Lost Bitcoins to mSIGNA?!

[nikushx]

I understand, I was dumb.

I thought mSigna was like any Bitcoin wallet, apparently not. I need to have the Qt client, but that takes ages to get on my computer.
I sent all my Bitcoins to this wallet in mSigna, and me being a noob, don't know how to recover these coins I sent to the address on my mSIGNA wallet/vault thing.

Please help...

Sincerly,
Worried Dude

[cashtraderuk]

I understand, I was dumb.

I thought mSigna was like any Bitcoin wallet, apparently not. I need to have the Qt client, but that takes ages to get on my computer.
I sent all my Bitcoins to this wallet in mSigna, and me being a noob, don't know how to recover these coins I sent to the address on my mSIGNA wallet/vault thing.

Please help...

Sincerly,
Worried Dude

I think there's no way to connect without Bitcoin-Qt as Getting Started Tutorial states:

By default, mSIGNA™ will attempt to connect to a bitcoin node running on localhost (i.e. a local running instance of Bitcoin-Qt). If you have Bitcoin-Qt running on your computer, leave this setting alone. If you would prefer to connect to a remote bitcoin node, you can change the IP address and port under Network->Settings… (File->Preferences … on Mac).

[cashtraderuk]

To speed up the syncing process for bitcoinQT you can download the bootstrap.dat via torrents

[nikushx]

I understand, I was dumb.

I thought mSigna was like any Bitcoin wallet, apparently not. I need to have the Qt client, but that takes ages to get on my computer.
I sent all my Bitcoins to this wallet in mSigna, and me being a noob, don't know how to recover these coins I sent to the address on my mSIGNA wallet/vault thing.

Please help...

Sincerly,
Worried Dude

I think there's no way to connect without Bitcoin-Qt as Getting Started Tutorial states:

By default, mSIGNA™ will attempt to connect to a bitcoin node running on localhost (i.e. a local running instance of Bitcoin-Qt). If you have Bitcoin-Qt running on your computer, leave this setting alone. If you would prefer to connect to a remote bitcoin node, you can change the IP address and port under Network->Settings… (File->Preferences … on Mac).

It says something about a remote node, what is that?

[pooya87]

~~
but that takes ages to get on my computer.
~~

if that is your problem you can use lightweight wallets, like multibit or electrum. or online wallets.
here is alternative client sections https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=37.0

i myself am using blockchain.info and Electrum

[nikushx]

You sent bitcoins to an address in a wallet you haven't set up yet? That sounds impossible. Where did you get the address? All you need is the private key. You can import that into any wallet.

Where do I get the private key?

[twister]

You sent bitcoins to an address in a wallet you haven't set up yet? That sounds impossible. Where did you get the address? All you need is the private key. You can import that into any wallet.

Where do I get the private key?

Every address has a priv key, which is needed to control the funds in that address, don't know how msigna works but you must be having a key for the address you sent those coins to. How much did you sent?

[Madness]

You sent bitcoins to an address in a wallet you haven't set up yet? That sounds impossible. Where did you get the address? All you need is the private key. You can import that into any wallet.

Where do I get the private key?

Each public key (adress that you have) have it's Private key so it's impossible saying that you sent coins to a adress that dosen't have private keys , I don't think it's possible to send coins to Adress that dosen't exists yet . Have you checked any blockchain explorer website to see really if you sent the coins ?

[sho_road_warrior]

-snip-
It says something about a remote node, what is that?

A fullnode (bitcoin core/qt) run on a different machine. IMHO the fastest solution for you is to use the someone elses node, e.g. from the list below. Create a transaction and transfer your coins to a different wallet (e.g. Multibit, Electrum, etc.[1]) you prepared in advance.

Code:

last updated 2015.01.11
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IP                  - location             - owner[1]  -  speed      - info/stats page[2] - testnet
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
84.200.34.113       - Freinsheim, DE, EU   - Newar     - 1000 mbit/s - yes                - no
185.45.192.129      - Amsterdam, NL, EU    - anon      - 1000 mbit/s - /node.php[3]       - yes
94.23.146.127       - NL, EU               - anon      -  200 mbit/s - /status            - no
213.165.91.169      - Germany, EU          - shorena   -  100 mbit/s - yes                - no
191.236.50.217      - Virgina, US          - grue      -  100 mbit/s - no                 - no
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
!!The following nodes have been unreachable at the time of the last update and might[5] be down!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
eldinhadzic.org[4]  - LA, USA              - eldinhadz - 1000 mbit/s - no                 - no
50.7.68.180         - New York, USA        - Newar     -  100 mbit/s - yes                - no
5.9.24.81           - Germany, EU          - zvs       -  unknown    - no                 - no
178.79.173.71       - United Kingdom, EU   - zvs       -  unknown    - no                 - no
107.155.104.194     - Dalls, USA           - zvs       -  unknown    - no                 - no
106.185.32.195      - Japan, Asia          - zvs       -  unknown    - no                 - no
94.242.57.173       - Russia, Asia         - zvs       -  unknown    - no                 - no
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] refers to a bitcointalk.org username or anon if requested
[2] same IP, port 80 or path/port given
[3] work in progress
[4] IP is 173.236.158.177
[5] or reached max connections at the time of testing

