Perspective and encouraging words needed..

[allincoin]

I'm sure some have heard that BIPS wallets were breached and coins were stolen.  I'm still trying to deal with the fact that my coins are likely gone forever..  

I've had the foresight to pick winners in the past but finally put my money where my mouth is with bitcoin... I didn't want to be a woulda coulda or a shoulda person anymore..  All my coins were purchased sub $100 per coin.  Do I just eat my losses and put money that I don't really have back in somehow?

  
My losses pale in comparison to what others have lost but just when I thought I finally caught a break the rug is pulled out from underneath you..  FUCK!!

[DobZombie]

Are BIPS covering losses?

[allincoin]

Per Kyle at BIPS all that is left is a few Satoshi's and no one should have trusted them to keep any bitcoins safe.

[jojo69]

online wallets?  really?  still?

1 download armory
2 verify download checksum
3 boot linux live session on airgapped box
4 install armory
5 create cold storage wallet
6 print paper wallet and back up cold storage wallet to USB sticks that will never be inserted into connected computers
7 create "watching only" wallet version and transfer to USB stick that will be inserted into connected computers

we are talking real money folks, time to act like it

[allincoin]

I have armory installed and its been syncing for 48 hours now... My laptop barely functions while its running.. I would say my tech savvyness  is certainly above average and some of what you said I have no idea what it means..  I could likely figure it out but the majority of the population certainly can't or wont..   

How can bitcoin be made more user friendly and yet safer for the masses?  We are a long way away from mass adoption without this being resolved.   

We need to find a way to self regulate before governments get involved and make a mess of it.

[jojo69]

I am sorry, I meant to include some encouraging words in my post but forgot as I made my list.  I lost coins in the bitcoinica debacle and I do feel your pain.

Please ask specifically about what you don't understand in my list.

As far as user friendliness, at some point if people want real security they do have to take personal responsibility.  Having money in a big bank may feel safe, for now, but by abdicating the responsibility yourself you have assumed the counterparty risk of trusting the institution.  Look at the recent Cyprus "bail in" situation.

If we want freedom we all have to figure this cryptography stuff out.

I am sure that a superstructure of phone based instant payment technologies will be built on the foundation of bitcoin.  They will be effortless to use.  They will ALWAYS be less secure than creating your key pair from known trusted source code in a known uncompromised computing environment and then NEVER exposing the private key to the internet.  There simply are no two ways around that.

[allincoin]

online wallets?  really?  still?

1 download armory
2 verify download checksum
3 boot linux live session on airgapped box
4 install armory
5 create cold storage wallet
6 print paper wallet and back up cold storage wallet to USB sticks that will never be inserted into connected computers
7 create "watching only" wallet version and transfer to USB stick that will be inserted into connected computers

we are talking real money folks, time to act like it

1) Did this
2) is this the sync process?
3) I know of Linux... don't know what live session or an airgapped box is
4) could do this
5) can do this
6) I only have one computer
7) guessing its a feature in Armory?

I certainly believe in personal responsibility and understand that I screwed up by trusting what I thought was a trusted wallet service while I worked on a more secure option (I moved them there from MTGOX about a week prior because I saw so many negative posts and worried they would be compromised and lost)

[jojo69]

1) Did this
2) is this the sync process?
3) I know of Linux... don't know what live session or an airgapped box is
4) could do this
5) can do this
6) I only have one computer
7) guessing its a feature in Armory?

I certainly believe in personal responsibility and understand that I screwed up by trusting what I thought was a trusted wallet service while I worked on a more secure option (I moved them there from MTGOX about a week prior because I saw so many negative posts and worried they would be compromised and lost)

oh boy, OK

2) no, you need to verify that the armory you downloaded is not an imposter and has not been tampered with see https://bitcoinarmory.com/download/ under "Verifying Downloaded Files"  you will need GPG for this and you should verify its checksum when you get it.

3) air gap is slang for a computer that is not connected to the internet; ethernet cable unplugged or radio disabled, preferably hardware disabled.  Live session is an operating system loaded from removable media, either a CD or USB stick that sets it self up in RAM not on the hard drive.  The whole point here is that your private key should never be on the hard drive.  Armory suggests Ubuntu 11.04 I believe

7) that is fine, you just have to figure out the bootable live session and how to be damn sure its not on the internet when you don't want it to be.

what is syncing is bitcoin QT right?  tell me you have bitcoin QT installed

[kireinaha]

I guess it`s important for users to always remember certain basics, such as refraining from leaving large amounts in online wallets, and extreme care should be taken when making any transactions with other parties, even when said parties have positive reputations. If something goes awry you will be out of luck with no possibility of chargebacks or other consumer protections.

At least take comfort in the fact that you`re far from the only one who has been cheated in this game. And even if your coins are gone and can never be recovered, you still have your life and your freedom, which is priceless and more than others can say. Well, unless you`re a paraplegic or something, then I`m just sorry, man.

[allincoin]

1) Did this
2) is this the sync process?
3) I know of Linux... don't know what live session or an airgapped box is
4) could do this
5) can do this
6) I only have one computer
7) guessing its a feature in Armory?

I certainly believe in personal responsibility and understand that I screwed up by trusting what I thought was a trusted wallet service while I worked on a more secure option (I moved them there from MTGOX about a week prior because I saw so many negative posts and worried they would be compromised and lost)

oh boy, OK

2) no, you need to verify that the armory you downloaded is not an imposter and has not been tampered with see https://bitcoinarmory.com/download/ under "Verifying Downloaded Files"  you will need GPG for this and you should verify its checksum when you get it.

