Multiple wallets

[shogdite]

For now I have two wallets - btc core and blockchain.info , but I heard about blockchain.info being unsafe so I am considering replacing it with some other after I have some meaningfull amount. Just can't decide to what wallet to change..

Yeah blockchain.info have had some problems recently but I'd still recommend them as a hot wallet (for storing small amounts of btc).

Can't go wrong with core as long as you've got enough hd space

[funtotry]

For now I have two wallets - btc core and blockchain.info , but I heard about blockchain.info being unsafe so I am considering replacing it with some other after I have some meaningfull amount. Just can't decide to what wallet to change..

Yeah blockchain.info have had some problems recently but I'd still recommend them as a hot wallet (for storing small amounts of btc).

Can't go wrong with core as long as you've got enough hd space

What problems did they have recently? Only problems that I know of is sometimes the blocks get a bit behind and don't sync properly. Core is just too slow and 40gb is too much. Also opening up the program is a hassle and I can only use it on my computer.

[Muhammed Zakir]

Yeah blockchain.info have had some problems recently but I'd still recommend them as a hot wallet (for storing small amounts of btc).

What problems did they have recently? Only problems that I know of is sometimes the blocks get a bit behind and don't sync properly.

It is a big problem. If your wallet can't be synced upto-date how are you gonna spend from it?

[deisik]

It's normal and helps you separate your addresses. Also if you keep your coins on multiple devices you'll need to install wallets there. For instance I have a secondary wallet on my phone.

Blockchain.info solves that as well. Same wallet across your phone desktop tablet laptop any device that has a web browser can access it quite well and there is a good app for iPhone an android as well. Plus no need to sync 40gb of the blockchain

Blockchain.info is also quite risky as we saw a few months back. It is not a good practice to use it storage. If you need a quick access to make some payment by all means use it, but to keep your coins secure use an offline wallet.

I've used it for 2 years and zero problems. I think its the only web wallet I would trust. I use it primarely and don't use any cold storage wallets. I refrain from keeping things on exchanges but I do keep sometimes up to 1btc right before I am going to sell.

exactly. i've been using it too. and so far not a problem. and i don't know what Fernandez means by "as we saw a few months back"; all i've found out from negetive posts about bc.i was the users fault like using tor, not having 2FA, having keylogger ....

I can't speak for him, but I think he is referring to the recent (across October and November of the last year) theft of bitcoins from users who had a blockchain.info wallet and accessed it through Tor. Exit nodes, as I understand it, see the traffic unencrypted and could sniff users' passwords to their online wallets...

It ended with Blockchain.info blocking access from Tor exit nodes

[The Sceptical Chymist]

thank you guys for your replies. I'm new to this and the info helped.

[Muhammed Zakir]

I can't speak for him, but I think he is referring to the recent (across October and November of the last year) theft of bitcoins from users who had a blockchain.info wallet and accessed it through Tor. Exit nodes, as I understand it, see the traffic unencrypted and could sniff users' passwords to their online wallets...

It ended with Blockchain.info blocking access from Tor exit nodes

Blockchain.info too had big problems. I am not too satisfied with their service when I read it. However, it may have changed lately and I still recommend them in "online" wallets.

Reused R values again: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=581411.0;all

[redsn0w]

Is it standard for one person to have several bitcoin wallets?

Yes of course, it is "standard". This is my personal situation:
at the moment I am using  greenAddress as web-wallet (with greenbits as smartphone wallet) and electrum as desktopWallet. If I am outside and want to buy something or send some bitcoin to a friend it is normal that I will use greenbits, instead if I am at home and want to buy something online I prefer to use electrum.

[funtotry]

It's normal and helps you separate your addresses. Also if you keep your coins on multiple devices you'll need to install wallets there. For instance I have a secondary wallet on my phone.

