Please help me understand PAPER WALLETS

[J9901]

At this moment I have bought some bitcoins from Coinbase. Transaction finally went through and I am now the proud owner of 1 BTC (lol). I have another transaction currently pending bought on impulse due to the price drop.

I see that Coinbase has a paper wallet feature, but I still do not completely understand how paper wallets work, so please, help enlighten me.

1. I know how to make a paper wallet in Bitaddress.org and in Coinbase...which one do you recommend?
2. It is recommended to make a Paper Wallet in Bitaddress.org OFFLINE. Would it suffice to just go to Bitaddress.org, save the webpage (using Firefox), go offline, open saved page and produce BTC address/paper wallet, & Print? Or do I have to take any more extra steps for maximum security?
3. Once the paper wallet has been produced/printed (whether using Bitaddress.org or Coinbase), I can now simply deposit BTC to from my coinbase account using the BTC address right?
4. Can I continuously load as much BTC as I want in my BTC paper wallet using the BTC address? There is no limit causing me to have to create another paper wallet?
5. If I withdraw all my funds (because theres no way to just remove some of the BTC..all or nothing), to another BTC address, is it possible for me to reuse my old paper wallet or should I just 'scrap' it?

last but not least
6. Basically my BTC is store in the blockchain. The Paper Wallet is only secure because it has not been contaminated by the internet. Upon creating it, it has never been ONLINE. Therefore my Private Key is completely safe from any type of hacks/malware/virus/etc..THe paper wallet does not actually contain the BTC within the QRF code, but the paper wallet itself is more of an ACCESS KEY to blockchain to access your BTC funds...am i correct?

Again, sorry for the completely noob questions. One step at a time I suppose. Really hoping to wrap my head around the entire BTC process (mainly the whole transferring and securing), since I plan on buying more BTC down the road and there is no better time than now as the prices are 'low'. 

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[Kprawn]

Just going offline, and generating paper wallets, would be a bit risky. There are malware/key loggers etc. that can still function, even though you not connected to the internet. They simply dump the collected information, when you go back online.

I went "overkill" and created my paper wallets, on a brand new pc. I then reformmated the HDD, and re-installed everything. You can alternatively, create those wallets on another pc, which is not used on the internet, if you have one. Some people keep their old equipment, once they upgrade, and never use them on the internet again.

But as a said, I went totally overboard.

I see "paper wallets" as a piggy bank at home, for which only you, have the key. Once you take it to the bank, and you xfer the money into your bank account, thiefs or hackers or whoever, know about it, and they can steal it. {Obviously, if a thief gain access to your house, he may get access to your piggy and the key, and that goes the same for your paper wallet|

I simplified it, for newbies to also understand. You obviously understand the concept.

[Cryptogirl82]

i have never has or bought a paper wallet, so I don't really know if they are realiable or not?

[Cicero2.0]

I have an old laptop I can use. In theory as long as i never take it on the internet again it is safe to use correct?

[Bernard Lerring]

Partially correct. If it has NEVER been connected to a network it should be safe. You're better off wiping the entire hard drive and installing a version of Linux (Lubuntu is a favourite of mine), then using it for generating a paper wallet address and private key. It must NEVER be connected to the internet for it to be safe, but if you rarely use it that shouldn't be a problem for you.

[DannyHamilton]

1. I know how to make a paper wallet in Bitaddress.org and in Coinbase...which one do you recommend?

Most people around here recommend Bitaddress.org.  It can run offline, the source code has been reviewed and is widely accepted as safe.  There is always a possibility that they could put up a hacked webpage that hasn't been reviewed, and that you could end up becoming the victim, but that could happen with Coinbase as well.

2. It is recommended to make a Paper Wallet in Bitaddress.org OFFLINE. Would it suffice to just go to Bitaddress.org, save the webpage (using Firefox), go offline, open saved page and produce BTC address/paper wallet, & Print? Or do I have to take any more extra steps for maximum security?

That depends on how much you are storing, and how concerned you are about security.  As others have pointed out, there is a possibility that you already have some sort of malware running on your computer and don't even know it.  If you do, then that malware could capture your private keys as you generate them, and then report them back to the attacker later when the computer is reconnected to the internet.

3. Once the paper wallet has been produced/printed (whether using Bitaddress.org or Coinbase), I can now simply deposit BTC to from my coinbase account using the BTC address right?

Correct.

4. Can I continuously load as much BTC as I want in my BTC paper wallet using the BTC address?

Yes.

There is no limit causing me to have to create another paper wallet?

No. No limit.

5. If I withdraw all my funds (because theres no way to just remove some of the BTC..all or nothing), to another BTC address, is it possible for me to reuse my old paper wallet or should I just 'scrap' it?

It is possible to just remove some of the BTC (and to re-use an address), but it is much safer to just remove all the BTC and scrap it.