3) air gap is slang for a computer that is not connected to the internet; ethernet cable unplugged or radio disabled, preferably hardware disabled.  Live session is an operating system loaded from removable media, either a CD or USB stick that sets it self up in RAM not on the hard drive.  The whole point here is that your private key should never be on the hard drive.  Armory suggests Ubuntu 11.04 I believe

7) that is fine, you just have to figure out the bootable live session and how to be damn sure its not on the internet when you don't want it to be.

what is syncing is bitcoin QT right?  tell me you have bitcoin QT installed

Bitcoin QT is installed..  then I read about Armory... which can't be run at the same time..  The "syncing" is downloading all the transaction history then scanning that history I let it run on the windows laptop to see what its all about...  All 3 of my coins were stolen so I don't have anything to protect at the moment..  PS every time I open my phone and see the new MTGOX price app I can't help but think about how I'm going to fund getting more coins again. 

[jojo69]

OK, I just want to make sure we are on the same page

I have it set up where I can run them at the same time so I don't know about your case specifically.  Is armory giving you an progress bar?  Getting the blockchain up to date on your online harddrive is a time consuming step, but you can get your Ubuntu live media downloaded and burnt to CD or bootable USb in the meantime, also look up GPG and how to verify its MD5 or SHA1 checksum.

I think you may well have another entry point in the 400s or 500s before it is all over as far as getting new coins.

[MPOE-PR]

I have armory installed and its been syncing for 48 hours now... My laptop barely functions while its running.. I would say my tech savvyness  is certainly above average and some of what you said I have no idea what it means..

This is a good thing, not a bad thing. It's a learning opportunity, use the savvy you perceive in yourself to approach it well and gracefully, rather than to complain. It'll be hard, but it won't be anything like watching your possessions slip through your fingers because ultimately you didn't know how to grip.

I could likely figure it out but the majority of the population certainly can't or wont..  

How can bitcoin be made more user friendly and yet safer for the masses?  We are a long way away from mass adoption without this being resolved.  

Bitcoin is not for the masses. Great things are for those who can responsibly understand, appreciate, and use them.

[jojo69]

Hey there MPOE-PR, good to see you

how is your employer holding up?

[jojo69]

oh, not that I know of

but great wealth can be dangerous on a number of levels

[MPOE-PR]

Hey there MPOE-PR, good to see you

how is your employer holding up?

Howdy.

Mr. P seems to be doin' just fine.

[kireinaha]

It`s wonderful to have the input of a professional bitcoin scammer such as MPOE-PR on this thread. Is this some kind of `Learn how to protect your home from reformed criminals` thing?

[btc4ever]

Why is anyone still using an online wallet?    Talk about the definition of insanity.

1) http://bitaddress.org.  Click Paper Wallet.
2) Print, Fund, hide, and get on with life.

1a) disconnect computer from internet if you are paranoid.

[TheFootMan]

I'm sure some have heard that BIPS wallets were breached and coins were stolen.  I'm still trying to deal with the fact that my coins are likely gone forever..  

I've had the foresight to pick winners in the past but finally put my money where my mouth is with bitcoin... I didn't want to be a woulda coulda or a shoulda person anymore..  All my coins were purchased sub $100 per coin.  Do I just eat my losses and put money that I don't really have back in somehow?

  
My losses pale in comparison to what others have lost but just when I thought I finally caught a break the rug is pulled out from underneath you..  FUCK!!

The perspective I can give is that a man that is able to see an opportunity once, is able to see it twice. And also the fact that you never fail until you stop trying.

Why is anyone still using an online wallet?    Talk about the definition of insanity.

Although the smartness of storing coins at an online wallet can be discussed, the man came here for empathy, understanding and perspective. How would you feel if you fucked up, lost a lot of stuff that's valuable to you, and you get thrown in the face that your ways are insane? Sure - if you never have coins stored at online exchanges, you might never lose a coin - but what if your fav exchange got hacked or shut down, and you happened to have coins there? It wouldn't matter if you always instantly transferred coins out, if in the window you had them there, the service got shut down.

Of course cold wallets and at least 2 FA when dealing with online sites is the way to go. But there's nothing wrong with showing an ounce of sympathy either.

[MPOE-PR]

It`s wonderful to have the input of a professional bitcoin scammer such as MPOE-PR on this thread. Is this some kind of `Learn how to protect your home from reformed criminals` thing?

No, this is a learn how to read thing.

Although the smartness of storing coins at an online wallet can be discussed, the man came here for empathy, understanding and perspective. How would you feel if you fucked up, lost a lot of stuff that's valuable to you, and you get thrown in the face that your ways are insane? Sure - if you never have coins stored at online exchanges, you might never lose a coin - but what if your fav exchange got hacked or shut down, and you happened to have coins there? It wouldn't matter if you always instantly transferred coins out, if in the window you had them there, the service got shut down.

Of course cold wallets and at least 2 FA when dealing with online sites is the way to go. But there's nothing wrong with showing an ounce of sympathy either.

Nothing wrong with showing an ounce of sympathy. That doesn't mean that the focal point of learning the necessity of sane practices is at all affected, tho'. It's the focal point, regardless of how anybody feels.