Blockchain.info solves that as well. Same wallet across your phone desktop tablet laptop any device that has a web browser can access it quite well and there is a good app for iPhone an android as well. Plus no need to sync 40gb of the blockchain

Blockchain.info is also quite risky as we saw a few months back. It is not a good practice to use it storage. If you need a quick access to make some payment by all means use it, but to keep your coins secure use an offline wallet.

I've used it for 2 years and zero problems. I think its the only web wallet I would trust. I use it primarely and don't use any cold storage wallets. I refrain from keeping things on exchanges but I do keep sometimes up to 1btc right before I am going to sell.

exactly. i've been using it too. and so far not a problem. and i don't know what Fernandez means by "as we saw a few months back"; all i've found out from negetive posts about bc.i was the users fault like using tor, not having 2FA, having keylogger ....

I can't speak for him, but I think he is referring to the recent (across October and November of the last year) theft of bitcoins from users who had a blockchain.info wallet and accessed it through Tor. Exit nodes, as I understand it, see the traffic unencrypted and could sniff users' passwords to their online wallets...

It ended with Blockchain.info blocking access from Tor exit nodes

What is the reason for using tor with blockchain, its not like your IP is logged with every tx you sent.
I never use account based things using tor, its a bad idea and this proves it.

[deisik]

Blockchain.info is also quite risky as we saw a few months back. It is not a good practice to use it storage. If you need a quick access to make some payment by all means use it, but to keep your coins secure use an offline wallet.

I've used it for 2 years and zero problems. I think its the only web wallet I would trust. I use it primarely and don't use any cold storage wallets. I refrain from keeping things on exchanges but I do keep sometimes up to 1btc right before I am going to sell.

exactly. i've been using it too. and so far not a problem. and i don't know what Fernandez means by "as we saw a few months back"; all i've found out from negetive posts about bc.i was the users fault like using tor, not having 2FA, having keylogger ....

I can't speak for him, but I think he is referring to the recent (across October and November of the last year) theft of bitcoins from users who had a blockchain.info wallet and accessed it through Tor. Exit nodes, as I understand it, see the traffic unencrypted and could sniff users' passwords to their online wallets...

It ended with Blockchain.info blocking access from Tor exit nodes

What is the reason for using tor with blockchain, its not like your IP is logged with every tx you sent.
I never use account based things using tor, its a bad idea and this proves it.

If you ask me, I don't know, since I'm not using either Tor or blockchain.info online storage. Most likely the victims of the theft had been trying to protect their identity, so it looks like buyers and sellers of dark markets were the targets. Or they may have thought that some security is better than no security at all, and it played against them this time...

[Muhammed Zakir]

What is the reason for using tor with blockchain, its not like your IP is logged with every tx you sent.
I never use account based things using tor, its a bad idea and this proves it.

No, but your wallet identifier is. Blockchain.info can give identifier and it's IP. Some people are afraid of it and use TOR. IMHO you should be super paranoid to achieve it, just using VPN or TOR won't do in the way you think it will.

[Amph]

Is it standard for one person to have several bitcoin wallets?

Yes.  You should have at least 2; one, the "hot" wallet, where you use for everyday spendings.  Only have a small amount of bitcoins in this wallet.  The other one every bitcoin user should have is the cold storage, or the offline wallet.  This is where you store most of your bitcoins and hodl.

i think 3 it's better, the hot wallet on your desktop, and two for cold storage, in case one becomes corrupted

[funtotry]

What is the reason for using tor with blockchain, its not like your IP is logged with every tx you sent.
I never use account based things using tor, its a bad idea and this proves it.

No, but your wallet identifier is. Blockchain.info can give identifier and it's IP. Some people are afraid of it and use TOR. IMHO you should be super paranoid to achieve it, just using VPN or TOR won't do in the way you think it will.

True true, if your address in your identifier account is linked to a scam I guess the FBI can ask blockchain. VPN is fine though, just not tor.

[yeponlyone]

What is the reason for using tor with blockchain, its not like your IP is logged with every tx you sent.
I never use account based things using tor, its a bad idea and this proves it.

