Electrum Desktop Wallet Help

[Muhammed Zakir]

hey all so just want to make sure.  I checked my electrum account and i see 5 different addresses.  So now i want to request bitcoin from a site.  So just give them 1 of these 5 addresses then correct?

Yes. Give that person 1 address. It's better to use different addresses for different people/sites.

Another question.  What happens if you accidentally delete one of these addresses when it has bitcoins in it?

AFAIK you can't delete an address except imported addresses but you can freeze it. Freezing an address makes the electrum application not to check anything about that address.

   -MZ

[1715384004]

1715384004

[1715384004]

1715384004

[1715384004]

1715384004

[viking02]

Is there a reason theres no 2FA for electrum?  I did this for coinbase and blockchain but dont recall electrum having this.  Isn't this kind of not good?

[Muhammed Zakir]

Is there a reason theres no 2FA for electrum?  I did this for coinbase and blockchain but dont recall electrum having this.  Isn't this kind of not good?

Coinbase and Blockchain are online wallets, so 2FA is important to prevent unauthorized access. But Electrum is desktop wallet, so there isn't any need for 2FA unless you are running this on a computer which others have access to^[1].

[1] This is depreciated. Don't store any BTC on a public computer.

   -MZ

[viking02]

Ok so based on that, which would you suggest me use? 



The thing is what if your computer is compromised/malware and you don't know and i'm sure lot of ppl have computers that are compromised/malware and they never know... i assume blockchain would be more safe since it requires 2FA whereas Electrum doesn't in that situation?

[Muhammed Zakir]

Ok so based on that, which would you suggest me use? 

Desktop wallet. Electrum, Multibit etc...

The thing is what if your computer is compromised/malware and you don't know and i'm sure lot of ppl have computers that are compromised/malware and they never know... i assume blockchain would be more safe since it requires 2FA whereas Electrum doesn't in that situation?

Online wallets are bad idea. You will lose your Bitcoins if:
1) The website is down.
2) The website got hacked.
3) The people behind it ran away with the money.

Better to use desktop wallets and make sure you make a backup.

   -MZ

[Abdussamad]

Ok so based on that, which would you suggest me use?  



The thing is what if your computer is compromised/malware and you don't know and i'm sure lot of ppl have computers that are compromised/malware and they never know... i assume blockchain would be more safe since it requires 2FA whereas Electrum doesn't in that situation?

If your computer is compromised then no wallet will help you. 2FA doesn't protect against malware on your computer. It only protects against poor passwords and hackers succeeding at cracking those remotely. Since your electrum wallet never leaves your computer 2FA isn't as important.

In the next electrum version there is support for multisig wallets where you need to sign transactions with 2 devices. Your computer and your smartphone for example. If you are paranoid you could create such a wallet in future.

Answers to some beginner's questions about wallets:

https://bitcoinspakistan.com/blog/bitcoin-beginners-faqs/#whattogivesender

See questions 3-7.

[viking02]

Okay so basically on what i described, still better to use electrum then blockchain?

[Muhammed Zakir]

Okay so basically on what i described, still better to use electrum then blockchain?

Yes, desktop wallets like Electrum, Multibit, Armory etc... are better. If you travel a lot, use Blockchain.info but store a very small amount in it.

   -MZ

[viking02]

What is the master public key on electrum?  I just noticed this.  Do i need to have this written down?

[viking02]

can someone answer the question about master key on electrum and do i need to write it down?

[Muhammed Zakir]

What is the master public key on electrum?  I just noticed this.  Do i need to have this written down?

The master public key allows you to generate addresses independently of the seed. Using the MPK you can generate addresses, but you can't spend bitcoins sent to them. Bitcoins sent to your addresses will show up in your electrum window.

Knowledge of the private keys (private not public) determines bitcoin ownership. *You* can spend the bitcoins because you have the bitcoin wallet running on your computer. That wallet file has, among other things, the seed from which all your bitcoin private keys are derived.

Installing the MPK on your web server allows your WP installation to independently generate addresses without risking your bitcoins in the event of a server compromise. You cannot generate the private keys behind the addresses with just the MPK therefore your bitcoins cannot be stolen.

A useful post:

Is keeping a significant amount of BTC (50+ BTC) in Electrum safe enough, or do you recommend that I print them out to physical paper wallets?

For a large amount of bitcoins you should use an offline electrum wallet. It is superior to a paper wallet because you get unlimited addresses and other features that come with a full fledged wallet. There is a guide for this on the electrum site but this is not a setup for a newbie. First get comfortable using electrum then try for an offline setup.

can someone answer the question about master key on electrum and do i need to write it down?

Please wait for an answer. It will take some time to getvthe answer as people who know the answer may not be online when you ask. Please be patient. Thanks!

   -MZ

[pooya87]

hey all so just want to make sure.  I checked my electrum account and i see 5 different addresses.  So now i want to request bitcoin from a site.  So just give them 1 of these 5 addresses then correct?


Another question.  What happens if you accidentally delete one of these addresses when it has bitcoins in it?

you can restore your wallet from seed and it will have the addresses inside

[Muhammed Zakir]

Another question.  What happens if you accidentally delete one of these addresses when it has bitcoins in it?

you can restore your wallet from seed and it will have the addresses inside

May I know how to delete an address except imported ones? You can't! Please don't spread FUD.

You may want to read this too: http://bitzuma.com/posts/a-beginners-guide-to-the-electrum-bitcoin-wallet/

   -MZ

[viking02]

What is the master public key on electrum?  I just noticed this.  Do i need to have this written down?

would like to know this soon.


thank you.

[Muhammed Zakir]

What is the master public key on electrum?  I just noticed this.  Do i need to have this written down?

would like to know this soon.


thank you.

Haven't you read my post 2 posts above yours?

   -MZ

[Q7]

hey all so just want to make sure.  I checked my electrum account and i see 5 different addresses.  So now i want to request bitcoin from a site.  So just give them 1 of these 5 addresses then correct?


Another question.  What happens if you accidentally delete one of these addresses when it has bitcoins in it?

Just give any one of the address will do. On the last part, I don't see option for you to delete address. You can decide to freeze it though, meaning that you can't send any coins or spend it from that address.