Topic: Need advice on e-wallet (Read 571 times)

i'm using blockchain.info for my first wallet

I can't recommend coinbase.com as a wallet.  They are probably fine for purchasing or selling bitcoin, but you really shouldn't keep your bitcoin there any longer than you have to for the purpose of the transaction.

With coinbase.com, you have no access to your private keys, and coinbase.com has complete access to the private keys.  This is a very risky situation.

Essentially they are not "your" bitcoins while they are at a coinbase.com wallet.  You have given your bitcoins to an unregulated, uninsured, complete stranger.  Those bitcoins for all intents and purposes then belong to coinbase.com, and not you.  For making this donation to them, that complete stranger has promised to honor any request you might make in the future to send an equivalent amount of their bitcoins to any particular bitcoin address.  That really isn't much different than just sending your bitcoins to my wallet and having me promising you that I'll send them wherever you want in the future.  Would you be willing to do that?

Fortunately with blockchain.info, you have full access to your private keys and blockchain.info only has access to an encrypted copy of your private keys.  They don't have the encryption password so they are therefore unable to do anything with your bitcoins without your permission.  The worst they can do is delete your wallet, and as long as you keep a backup of your blockchain.info wallet somewhere you can still access your bitcoins if they do that.  It's pretty much the same as if you were to encrypt your private keys with a complex and secure password, and then send me (or dropbox, or google drive) the encrypted file to hold on to for you without sending me (or dropbox or google drive) the password.  The worst I (or dropbox or google drive) could do would be to lose the stored copy of the private keys.  As long as you had your own copy that wouldn't really matter much.  If you never give me (or dropbox or google drive) the encryption password, your file is safe even if I (or dropbox or google drive) get hacked.

I've been happy with blockchain.info as well.

Another one to check out is coinbase.com

I haven't used it, but it seems to have good features as well.

I'll throw in a vote for blockchain.info as well.  If you've got concerns about using software that is "beta", then you probably shouldn't be using bitcoin at all (considering it also has been continuously in "beta" since it's launch.

well its a really long story but it all started with some hacker who stole 600 coins. strongcoin then hacked their own api  to retrieve the coins. of course. this was major news in the bitcoin community, and it spelled the beginning of the end for strong coin. for the past several months their service has been erratic. i tried daily to send a transaction for months before i figured out their site was broke. additionally, their system is fucked all together. you can't even export your private keys. not really sure what the hell happened.


TL;DR Strongcoin is a fucked, do not use until its fixed. inputs.io is unproven, its a brand new service and the owner is a world class jackass(although i will say he is a competent developer/security expert), and blockchain.info has been in beta since launch. in my honest opinion, use blockchain.info and possibly give inputs.io a try(though i don't endorse them because the owner is an asshole)

what has become of strongcoin?

This man he knows all.

well one is forever beta, the other is unproven. i guess i say i'd agree with your assessment. btw, its sad what has become of strongcoin.

blockchain.info

inputs.io if you feel adventurous

So I already have a wallet on my pc but wanted to open up an online wallet as well -

any advice on which service is best to use

i opened one with easycoin.net but then read a lot of warnings about them and that they are scammers - is there a safer more reliable alternative available?