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Topic: Web Wallet vs. Local Wallet (Read 1914 times)

newbie
Activity: 28
Merit: 0
March 31, 2015, 10:29:38 PM
#21
i suggest you to have a look on Electrum..  Wink   you probably going to like it  Grin

Electrum not seems popular? Where can I see the private key in electrum ?

Thanks !
legendary
Activity: 1148
Merit: 1000
March 31, 2015, 10:04:46 PM
#20
Blockchain.info is not that bad, provided:

1. You use two strong passwords (Main password + transaction password)
2. You use 2 FA
3. Store backups regularly in offline mode (USB sticks.etc).

That said, offline options such as paper wallets makes it impossible for anyone to steal your coins. But creating them takes time and effort. If you don't want to go for a paper wallet, then just use Blockchain.info, with all the necessary precautions.

yes, I aggre with you man,
I think blockchain very good to safe bitcoin
but do not many.
legendary
Activity: 3766
Merit: 1217
March 31, 2015, 09:47:12 PM
#19
Blockchain.info is not that bad, provided:

1. You use two strong passwords (Main password + transaction password)
2. You use 2 FA
3. Store backups regularly in offline mode (USB sticks.etc).

That said, offline options such as paper wallets makes it impossible for anyone to steal your coins. But creating them takes time and effort. If you don't want to go for a paper wallet, then just use Blockchain.info, with all the necessary precautions.
legendary
Activity: 1456
Merit: 1000
March 31, 2015, 08:24:26 PM
#18
Not all Web Wallets are bad, there is always the risk of hacking but Coin Space web wallet is a simple to use and unless someone has access to your passphrase its going to be more secure than any wallet that uses a username and password to login. [LINK REDACTED]

OK, next advertisement.

Electrum and other HD wallets create 'master seed' based on 12 words and as long as you store it safely, you can feel safe. (Of course you should be able to make a legacy backup but not sure)

There are risk's that hot wallets have.  A web wallet if there if a flaw is bad, loss of btc.  A cold wallet if a flaw really does not matter since there it's offline and no one can get to it.

I don't care if exchange, online wallet, there is extra risk.
full member
Activity: 168
Merit: 100
Yoohoo
March 31, 2015, 07:09:04 PM
#17
Not all Web Wallets are bad, there is always the risk of hacking but Coin Space web wallet is a simple to use and unless someone has access to your passphrase its going to be more secure than any wallet that uses a username and password to login. [LINK REDACTED]

OK, next advertisement.

Electrum and other HD wallets create 'master seed' based on 12 words and as long as you store it safely, you can feel safe. (Of course you should be able to make a legacy backup but not sure)
full member
Activity: 136
Merit: 100
March 31, 2015, 06:39:19 PM
#16
Both have their benefits and downfalls online wallets are easy to setup but less secure
sr. member
Activity: 280
Merit: 250
March 31, 2015, 06:33:29 PM
#15
Web wallet for beginners anything more than that shoould be usiing local storage but not just local but cold storage and have a hot wallet too.
legendary
Activity: 1456
Merit: 1000
March 31, 2015, 06:23:06 PM
#14
It all depends on how much you keep in your wallet. You should have multiple.   One should be a hot wallet easy to get to with enough for daily purchases maybe a big item or two. 

But you need cold storage to store the bullk of your coins.  You have to treat them like gold and be careful with it.  You can do usb or paperwallet.  Either if don right is a good way to protect your main wallets.
newbie
Activity: 10
Merit: 0
March 31, 2015, 06:21:18 PM
#13
the whole point of Bitcoin is to be in control and not have a third party so go local and if anything happens to your coins its becase of you and no one else to blame.
legendary
Activity: 2604
Merit: 3056
Welt Am Draht
March 31, 2015, 06:14:43 PM
#12
Generally I use poloniex exchange and btc38 exchange wallet and everything is fine, yesterday I sold all of my btc and withdrew the fiat, so everything should be safe now.

I have used web wallet for over 1 year, I prefer exchange wallet because it's convenient and safe enough, with GA protection and mobile phone confirmation code protection is safe enough.


That's a totally insane strategy. There's barely been a single exchange that hasn't been hacked. It happens constantly and you're dependent on them not leaving loopholes at their end. The guy running BTer had the same server passwords as his email address.

Confirmation codes only control front end access. If someone gets into the exchange itself everything you have there is gone and that's how most hacks pan out.
hero member
Activity: 910
Merit: 1000
March 31, 2015, 02:19:12 PM
#11
A reason to use web wallets exists for small amounts. They make great and convenient hot wallets. A paper wallet created on an offline computer gives you the keys so you can store it anywhere you wish.
legendary
Activity: 1218
Merit: 1003
March 31, 2015, 04:14:55 AM
#10
Generally I use poloniex exchange and btc38 exchange wallet and everything is fine,

You mean everything was fine for you in this instance.  Webwallets have a degree of trust related to them, i.e. someone can take your coins from you and you can't do much about it.
Poloniex seems ok, but I won't bet with you that they are around in 5years, I have no experience of btc38.