No, but your wallet identifier is. Blockchain.info can give identifier and it's IP. Some people are afraid of it and use TOR. IMHO you should be super paranoid to achieve it, just using VPN or TOR won't do in the way you think it will.

True true, if your address in your identifier account is linked to a scam I guess the FBI can ask blockchain. VPN is fine though, just not tor.

So why can't they ask the VPN provider? Even though many VPN provider claims to delete logs, you won't know for sure if they delete the logs. They may even be spying on you.

[funtotry]

What is the reason for using tor with blockchain, its not like your IP is logged with every tx you sent.
I never use account based things using tor, its a bad idea and this proves it.

No, but your wallet identifier is. Blockchain.info can give identifier and it's IP. Some people are afraid of it and use TOR. IMHO you should be super paranoid to achieve it, just using VPN or TOR won't do in the way you think it will.

True true, if your address in your identifier account is linked to a scam I guess the FBI can ask blockchain. VPN is fine though, just not tor.

So why can't they ask the VPN provider? Even though many VPN provider claims to delete logs, you won't know for sure if they delete the logs. They may even be spying on you.

If they are a trusted VPN logger than I think you won't have the problem of them snooping on you. Also maybe use 2 VPNs in a row, just for that extra anonymity (if 1 of the VPN gives up your IP it will be from the other VPN)

[Muhammed Zakir]

True true, if your address in your identifier account is linked to a scam I guess the FBI can ask blockchain. VPN is fine though, just not tor.

So why can't they ask the VPN provider? Even though many VPN provider claims to delete logs, you won't know for sure if they delete the logs. They may even be spying on you.

If they are a trusted VPN logger than I think you won't have the problem of them snooping on you. Also maybe use 2 VPNs in a row, just for that extra anonymity (if 1 of the VPN gives up your IP it will be from the other VPN)

Many VPNs logs are saved but there are a few VPNs which erase after 24 hours. You should check depth-review about the VPN you gonna use.

@funtrory: What if the FBI ask the first VPN provider? AFAIK dedicated VPN with advanced control for the user is secure but you will have to spend some $$$ on it.

Useful website: www.bestvpn.com/
Useful review: www.bestvpn.com/blog/4147/pptp-vs-l2tp-vs-openvpn-vs-sstp-vs-ikev2/

[funtotry]

True true, if your address in your identifier account is linked to a scam I guess the FBI can ask blockchain. VPN is fine though, just not tor.

So why can't they ask the VPN provider? Even though many VPN provider claims to delete logs, you won't know for sure if they delete the logs. They may even be spying on you.

If they are a trusted VPN logger than I think you won't have the problem of them snooping on you. Also maybe use 2 VPNs in a row, just for that extra anonymity (if 1 of the VPN gives up your IP it will be from the other VPN)

Many VPNs logs are saved but there are a few VPNs which erase after 24 hours. You should check depth-review about the VPN you gonna use.

@funtrory: What if the FBI ask the first VPN provider? AFAIK dedicated VPN with advanced control for the user is secure but you will have to spend some $$$ on it.

Useful website: www.bestvpn.com/
Useful review: www.bestvpn.com/blog/4147/pptp-vs-l2tp-vs-openvpn-vs-sstp-vs-ikev2/

Solution: 100 vpns so the cops have a 1/100 chance of getting it right on the first try 
Use a long trusted VPN with a large history of deleting logs.

[yeponlyone]

True true, if your address in your identifier account is linked to a scam I guess the FBI can ask blockchain. VPN is fine though, just not tor.

So why can't they ask the VPN provider? Even though many VPN provider claims to delete logs, you won't know for sure if they delete the logs. They may even be spying on you.

If they are a trusted VPN logger than I think you won't have the problem of them snooping on you. Also maybe use 2 VPNs in a row, just for that extra anonymity (if 1 of the VPN gives up your IP it will be from the other VPN)

Many VPNs logs are saved but there are a few VPNs which erase after 24 hours. You should check depth-review about the VPN you gonna use.

