Silk Road forums
Discussion => Security => Topic started by: Jonny Bench on January 15, 2013, 02:51 am
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I'm still a relative newbie when it comes to bitcoins, I'm learning but I kind of feel like my parents when trying to teach them how to turn a computer on 20 years ago.
I would like to store my coins without cashing them out but I want a 100% secure way to do it. What do you guys recommend for storage? Paper wallets have peaked by interest but I don't know the holes in them yet. The idea that bitcoins can't be stolen doesn't make sense to me but I may not understand paper wallets completely.
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I'm looking as well and found this article. Still researching to see if there are any other suggestions ;)
How?
I'll try to keep it short: You have to create your savings account under ideal security-conditions. I won't rant about you cunts people using Windows in general, but note that Linux is in no way automagically completely secure. Everything depends a lot on your behaviour.
1. What you'll do is the following: Create a live-CD or a bootable USB with your OS of choice on it. I suggest using the Ubuntu LiveCD.
The reason is simple. When you create your new wallet, you want to make abolutely sure, that your running operating system doesn't in any way log your keys or secretly save your files somewhere.
2. Boot your freshly-created OS, and install the Bitcoin client on it. Yes you can install software inside a liveCD environment. Optionally, also install some encryption software, but we'll leave that for now.
3. Your Bitcoin client will immediately generate 10 addresses for you, and with them, the corresponding wallet.dat.
4. Save your addresses somewhere, if you have to, write them down manually (if you do this, then I bow to your zeal and declare you crazy). I suggest you send them to yourself over email.
5. This is the important step. Copy your wallet.dat somewhere. Burn then on a CD or another medium. I for instance love those little 64MB SD-cards you sometimes get with a new camera. They rock. You might want to make multiple copies (on multiple cards/CDs, not multiple copies of the same file on the same disk you tart).
6. Now, eject whatever you just copied on, and guard it like your life depends on it. Not really, but here is the important step: If you encrypted your wallet.dat with an encryption algorithm you feel safe about, just keep it around your house.
7. Shut down. There will be no trace of your walled.dat on your harddisk, since it never actually resided there.
Important: You will want to keep another copy somewhere else, in a safe physical location, or at least one that is safe while your house burns down. You might already know it, but losing your wallet.dat is worse than someone stealing it. It'll be gone forever.
If you didn't encrypt the file (which I prefer), put the SDcards, CDs, whatever in a safe. That's right: a real-world safe, like banks have, who also happen to lock their doors and are in general very anal about their security and all that jazz. You can rent small safety-deposit boxes in exchange for money. As a bonus, it'll be fire-proof as well.
8. In case it's not yet obvious: You will now only make day-to-day transactions like you used to do it, on your computer (are you still using windows?) and every now and then, you will put some coins into your savings-account. Using the addresses from step 4). How much you want to keep in your wallet is up to you.
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Ahh but is it 100% candy corn safe?
I read on blockchain that even in the event of the site going down you can still claim your coins? How does that work??
https://blockchain.info/wallet/paper-tutorial
Is that blockchain specific. I hear allot of people mention blockchain and electrum.
I think I may not be fully comprehending exactly how BTC works, I get the basics but I know I'm missing something.
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No, the paper wallet is not blockchain specific. Here are some worthwhile articles to read:
clearnet links!
http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/15t8xx/explain_offline_paper_wallets_like_im_five/
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Securing_your_wallet
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Paper_wallet
http://www.slideshare.net/piuk/bitcoin-paperwallet
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Thanks bro! Now I understand!!!
Next time we sit next to each other in class, free handy under the table.
YTM, next step is learning how to redeem from private key but it can't be that difficult.
Thanks big guy
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Now I've gotten this far, I need to learn how bit addresses are made. How can they never duplicate throughout all the many sites that make them and the offline generations of code.
Looks like another all nighter