Updating to Electrum 4.1.2

[Sumarokov]

This will be the first time I have updated my Electrum Wallet. I use a desktop PC and Windows 10.

I see that there is a notice "Update to Electrum 4.1.2 is available" at the bottom of the screen.

Is there anything I need to know about security or anything else before I begin? Or do you just click and it goes ahead automatically?

[ranochigo]

Pressing the message should show you a link to Electrum.org. While it doesn't present any security risk, I would still advice you to check the link if it is correct again and also validate your download with ThomasV's PGP.

[HCP]

There is also a great guide from Direwolf regarding downloading and verifying Electrum: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5240594.0

Assuming you have already done that before... following the link should be OK... personally, I see the notification and then go and manually Electrum from electrum.org (and verify the digital signatures, of course)

[dkbit98]

Is there anything I need to know about security or anything else before I begin? Or do you just click and it goes ahead automatically?

Make sure that computer (offline is best option) you are using for installing Electrum wallet is clean and scanned for malware and keyloggers, than you can download, verify signature and install wallet.

[Sumarokov]

I plan to use the same computer with my existing Electrum wallet, which has no problems, as far as I can gather.

Can you update a wallet and download the new version offline? I thought you would be directed to the revelant Electrum page. I did not even know I could open my wallet offline (I have never tried).

[dkbit98]

Can you update a wallet and download the new version offline? I thought you would be directed to the revelant Electrum page. I did not even know I could open my wallet offline (I have never tried).

You could download and verify Electrum with your regular computer and then move it to you offline computer that you are using only for Bitcoin wallets and other crypto related stuff.
This is used mainly for security as offline cold storage and yes you can open wallet and partially send transaction even if you are offline, but you can't broadcast it or check your balance.

[ranochigo]

Can you update a wallet and download the new version offline? I thought you would be directed to the revelant Electrum page. I did not even know I could open my wallet offline (I have never tried).

You can open a wallet or install/update your Electrum offline. The only operation that requires internet are those that updates your wallet with the transactions, etc.

Using it offline after having connected to the internet won't be very beneficial, security-wise. Using it offline requires an air-gap setup which keeps your wallet offline which minimizes any attack vector that uses the internet to transfer information. Keeping your computer free from malware should be something that is done all the time, not only when you're updating your client. As long as you can validate the files, you're probably fine.

[Sumarokov]

Ah, thank you. I see that my wallet does indeed open when offline (except that the circle is red and not green).

When I am UPDATING my Electrum wallet, do I need to do anything like delete the old? I have not done this before, only downloaded my first ever wallet.

I will do it for Windows. Does it automatically go onto the default wallet once installed or do you have to start from scratch using your seed?

[hosseinimr93]

When I am UPDATING my Electrum wallet, do I need to do anything like delete the old? I have not done this before, only downloaded my first ever wallet.

There is no need to remove the previous version. The new version will be replaced the old one. Just make sure that electrum is not running when you install the new version.

I will do it for Windows. Does it automatically go onto the default wallet once installed or do you have to start from scratch using your seed?

The new version will be able to open all wallets created by the old version. There is no need to create them again.
But for more security, make sure that you have the seed phrase before you upgrade electrum to the new version.

And as stated in previous posts, don't forget to verify the signature.

[pooya87]

When I am UPDATING my Electrum wallet, do I need to do anything like delete the old? I have not done this before, only downloaded my first ever wallet.

I will do it for Windows. Does it automatically go onto the default wallet once installed or do you have to start from scratch using your seed?

As long as the initial installation was in default location and you haven't made any changes in that, the new installation will simply replace the old files with the new ones and you will have the new version running.

As for the wallet, wallet files are stored separately in your %APPDATA% folder and they are not touched when upgrading. There is also another file called config which contains your client settings, last wallet created and more. It will open the last wallet file you opened.

However, it is best to always have a backup of your seed phrase to be able to recover your funds in case of a catastrophe (hardware damaged) and also when upgrading the major versions (eg. from 3.x.x to 4.x.x) sometimes there are major changes that may also modify the wallet file. Having a backup of the seed phrase could be useful in case something went wrong during that conversion.

[rhomelmabini]

Is there some sort of bug/s or ransomware on the 4.0.9 version, I am not new to Electrum but I did experience a hack on my wallet and it was sweep from my wallet 3 days ago. I can't think of anyway that it was from my laptop like anyone get through with it since the last time I opened it was weeks ago.

I guess this isn't the thing that bait me: https://reddit.com/r/Electrum/comments/lpn9aw/ad_network_phishing_attack_electrum_409_update

[Lucius]

You have 2 options that are possible, you exposed your seed in a way that someone managed to get hold of it - or you simply downloaded a fake wallet. Only versions below 3.3.4 were vulnerable (and still are) to a phishing attack, so if by any chance you had an older version than that, and if you downloaded a new version from a phishing link, hackers stole everything from you within minutes or even seconds.

There are no vulnerabilities in version 4.0.9 that would allow hackers to do what they did a few years ago.

[rhomelmabini]

You have 2 options that are possible, you exposed your seed in a way that someone managed to get hold of it - or you simply downloaded a fake wallet. Only versions below 3.3.4 were vulnerable (and still are) to a phishing attack, so if by any chance you had an older version than that, and if you downloaded a new version from a phishing link, hackers stole everything from you within minutes or even seconds.

There are no vulnerabilities in version 4.0.9 that would allow hackers to do what they did a few years ago.

Looks like they are possible but to be honest I don't really know how and why did it happened. I just still thankful that they just get rid of the Electrum and not the other wallets I currently owned and it has low balance and I regularly withdraw the btc in there. Thanks for the response though.

[ranochigo]

Looks like they are possible but to be honest I don't really know how and why did it happened. I just still thankful that they just get rid of the Electrum and not the other wallets I currently owned and it has low balance and I regularly withdraw the btc in there. Thanks for the response though.

Phishing attacks are always possible, regardless of your wallet.

None of these would have happened if people religiously seek to validate their download. From what I understand, that phishing attack was a popup box from a website and is social engineered to made it seem like it was downloaded from Electrum. Electrum does not display any messages from the servers in rich text anymore.

[rhomelmabini]

Looks like they are possible but to be honest I don't really know how and why did it happened. I just still thankful that they just get rid of the Electrum and not the other wallets I currently owned and it has low balance and I regularly withdraw the btc in there. Thanks for the response though.

Phishing attacks are always possible, regardless of your wallet.

None of these would have happened if people religiously seek to validate their download. From what I understand, that phishing attack was a popup box from a website and is social engineered to made it seem like it was downloaded from Electrum. Electrum does not display any messages from the servers in rich text anymore.

To be honest, I don't know if it's phishing since the last time I remember I downloaded the 4.0.9 version was months ago (if I remember it correctly that it was the time they released that version), I may be wrong too. Well, it already happened and I created a new wallet and this time it has the 2fa authentication, my bad I just activated it recently with this new address I have.

[HCP]

... and I created a new wallet and this time it has the 2fa authentication, my bad I just activated it recently with this new address I have.

You realise that the Electrum 2FA wallets come with "extra" service fees from TrustedCoin, right? These are in addition to the standard Bitcoin network transaction fees.

Refer: https://api.trustedcoin.com/#/faq#fees

Make sure you understand what you're getting into before you ask why there is an extra 0.0005 BTC (or 0.00125 BTC) charge on your first outgoing transaction