[1] https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet

[ranochigo]

~~
but that takes ages to get on my computer.
~~

if that is your problem you can use lightweight wallets, like multibit or electrum. or online wallets.
here is alternative client sections https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?board=37.0

i myself am using blockchain.info and Electrum

OP doesn't need to download blockchain as it does not download the whole full blockchain. It uses SPV technology which requires only the header to be downloaded, it just needs to have a node IP specified to connect to and download the headers. Slightly inconvenient, but you can specify the node you trust instead of letting it connecting to a random untrusted node.

[dermoth]

Each public key (adress that you have) have it's Private key so it's impossible saying that you sent coins to a adress that dosen't have private keys , I don't think it's possible to send coins to Adress that dosen't exists yet . Have you checked any blockchain explorer website to see really if you sent the coins ?

Just for the heads up, it *is* possible to send bitcoins to a wallet you haven't fully set up yet although if you got a public address there must be a private one too (make sure it's saved and backed up asap). Since a simple transaction merely sends coins to a public key *hash* you can even create a public key out of thin air by hashing random data without ever having a private key for it (you'll obviously lose these bitcoins).

On the other hand, a bictoin pubkey uses a special encoding that includes verification data. The goals of the public key encoding are multiple:

1. Shorten the length of the key representation by using letters and digits
2. Avoid look-alike letters (O & 0, I & l...)
3. Avoid typing mistakes by validating key using 4 extra bytes
4. Differentiate between address types

#1 & 2 are done using bitcoin-specific Base58 encoding (similar in spirit to Base64 but using a custom table and without the letters above)

#3 & 4 are done with special algorithm designed specifically for Bitcoin - see https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Base58Check_encoding#Creating_a_Base58Check_string

Because of all this it is not easy to type random bitcoin addresses in the normal form, however any sha256 hash (and by extension anything 32 bytes) can be transformed into a well-formed bitcoin address.

[Amph]

newbie should avoid all those kind of wallet, just download bitcoin core, and the blockchain, much easier, and safer

[dermoth]

newbie should avoid all those kind of wallet, just download bitcoin core, and the blockchain, much easier, and safer

I've tried it yesterday and indeed mSIGNA is definitely on the advanced side. Unless you've fully read BIP32 and *understands* it then you'll easily get lost as soon as you diverge form the online instructions. BIP32 is a very powerful wallet format and this application should be targeted at brokers and eCommerce developers.

For the average joe that wants more security, what I would recommend is either an hardware wallet such as the Trezor or an offline wallet using Armory (either use an old laptop with wireless disabled - ideally a fresh install - or a rasberrypi). The offline side needs very little resources.

As with any other wallet, make sure you create a backup, destroy your wallet and *restore it* before you even put any bitcoins in it, and keep the paper backup somewhere safe like a safe-deposit box.

[BountyHunter2012]

This solution is not for OP but if someone lands into same trouble. One of my friends had same problem in past.

Here is the solution.


Install Multibit

Use restore wallet option

Enter the words (msigna wallet) and passphrase used if any.

Ignore the date

Multibit will import the wallet

[greBit]

This solution is not for OP but if someone lands into same trouble. One of my friends had same problem in past.

Here is the solution.


Install Multibit

Use restore wallet option

Enter the words (msigna wallet) and passphrase used if any.

Ignore the date

Multibit will import the wallet

That was a helpful information but at the wrong time

[bitcoinear]

Have you saved your private key? If so, it does not matter. You could restore your Bitcoins in every other Bitcoin wallet again.

[Domrada]

I am so sad. I was enjoying using mSigna until this shit happened. This is not user error. There is a legitimate bug in mSigna. My coins are there on the blockchain.info, the mSigna wallet is fully synced and up to date, but shows a 0 balance. Damn shame.

[Bitspenser]

newbie should avoid all those kind of wallet, just download bitcoin core, and the blockchain, much easier, and safer

Not really. I think getting an HD wallet is the best when you first start - No waiting a few hours/days to get your client to sync, and I think an HD wallet is easier as you don't have to worry about it not syncing.

[Velkro]

I would recommend also fast syncing wallet like multibit someone said here. Before they got BRIT but now its ok again
Good luck recovering coins.

[immangrace]

I use Electrum since 3 years and no problems to report, my recommendation is to read carefully before you start using a new wallet and start with transfering a very samll amount to make sure you are doing things correctly.