Topic: Is Dropbox a safe place keep my TrueCrypted BTC wallet backup? - page 3. (Read 5332 times)
I wouldn't trust it. I believe all items, when transferred, are encrypted, but a back door is always a possible route, especially when drugs and CP and terrorism is involved.
I read this answer on another forum. What do you think?
"Depends how paranoid you are. Many do but if you reallly want to be safe then according to the bitcoin wiki:
Using Dropbox to back up your Bitcoin data is not recommended as doing so introduces the following security concerns:
Dropbox stores your encryption key (meaning that a disgruntled Dropbox employee or an > attacker who gained access to the system could decrypt your Dropbox data and steal your bitcoins)
The Dropbox client only needs a password for the first login. After it authenticates once, the server assigns it a token which it uses to show that, at one time, its user knew the password rather than sending the actual password (meaning that if you ever use the Dropbox client on another PC, that PC's users can access your Dropbox - even if you change your password - and can steal your bitcoins or get a virus that will steal your bitcoins).
For these reasons, an alternative that always uses password authentication such as Wuala should be used. Wuala's servers do not store your encryption key and the program authenticates with the password each time it is started.
Whether you use Dropbox as your backup or not, it is advised to use what Steve Gibson calls "pre-Internet encryption" which means to use some form of encryption on your files before you back them up, in case an attacker gains access to that backup. Make sure to pick a password that is memorable but secure.
The only file you need to back up is "wallet.dat" which can be done one of two ways. To make a copy of the wallet.dat file, ensure that Bitcoin is closed and copy this file somewhere else. The other way is to use the backupwallet JSON-RPC command to back up without shutting down Bitcoin.
Once a copy has been made, encrypt it, and put it in two or more safe locations. Consider the risk due to theft, fire, or natural disaster in proportion to the value of bitcoins stored in the wallet."
"Depends how paranoid you are. Many do but if you reallly want to be safe then according to the bitcoin wiki:
Using Dropbox to back up your Bitcoin data is not recommended as doing so introduces the following security concerns:
Dropbox stores your encryption key (meaning that a disgruntled Dropbox employee or an > attacker who gained access to the system could decrypt your Dropbox data and steal your bitcoins)
The Dropbox client only needs a password for the first login. After it authenticates once, the server assigns it a token which it uses to show that, at one time, its user knew the password rather than sending the actual password (meaning that if you ever use the Dropbox client on another PC, that PC's users can access your Dropbox - even if you change your password - and can steal your bitcoins or get a virus that will steal your bitcoins).
For these reasons, an alternative that always uses password authentication such as Wuala should be used. Wuala's servers do not store your encryption key and the program authenticates with the password each time it is started.
Whether you use Dropbox as your backup or not, it is advised to use what Steve Gibson calls "pre-Internet encryption" which means to use some form of encryption on your files before you back them up, in case an attacker gains access to that backup. Make sure to pick a password that is memorable but secure.
The only file you need to back up is "wallet.dat" which can be done one of two ways. To make a copy of the wallet.dat file, ensure that Bitcoin is closed and copy this file somewhere else. The other way is to use the backupwallet JSON-RPC command to back up without shutting down Bitcoin.
Once a copy has been made, encrypt it, and put it in two or more safe locations. Consider the risk due to theft, fire, or natural disaster in proportion to the value of bitcoins stored in the wallet."
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