Some newbie BTC questions

[demme418]

I'm undecided as to whether or not to buy into BTC, both pro and anti arguments seem equally persuasive to me. However if I do decide to buy btc there are some basic questions I'd need answered first by someone with btc experience/knowledge because I'm somewhat tech challenged and don't personally know anyone who knows anything about bitcoin.

First if I bought btc I wouldn't want to store it on an exchange like MtGox or whatever I'd want it secured on a thumb drive and off my computer. How do I go about doing that? I've never even bought or used a thumb drive before. So question 1 is how do I safely and securely download a wallet, buy bitcoin then transfer it to and securely store it on a thumb drive? (I'm using Windows 7). Also how would I actually pay for it, I'd have to withdraw from my bank account, right? How is that done? And how could that make it "anonymous"?

2nd question : if I had btc then if/when I want to sell it for GBP or USD, presumably using the thumb drive, then how would I go about doing that safely and securely?

Any help/information in lay terms gratefully appreciated.

 

[hilariousandco]

You don’t have to keep a wallet on your PC, you could store your coins online at https://blockchain.info/wallet

Simple steps to getting started:

Download a BTC wallet. http://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet
Install and open it.
Let the blockchain load up (this will take a while the first time)
Look to buy some BTC. Buy a tiny amount at first on ebay or from somebody on here and get it sent to your wallet. Be careful not to get scammed.
Once you have received the funds, encrypt your wallet and make a back up the dat.file and copy it onto a usb stick. Keep the USB safe and don't lose it.

Make sure you read up on wallets and cryptos before you dive straight in. You don't want to lose money. You might want to try getting to grips with another cheaper crypto currency first. Most of them are clones of BTC with minor tweaks so work the same way and use essentially the same wallets.

It will be daunting at first if you're not tech savvy, but you'll quickly get used to it.

[demme418]

I wouldn't want to store btc anywhere online.

What's meant by the "blockchain loading up"?

How I am I supposed to know about encrypting wallets, backing up dat files etc.

I'd thought that these were relatively simple questions I'd asked in my first post, and had hoped for relatively straightforward solutions. At this rate it's going to be many years before btc gets anywhere remotely near to mainstream acceptance. Not a reflection on the person who replied, but this reply has swayed me slightly more towards deciding against btc than I was before. 

[nipponese]

I wouldn't want to store btc anywhere online.

Do you think your own computer is more safe than a hosted solutions with 24/7 ops peoples and automated backups? I don't ask this question facetiously. Your own machine may very well be more trust-worthy, but remember that one non-backed up hard drive crash could wipe out your wallet.

What's meant by the "blockchain loading up"?

The blockchain is a record of every single bitcoin transaction that has ever happened. In order for the system to know if a transaction is a legit, it has to go back through the blockchain and make sure the sending wallet was once credited with at least the amount being sent, and the wallet before that, and the wallet before that. Basically, If you're giving me $20, I need to know that someone else, at some point in the past, gave you AT LEAST $20 (or more) AND that you didn't spend that $20. Naturally, the only way I would know that is if I knew that someone gave that person at least $20 (or more).

Sooooo.... yeah, the blockchain must be "loaded up" so that client software can verify past transactions. It only has to happen once, but could take a LONG (as in "days") time.

[kaysersoze]

Dude just go via mtgox.com or bitstamp, two of the most well known exchanges, from there you can buy and then download your coins to your computer, and place them on usb or external hardrive with encryption and lock them in a banksafe if you are that paranoid =) its actually that way even safer then having cash in your bank cause with proper encryption they still need to enter your hardrive even if they somehow get to your banksafe=)

[hilariousandco]

How I am I supposed to know about encrypting wallets, backing up dat files etc.

By doing some actual research. You click some buttons on your wallet and then put it on a usb. Do you need me to explain what is meant by "putting it on a usb"? Everything you need to know can be found online and has been answered multiple times before on this very forum. I tried to give you some simple answers to your questions and all I get back is condescension. Oh, and if you've never used a flash drive before, I think it's best you leave Bitcoin alone.

"At this rate it's going to be many years before btc gets anywhere remotely near to mainstream acceptance"

Yeah, and when it hopefully does I hope you'll remember this thread and wonder how much money you could've made.

[The 4ner]

You should go about it like this.
1st: Read through all of this: http://bitcoin.org/en/getting-started
Then decide if you're ready to embark on this hell of a journey.
If you decide to do so proceed to the following steps as ordered on that website.

[DannyHamilton]

Bitcoin is still in its infancy.  The software still has a "Beta" designation, and there aren't many user level innovations yet.  This means that you are "getting in early" when the average citizen of the world hasn't even heard of bitcoin yet, let alone have the skills to get involved.  Eventually there will be layers of interface built on top of the protocol making it more and more useful to the less technically inclined.

If you are certain that you don't have any malware running on your computer and can figure out how to install a bitcoin wallet, then you can purchase some bitcoins and have them sent to your bitcoin address.  Most of the wallets that exist right now provide a feature to create a backup of the wallet.  You could create that backup on the USB "thumb drive", and then delete the wallet from your computer.

Later when you want to spend the bitcoins, you could re-install the same wallet software and recover the backup from the USB "thumb drive".

This is not the safest way to handle bitcoins, but as long as your personal computer doesn't have any malware, it will almost certainly be fine.