Topic: Your Bitcoin storage solution? "Share It!" - page 2. (Read 3666 times)

I've always found that the easiest way is to use a dedicated machine (such as an old laptop) for your Bitcoin storage wallet.

This laptop should definitely be running Linux and be kept offline until you need to send any of your Bitcoin funds.

As an extra safety measure, I rename the wallet file to something nondescript and bury it somewhere on the filesystem. I keep a dummy wallet visible in case someone did manage to hack in or if I was forced to open my client at gunpoint or something.

It blows my mind when I hear stories of someone losing Bitcoins because their main storage wallet was on their daily use Windoze machine.

I'll take my chances.

Did try the whole 'some-file some-where' backed-up, etc etc .. but it just stressed me out, far more.



 

I keep my private keys on my USB drive only. I don't have any other backup of them.

I use blockchain.info, i only access from secure mobile browser

Yep.  Can happen.  As a backup, you can split your brain wallet in two or more pieces and store in different offsite locations or give to 2 different trusted parties.

I have a story - I had an login ID to my bank account. I remembered it for 8 years.
I never wrote it down, it was about 12 digit number.
And suddenly after 8 years I want to type it and login - puff - I do not remember ... and I was in need to contact bank support etc.

this is what I think about brain wallets

+200 character passphrase for brain wallet..

Took a couple of weeks before I was SURE i could remember it. Then boom. No USB keys, no files, no stress.

cheers.

It depends on how cold you want it. I considered Pi, but to do anything with it I'd need to hook it up to keyboard and screen, which wouldn't be convenient for me.

Here is my cold storage procedure - fairly solid as near as I can tell...

Creating and loading the wallet -

1) Save to your hard drive the bitaddress.org URL for generating BIP-38 encrypted paper wallets.
2) Create a LINUX LiveCD for booting from a flash drive for a fresh, offline OS.
3) Disconnect computer from the internet, boot into LiveCD, and generate an encrypted paper wallet via the bitaddress.ord URL (running standalone). DON'T LOSE YOUR PASSWORD!
4) Save the wallet off as a PDF and also print multiple copies. Since it's encrypted, you can have a few copies and keep them multiple places and the PDF will also be available if the paper fades or is destroyed.
5) Reboot regular OS and head out to the exchange.
7) Send your bitcoin to the public key of your paper wallet, starting with a small amount and confirming it got there via blockchain.info.

Getting bitcoin back out of the wallet -

1) Using the block chain website or app on an android tablet, scan the encrypted private key of the paper wallet (I could also use the bitaddress.org code offline to decrypt it manually).
2) The app/site will ask for the key you used to BIP-38 encrypt the private key - type in the password used to encrypt it and the wallet's bitcoin will be accessable to send/spend.
3) Sweep the wallet into your blockchain online wallet. (Important since you must spend all coin in a paper wallet at once or risk losing the "change".)
4) Send any bitcoin that you don't want to keep in a hot wallet into a new paper wallet, created in the same way you created the first one. You can create multiple paper wallets at once above, so you can create a bunch at once and just move your change to the next paper wallet in the list.

For cold storage I use electrum.  Deterministic seed is memorized and wallet deleted.  (But I have a watch only version)

Yeah.  Basically 52 random base58 characters.  No backup.

I rehearsed it every day for the first 2 weeks but reduced the frequency and these days am comfortable rehearsing about once per month.  I checked again following your post and managed with no hesitation (not as fluently as when I enter my e-mail password, but fairly solid).

I check it with a dedicated computer.  I just check that the private key is valid (the checksum is ok) and that it generates the correct address.

I've had this address for nearly a year now.  I transferred the balance from my last cold storage address, for which I also memorised the private key.  I just tried to recall this old key and was surprised to find that I succeeded, although I'll admit I blanked a couple of times and it took me about 2 minutes to recall in full.

I couldn't recommend this method to anyone, but it serves my purposes well.

Aegis secure key with ubuntu and electrum, always offline. Backup the wallet with several other Aegis secure key. Use sd card to bring the transaction from online watch only wallet and sign it offline when moving funds every 6 months

If I understand correctly you memorized a string of fifty characters in base58, which is for practical mnemonic purposes completely random, and you don't have a backup.  That's something like 290 bits of information.  How often do you rehearse it, and when you rehearse it do you regenerate the address anew, check it to verify that you didn't have a memory fault?

I think if someone is thinking to use a laptop/notebook as a cold storage - Pi-Wallet is better much better solution

I have about a dozen brain wallets.  To make multiple keys, I use a passphrase with a suffix index so I can generate as many keys as I need from the one passphrase.  Sort of the same idea behind using a single seed for a deterministic wallet.
Passphrase security:
The passphrase consists of a series of words chosen randomly from a 50,000 word list using a technique similar to diceware, but less labor intensive.  Then I added some salt in the form of numbers I have had to memorize in my day-to-day life.
Generate keys from the passphrase(s) offline using live Linux flash drive, and saved bitaddres.org or brain wallet.org code.  The private keys never have to touch the internet -- even when you spend them.  There are ways to generate raw transactions offline, if you're careful about not making mistakes with the miner fee etc.

I don't rely completely on memory to save the passphrase, I have mnemonic cues saved in a text file stored in several locations.

I am using a Pi Wallet

I committed my cold storage private key to memory and destroyed all other copies.

BIP38 encrypted paper wallets with copies in 4 geographically dispersed locations.  I'm a long term hodler, so I don't really pull out that often.

and of course, hot wallet on PC and phone with less than .5 in both combined.

+1 very good solution !
And indeed safe way to keep it.

You can sealed it in fireproof envelop. You can buy it cheap. And then find a good place to hide it :-)

Or cut the print out to split private key and store in two different places.

https://www.bitaddress.org

You can download the code and run the site on a live boot linux system.