6. Basically my BTC is store in the blockchain. The Paper Wallet is only secure because it has not been contaminated by the internet. Upon creating it, it has never been ONLINE. Therefore my Private Key is completely safe from any type of hacks/malware/virus/etc..THe paper wallet does not actually contain the BTC within the QRF code, but the paper wallet itself is more of an ACCESS KEY to blockchain to access your BTC funds...am i correct?

Correct.

[bangi]

Isn there a youtube tutorial on this? using blochains thing.

[Cicero2.0]

Partially correct. If it has NEVER been connected to a network it should be safe. You're better off wiping the entire hard drive and installing a version of Linux (Lubuntu is a favourite of mine), then using it for generating a paper wallet address and private key. It must NEVER be connected to the internet for it to be safe, but if you rarely use it that shouldn't be a problem for you.

I see. How do you get a wallet on there to generate the private key? If I understand things correctly you must have a wallet to generate a private key.

[Gianluca95]

There are much instructions which teach you how to do a paper wallet.

If you want, I can pass you one of much

[MICRO]

Isn there a youtube tutorial on this? using blochains thing.

This video is the best on the internet for teaching u about paper wallets and cold storage .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1uefzJJ6nM

[scribbles]

People have already answered your questions, but I'll add three things since I recently did the exact thing you are asking about, including using coinbase.

1. As people mentioned, existing malware can be an issue that just going temporarily offline won't solve. I installed linux on a USB drive and then deleted the OS after I was done.

2. You can download the bitaddress code directly from GitHub and do a checksum to verify rather than just saving the website from your browser.

3. I deleted the cache on my printer after printing my paper wallet and before reconnecting internet.

Good luck, have fun, and feel free to PM since we are in a similar place with bitcoin.

[Cicero2.0]

People have already answered your questions, but I'll add three things since I recently did the exact thing you are asking about, including using coinbase.

1. As people mentioned, existing malware can be an issue that just going temporarily offline won't solve. I installed linux on a USB drive and then deleted the OS after I was done.

2. You can download the bitaddress code directly from GitHub and do a checksum to verify rather than just saving the website from your browser.

3. I deleted the cache on my printer after printing my paper wallet and before reconnecting internet.

Good luck, have fun, and feel free to PM since we are in a similar place with bitcoin.

Thanks for the tips. I have erased the hard driv eon my old laptop and am compiling an Ubuntu boot image right now on a flash drive.  I am also looking at the rasberry pi as an option once I learn the process.

[marcotheminer]

Isn there a youtube tutorial on this? using blochains thing.

Yes and there is one of the blockchain site aswell:

HERE:

http://blockchain.info/en/wallet/paper-tutorial

[J9901]

Thank you for the answers, suggestions, and advice!! 

2. You can download the bitaddress code directly from GitHub and do a checksum to verify rather than just saving the website from your browser.

Thanks for some more tips, but can you (or anyone else) please clarify the step above? Not sure what GitHub or checksums are.

[ShakyhandsBTCer]

Isn there a youtube tutorial on this? using blochains thing.

Yes and there is one of the blockchain site aswell:

HERE:

http://blockchain.info/en/wallet/paper-tutorial

I believe that coinbase also offers paper wallets.

[MICRO]

Isn there a youtube tutorial on this? using blochains thing.

Yes and there is one of the blockchain site aswell:

HERE:

http://blockchain.info/en/wallet/paper-tutorial

I believe that coinbase also offers paper wallets.

Yes cloudbase also have option for paper wallets.

[Bernard Lerring]

Is there a script that I could run in Linux for generating an address/private key combo?

I used an HTML copy of the bitaddress site last time on a fresh installation of linux.

I would be happier running a short script which is far easier to examine for any kind of malware. Preferably something which allows you to add an audio file as entropy, since I can generate that by using my little netbook's built in microphone and creating some background noise.   

[MICRO]

Is there a script that I could run in Linux for generating an address/private key combo?

I used an HTML copy of the bitaddress site last time on a fresh installation of linux.

I would be happier running a short script which is far easier to examine for any kind of malware. Preferably something which allows you to add an audio file as entropy, since I can generate that by using my little netbook's built in microphone and creating some background noise.   

There is scrypt from btcadresses on gthub. Im on phone atm i will send u link kater

[Lieji]

Is there a script that I could run in Linux for generating an address/private key combo?

I used an HTML copy of the bitaddress site last time on a fresh installation of linux.

I would be happier running a short script which is far easier to examine for any kind of malware. Preferably something which allows you to add an audio file as entropy, since I can generate that by using my little netbook's built in microphone and creating some background noise.   

There is scrypt from btcadresses on gthub. Im on phone atm i will send u link kater

You mean this one? https://github.com/pointbiz/bitaddress.org