In specific terms, what is the best way to safely store Bitcoins?

[DrBitcoin]

I have a few Bitcoins (not much) in Counbase, and after the Mt. Gox fiasco, I think it is foolish to leave them there.

I would love to take all my Bitcoins and just store them on the Bitcoin.qt app, and backup that app to USB, but the app is so large and I have a small hard drive.

Can someone point me towards a tutorial that goes over each option? I'm dabbling with Blockchain.info but worried they can still get stolen from that.

[Gabi]

but the app is so large and I have a small hard drive

You can use lightweight clients like Multibit or Electrum, they allow you to have your own wallet without downloading the whole huge blockchain 

I'm dabbling with Blockchain.info but worried they can still get stolen from that

Blockchain.info won't control your coins, only you will have the private key for that, so basically is is like using bitcoin-qt (or multibit or electrum)

And you can also print a paper wallet and have your coins on a paper wallet.

This said, you should do your backup on an offline pc wich is never connected to internet, it is the only way to be sure. Like creating the wallets or printing them with the offline pc and then moving the coins there.

Or wait for a hardware wallet like Trezor to be released, it will solve all these problems. Sure, it is not free

[Danglebee]

i run bitcoin-qt on new linux installation. set password. backup multple places. write addrress too. delete in linux.
then send bitcoin to addrress

[jarhed]

Can someone point me towards a tutorial that goes over each option? I'm dabbling with Blockchain.info but worried they can still get stolen from that.

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Securing_your_wallet

[Simon8x]

Setting up an offline wallet or a paper wallet is the safest way

[Sindelar1938]

offline paper wallet, nothing less will do

[medUSA]

I would love to take all my Bitcoins and just store them on the Bitcoin.qt app, and backup that app to USB, but the app is so large and I have a small hard drive.

I don't mind it taking up space, I hate it when I have to wait to use it...

I haven't used Bitcoin-Qt for a long time. Recently when I started it, it was about 30 weeks behind...
I left it on for 48 hours straight and it is still downloading with 10 weeks behind.
There is nothing I can do except switch it off and gave up on Bitcoin-Qt.
(It was installed on an old notebook)

Then I tried Electrum. Have everything up and running in under 10 minutes.
I like Electrum very much simply because I don't need to download the blockchain and use it whenever I need to.
I am not absolutely sure about the uniqueness of the "12-words-seed" though

[Mobius7]

I am not absolutely sure about the uniqueness of the "12-words-seed" though

IIRC, the electrum seed is a 128-bit random number, while a bitcoin private key is 256-bit.

[medUSA]

I am not absolutely sure about the uniqueness of the "12-words-seed" though

IIRC, the electrum seed is a 128-bit random number, while a bitcoin private key is 256-bit.

I am not not sure what you meant. Do you mean it is unique enough, or not adequate?
Bottom line is, do I need to worry about it?

[Mobius7]

I am not absolutely sure about the uniqueness of the "12-words-seed" though

IIRC, the electrum seed is a 128-bit random number, while a bitcoin private key is 256-bit.

I am not not sure what you meant. Do you mean it is unique enough, or not adequate?
Bottom line is, do I need to worry about it?

Simply put, it is like:
If you generate a electrum wallet, it is very very very very very unlikely someone will be able to get that same seed on his end.
If you generate a bitcoin address, it is very very very very very very very very very very unlikely someone will be able to get a private key of that same address.

Of course, I assume there is no bug in your random number generator and there is no trojan in your computer.

[the1]

http://youtu.be/I1uefzJJ6nM

very well explained how you can store your BTC

[moriartypants]

Simply put, it is like:
If you generate a electrum wallet, it is very very very very very unlikely someone will be able to get that same seed on his end.
If you generate a bitcoin address, it is very very very very very very very very very very unlikely someone will be able to get a private key of that same address.

Of course, I assume there is no bug in your random number generator and there is no trojan in your computer.

sophisticated trojans are about to become extremely profitable.  

[marcotheminer]

Create a cold storage wallet using blockchain or electrum

[apsvinet]

Multibit works very well for smaller amounts.
Altho if it's an amount you can't afford to lose
( or you're just very careful with your money )
an offline paper wallet is the way to go, as suggested above.

[Dosmas]

coldstorage through new installation of os. Not in an exchange or so

[DCLacoste]

Which of the paper wallet generators list here https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Paper_wallet are tried and true?
I'd prefer generators that were totally self-contained, not web-based.  Linux, Windows?  Are there any newer generators not listed that look good?

Thanks!

Lacoste

Setting up an offline wallet or a paper wallet is the safest way

[xinzark]

Safe them in offline wallet or a wallet with no connection

[Mobius7]

Which of the paper wallet generators list here https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Paper_wallet are tried and true?
I'd prefer generators that were totally self-contained, not web-based.  Linux, Windows?  Are there any newer generators not listed that look good?

Thanks!

Lacoste

Setting up an offline wallet or a paper wallet is the safest way

I have only used Bitaddress, and everything work smoothly.
Just don't forget to run it offline. https://github.com/pointbiz/bitaddress.org

[Lamber]

Try to use cold storage or paper wallet.

[apsvinet]

Never store any amounts online.
I still don't get why -so- many people do it. It's like asking to get goxxed.