Question concerning backups/keys

[spacecoins]

Hi there I'm just looking for some help understanding the function of a private key. I understand that there are wallet backups and private keys.

If you have a private key to an address then you basically have authority to spend those bitcoins as far as I understand.

Now let's say you lose the device with the wallet containing your coins and somebody else gets access to it and they transfer the coins to another wallet, are they gone forever even if you have backed up your private keys?

As I understand it the private keys would allow you to recover coins but only so long as those coins haven't been spent already correct? So in effect the private keys are a recovery tool to a lost/damaged wallet but not necessarily an anti-theft tool since the coins can still be spent if somebody physically had access to the wallet before you were able to create a new wallet/address with your key backups.

Am I understanding this correctly?

Thanks for the help and sorry if I'm not making sense.

[DannyHamilton]

Hi there I'm just looking for some help understanding the function of a private key. I understand that there are wallet backups and private keys.

Correct.

If you have a private key to an address then you basically have authority to spend those bitcoins as far as I understand.

Correct.

Now let's say you lose the device with the wallet containing your coins and somebody else gets access to it and they transfer the coins to another wallet, are they gone forever even if you have backed up your private keys?

Yes.

As I understand it the private keys would allow you to recover coins but only so long as those coins haven't been spent already correct?

Correct.

So in effect the private keys are a recovery tool to a lost/damaged wallet but not necessarily an anti-theft tool since the coins can still be spent if somebody physically had access to the wallet before you were able to create a new wallet/address with your key backups.

Correct.

Am I understanding this correctly?

Yes.

[spacecoins]

Great! Thanks for reading all that and answering.

Ok so having said that, why is it that certain wallet software doesn't require a password to access/view/spend the bitcoins within it? Wouldn't a mandatory password eliminate (or at least reduce) the possibility to spend the coins within that wallet? If backups only help so long as your coins haven't been moved out of that wallet, then why not password protect access to the wallet altogether?

Granted computers and devices almost all have password locks built in, but that's besides the point. More protection can't hurt right? Maybe I'm missing something here?

Thanks again.

[DannyHamilton]

Great! Thanks for reading all that and answering.

Ok so having said that, why is it that certain wallet software doesn't require a password to access/view/spend the bitcoins within it? Wouldn't a mandatory password eliminate (or at least reduce) the possibility to spend the coins within that wallet? If backups only help so long as your coins haven't been moved out of that wallet, then why not password protect access to the wallet altogether?

Most well written wallet software does allow you to set a password.

Which wallet are you talking about?

[spacecoins]

Most well written wallet software does allow you to set a password.

Which wallet are you talking about?

None in particular but I came across some comments recently that mentioned how some wallets don't let you password protect them. Should these wallets be avoided then?
Which wallets would you recommend for desktop/smartphone?

[DannyHamilton]

None in particular but I came across some comments recently that mentioned how some wallets don't let you password protect them. Should these wallets be avoided then?

Yes.

Which wallets would you recommend for desktop/smartphone?

Desktop:

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

Android tablet or smartphone:

• Bitcoin Wallet
• Mycelium
• Blockchain

iOS tablet or smartphone

• Blockchain