accept cash transactions.  In the United States and many Western Countries cash is legal tender, required by law to be accepted for transactions.  If they do not have a method for you to buy their product using a cash method, such as paypal, credit card, Western Union, etc, and operate solely on bitcoin then they are operating illegally.  Even if they are legitimately offering products and services you are taking a gamble that they won't be closed down through legal channels before filling your order, and probably shouldn't be trusted anyways for their complete lack of business sense.

Edit http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/faqs/Currency/Pages/legal-tender.aspx Apparently private businesses in the US are not required to accept cash, but it would definitely be a step towards their credibility in my opinion.  Since fraud with legal tender is a federal offense and raises the stakes quite a bit for criminals.

I agree with this

[WhiteLite]

some good points made there, definitely true bitcoin has a lot of scams out their at the moment, same as fiat currency though. Just got to keep an eye always open

[EnderHf]

Well some people can be really paranoid

[verucabathsalts2]

Never trust anyone. Duh.

[rennenstimpy]

Seriously. Don't trust the exchanges, don't trust online wallet services, don't trust your anti-virus software, and don't trust anybody online.

If you absolutely must trust someone with your bitcoins, for the love, choose carefully!

1. Put all your coins in a new wallet that has never connected to the network
2. Encrypt that wallet with the maximum security you can find, using the most secure password you can keep track of
3. Delete the plaintext wallet, and distribute the encrypted wallet to every piece of physical media you own, store it online, and send it to several people you trust

Very wise advice, practical tips, a wealth of information. Just knowing this knowledge and experience is here, makes it a little less scarey, for someone about to take a dip in an unknown pool.

Appreciated, looking forward to being able to contribute.

[kronos222]

I am new to this whole bitcoin thing and after reading a bit on how to secure my bitcoins using paper wallet i have a question,

If i decide to send someone a few bitcoins from my paper wallet will the balance remain in the same paper wallet or do i have to send out the whole amount that i have in the paper wallet?

[qwertyuiopmnbvcxz]

Except Jesus and MacGyver.

[pinger]

Except Jesus and MacGyver.

And probably just MacGyver

[Yitiea]

Great write-up!!
Thanks for the advice.

[lzo_armo]

Great thread, Thanks :-)

[Roel Delicatessen]

I think it's a good thing that newbees have to read into the subject before getting full acces. It's not an easy to grasp subject.

[Qatatonic]

Just a thank you note, it was worth reading up on the security advice. It's easy to forget and all it takes is one lapse and everything is gone.