Best Cold Storage solution?

[silvergoldandbitcoin]

Hey all, I just recently had 2.4 Bitcoin stolen from my coinlenders account, and I'm curious as to what the best solution is for cold storage?

"Best" as in most secure/easy to retrieve/safe from real world threats (fire, theft, loss)

Thanks!

[beetcoin]

i'm happy with electrum.. initially i had armory, but it requires you to download the full blockchain. electrum is more convenient and i understand how it works better.

[Dabs]

Fire = store it in such a way that it won't burn. Or you have it in more than one physical location.
Theft / Loss = use a very strong very long password.

Personally, for cold storage, aside from the offline computer, I'd just simply print out the private keys and seal them in an envelope. Keep that paper where all your other important papers are stored. Treat it like bearer bonds, because that's what it is.

Optionally, carve it into stone, or metal or what have you. They are the same as paper wallets.

[Barek]

If you are worried about fire/theft, use fragmented backups (Shamir Secret Sharing) so that you need 2 out of 3 printouts to restore the wallet. Then put those printouts at different locations (fireproof chest/bank/parents/friends ...). The chance that two locations are robbed or burn down at the same time is very, very, very low.

[beetcoin]

anyone think it's a good idea to memorize 8 characters of your seed, and then save the other 4 on the cloud?

[hilariousandco]

Hey all, I just recently had 2.4 Bitcoin stolen from my coinlenders account, and I'm curious as to what the best solution is for cold storage?

"Best" as in most secure/easy to retrieve/safe from real world threats (fire, theft, loss)

Thanks!

Maybe paper wallets and put them in a decent fire-proof lockable box and hide it safely.

[mufa23]

Paper wallets, are by far, my favorite forum of longterm cold storage.

You simply generate the address and key, and physically print them out. Etch them into a stone/steel/wood block. Write down the privkey on a notepad. Record yourself reciting the private key. You can print out the text, or the QR code (or both!). You can save it all as a .txt file, or screen shot it and save as an image file (.jpg, .png, etc) to prevent malicious programs from searching through your files to find the key. Keep digital back ups on CDs, SD cards, Hard drives, etc. Use your own encryption and post the encrypted privkey online for Google to save for eternity. Or better yet, write your encrypted privkey into the blockchain so you can always retrieve it later.

There is so many creative ideas you can do with a "paper wallet". Just because it's called a "paper wallet" doesn't mean you need to print it on paper. There is thousands of potential ways you can have a "paper wallet".

[charleshoskinson]

Bitcoinpaperwallet.com. Print one and have fun.

[silvergoldandbitcoin]

Paper wallets, are by far, my favorite forum of longterm cold storage.

You simply generate the address and key, and physically print them out. Etch them into a stone/steel/wood block. Write down the privkey on a notepad. Record yourself reciting the private key. You can print out the text, or the QR code (or both!). You can save it all as a .txt file, or screen shot it and save as an image file (.jpg, .png, etc) to prevent malicious programs from searching through your files to find the key. Keep digital back ups on CDs, SD cards, Hard drives, etc. Use your own encryption and post the encrypted privkey online for Google to save for eternity. Or better yet, write your encrypted privkey into the blockchain so you can always retrieve it later.

There is so many creative ideas you can do with a "paper wallet". Just because it's called a "paper wallet" doesn't mean you need to print it on paper. There is thousands of potential ways you can have a "paper wallet".

When you say "write your encrypted privkey into the blockchain" Do you mean type that in as a note?

I've read about people being able to write notes into their transactions, but I've never done it myself. How is this done?

[silvergoldandbitcoin]

Bitcoinpaperwallet.com. Print one and have fun.

If I go that route, I'd need to buy a fireproof safe/lockbox.

[silvergoldandbitcoin]

I'm not sure, but I believe the M of N backups are in the upcoming release.

Sorry, I have no clue what "M of N backups" are...

Could you please explain, or un-abbreviate?

[GigaCoin]

I am very happy with Armory.

Just install it on an offline computer, create your wallet, then fund it.

Make a few backups and store them in different physical locations. I'm not sure, but I believe the M of N backups are in the upcoming release. There are also the normal encrypted digital backups, and paper wallet backups.

The beauty of Armory is when you want to move some coins from that offline wallet, you can sign the transaction offline as well, so you never need put your private keys on a networked computer.

Convenience and security.

great tip HOlliday, i wasn't aware of this. Gonna def check it out in a bit.

[toroidmonster24]

Bitcoinpaperwallet.com. Print one and have fun.

If I go that route, I'd need to buy a fireproof safe/lockbox.

Actually I'd probably encrypt the PDF and store it somewhere local as well.

[silvergoldandbitcoin]

Bitcoinpaperwallet.com. Print one and have fun.

If I go that route, I'd need to buy a fireproof safe/lockbox.

Actually I'd probably encrypt the PDF and store it somewhere local as well.

Someone mentioned making an image of the private key, and encrypting that. That sounds pretty slick to me, and extremely difficult, if not impossible, for any virus to steal.

This is one of the routes I will probably take.

[silvergoldandbitcoin]

anyone think it's a good idea to memorize 8 characters of your seed, and then save the other 4 on the cloud?

This idea has a huge flaw unfortunately.

I could simply forget the 8 characters I was supposed to remember.

I would not entrust my money to my memory. :p

[charleshoskinson]

Someone mentioned making an image of the private key, and encrypting that. That sounds pretty slick to me, and extremely difficult, if not impossible, for any virus to steal.

This is one of the routes I will probably take.

Yes, use this software to do it: http://www.aescrypt.com/

Simply use the snippet tool to cut a copy of the wallet right out of the browser and encrypt it with a passphrase you can remember. I'd write the public key down for reference and store two copies. One locally and one in the cloud (like dropbox). Just make sure your passphrase is strong enough (24 digits mixture of alphanumeric characters).

[toroidmonster24]

Bitcoinpaperwallet.com. Print one and have fun.

If I go that route, I'd need to buy a fireproof safe/lockbox.

Actually I'd probably encrypt the PDF and store it somewhere local as well.

Someone mentioned making an image of the private key, and encrypting that. That sounds pretty slick to me, and extremely difficult, if not impossible, for any virus to steal.

This is one of the routes I will probably take.

You just need to encrypt the private key. Encrypting an image is more annoying. bitaddress.org => Create wallet with BIP38 encryption. If the encryption is truly as strong as its claimed you should be able to show everyone that wallet you just printed. I need to do a little more research, but it sounds like I can just print those at work and not really worry about it getting stolen. I wouldn't print an unencrypted private key on a public printer though.

[Dabs]

I went to my local computer store. I saw this printer: HP Deskjet 1000 Printer.

On Amazon, it's less than $40. The ink is half that. And if you use "fake" or "refilled" inks, it will work on the printer for at least awhile, and when it finally dies you can just buy another printer.

[justusranvier]

There is nothing that beats Armory for cold storage.

[Dabs]

It's like a parity check. Redundant information.