@funtrory: What if the FBI ask the first VPN provider? AFAIK dedicated VPN with advanced control for the user is secure but you will have to spend some $$$ on it.

Useful website: www.bestvpn.com/
Useful review: www.bestvpn.com/blog/4147/pptp-vs-l2tp-vs-openvpn-vs-sstp-vs-ikev2/

Solution: 100 vpns so the cops have a 1/100 chance of getting it right on the first try 
Use a long trusted VPN with a large history of deleting logs.

You cant really get proofs that they delete logs. That's the problem here. VPNs is a rather expensive option to go for, especially if it's 2 or more. MITM can still happen if an exploit in HTTPS is found or if the server hosting the VPN is compromised.

[GreenStox]

Wallets are different than addresses. I use blockchain.info as my primary wallet, and I have many addresses. Generally a good idea is generating a new address per transaction and labeling it for reference, accounting, an anonymity.
Welcome to bitcoin!

Well none of those wallets are really safe. Try using offline cold storage wallets.

Then its very safe to have all bitcoins in 1 wallet, however if the wallet is deterministic then its better to use multiple address for anonymity,

[Amph]

True true, if your address in your identifier account is linked to a scam I guess the FBI can ask blockchain. VPN is fine though, just not tor.

So why can't they ask the VPN provider? Even though many VPN provider claims to delete logs, you won't know for sure if they delete the logs. They may even be spying on you.

If they are a trusted VPN logger than I think you won't have the problem of them snooping on you. Also maybe use 2 VPNs in a row, just for that extra anonymity (if 1 of the VPN gives up your IP it will be from the other VPN)

Many VPNs logs are saved but there are a few VPNs which erase after 24 hours. You should check depth-review about the VPN you gonna use.

@funtrory: What if the FBI ask the first VPN provider? AFAIK dedicated VPN with advanced control for the user is secure but you will have to spend some $$$ on it.

Useful website: www.bestvpn.com/
Useful review: www.bestvpn.com/blog/4147/pptp-vs-l2tp-vs-openvpn-vs-sstp-vs-ikev2/

Solution: 100 vpns so the cops have a 1/100 chance of getting it right on the first try  
Use a long trusted VPN with a large history of deleting logs.

You cant really get proofs that they delete logs. That's the problem here. VPNs is a rather expensive option to go for, especially if it's 2 or more. MITM can still happen if an exploit in HTTPS is found or if the server hosting the VPN is compromised.

there are many free vpn, that offer a good service, like tunnelbear, surfeasy and many others at $4 per month, unlimited data

for anonimity you could use also a vps with a private ip instead of a shared one like those on vpn

[Muhammed Zakir]

@funtrory: What if the FBI ask the first VPN provider? AFAIK dedicated VPN with advanced control for the user is secure but you will have to spend some $$$ on it.

Useful website: www.bestvpn.com/
Useful review: www.bestvpn.com/blog/4147/pptp-vs-l2tp-vs-openvpn-vs-sstp-vs-ikev2/

Solution: 100 vpns so the cops have a 1/100 chance of getting it right on the first try 
Use a long trusted VPN with a large history of deleting logs.

You cant really get proofs that they delete logs. That's the problem here. VPNs is a rather expensive option to go for, especially if it's 2 or more. MITM can still happen if an exploit in HTTPS is found or if the server hosting the VPN is compromised.

there are many free vpn, that offer a good service, like tunnelbear, surfeasy and many others at $4 per month, unlimited data

for anonimity you could use also a vps with a private ip instead of a shared one like those on vpn

Check these:

• https://www.bestvpn.com/blog/11536/5-best-logless-vpns/.
• https://www.bestvpn.com/blog/11535/5-best-vpn-torrent-p2p-filesharing/
• http://torrentfreak.com/which-vpn-services-take-your-anonymity-seriously-2014-edition-140315/

And importantly, see https://www.goldenfrog.com/take-back-your-internet/articles/7-myths-about-vpn-logging-and-anonymity.