I do think web wallets get a bad rap, but it depends if you trust your security over that of an exchange.  You can google hacked bitcoin exchanges and see that they often lose coins, even the biggest/best/most secure ones.

If you aren't trading, get them offline!
hero member
Activity: 840
Merit: 1000
March 31, 2015, 02:59:09 AM
#9
Generally I use poloniex exchange and btc38 exchange wallet and everything is fine, yesterday I sold all of my btc and withdrew the fiat, so everything should be safe now.

I have used web wallet for over 1 year, I prefer exchange wallet because it's convenient and safe enough, with GA protection and mobile phone confirmation code protection is safe enough.

Local wallet is not as safe as web ones, because some trojans may steal your wallet.dat. Unless you use a cold wallet.  Wink
hero member
Activity: 584
Merit: 500
March 30, 2015, 07:30:35 PM
#8
I see everyone saying: "Don't use web wallets!!".  It looks like some people get hacked at Blockchain.info for example.

OK - fine.  So use the miserable BitcoinQt instead.  But where does bitcoinQt store the private keys?  Isn't it just is some local .dat file?  Why can't a hacker easily find that file and copy my private keys? 

It is hard to understand exactly where the private key is kept in each system.

For example:
Armorykey in local .dat file
BitcoinQtkey in local .dat file
Blockchain.infokey in local file; encrypted key sent over Internet
Android wallet Schildbachkey in Huh
AirBitzHuh?



Blockchain.info's problem was not storing the private key, but how it was generating. They were using a particular value which meant that the private keys could be cracked.
legendary
Activity: 3710
Merit: 1586
March 30, 2015, 08:51:32 AM
#7
I see everyone saying: "Don't use web wallets!!".  It looks like some people get hacked at Blockchain.info for example.

OK - fine.  So use the miserable BitcoinQt instead.  But where does bitcoinQt store the private keys?  Isn't it just is some local .dat file?  Why can't a hacker easily find that file and copy my private keys?  


"Miserable" bitcoin-qt has some really smart cryptologists working on it who have made sure that brute forcing the wallet.dat password is difficult. They can't stop users from creating stupid passwords but they've done everything they can do by using a good key stretching function.

90% of the battle is getting access to the encrypted wallet file. The other 10% is brute forcing the password which tends to be easy because people suck at picking passwords.

The reason desktop wallets are considered better is because you would have to be personally targeted for someone to get hold of your wallet file. In the case of blockchain.info it's easier to get hold of the encrypted wallet file because they serve it via their website.

newbie
Activity: 29
Merit: 0
March 30, 2015, 08:49:05 AM
#6
Not all Web Wallets are bad, there is always the risk of hacking but Coin Space web wallet is a simple to use and unless someone has access to your passphrase its going to be more secure than any wallet that uses a username and password to login. https://www.coinspace.ch
legendary
Activity: 1694
Merit: 1024
March 30, 2015, 08:02:55 AM
#5
i suggest you to have a look on Electrum..  Wink   you probably going to like it  Grin
Where is the private key stored on Electrum?


Electrum prompts you for a password when you first create your wallet. It then uses that password to encrypt all of your private keys, as well as your seed. You then use this password when you try to send funds, sign a message, or anything else that requires your private keys or Electrum seed. For hot wallets Electrum is a decent choice and easy to use. Then again, you could go the Coinbase route because they are insured against bitcoin losses in their wallets.
legendary
Activity: 1442
Merit: 1186
March 30, 2015, 07:55:03 AM
#4
But where does bitcoinQt store the private keys?  Isn't it just is some local .dat file?  Why can't a hacker easily find that file and copy my private keys? 

They can. There is malware out there that scans for wallet.dat files. Securing your wallet.dat files with a good password is recommended. These are all hot wallets so they can't be 100% safe. TBH places like coinbase and circle are a really good hot wallet option with 2FA. Personally I use electrum and circle for my hot wallets.
sr. member
Activity: 532
Merit: 250
March 30, 2015, 06:45:25 AM
#3
i suggest you to have a look on Electrum..  Wink   you probably going to like it  Grin
Where is the private key stored on Electrum?

legendary
Activity: 1120
Merit: 1002
March 30, 2015, 04:43:50 AM
#2
i suggest you to have a look on Electrum..  Wink   you probably going to like it  Grin
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