I've been reading about storing bitcoins, but it seem each bitcoin expert just contradicts what the the other expert says.

I searched the forum for bitcoin security but no threads on the subject.

Don't leave bitcoins on a exchange, keep them in your own wallet is the standard.

That said, hardware wallets a vulnerable each time you update your hardware wallet is mentioned.

So paper wallets are the best storage for bitcoins....but apparently not according to this...

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?to...32#msg10995332

or if you don't want to click just google "Time to bust a myth. Paper wallets are less secure than normal encrypted wallets"

As it seems paper wallets seem to be no better if not even as good as hardware wallets.


So my question is would some of the experienced bitcoin buyers offer some advice on which is the optimal way to store bitcoins for noobs?

Diversify. There are 7 continents. Get creative.

The original bitcoin client works great. Encryption is built in, so all you need to do is comeup with a relatively strong password (a dozen random words or like a hundred random characters) and encrypt your wallet.dat, and then you can back it up multiple places, literally put it in a dropbox file online so it is stored forever, because without that strong password nobody can ever access that wallet. They can SEE what is in it, but not spend without the password

Note: With this method, you will have to download the entire bitcoin blockchain when you want to spend. It takes up to a day or two now, so be aware of that.

When you connect the hardwired wallet to a hacked computer, aren't hackers able to see the password you type, even if you copy and paste the password keyloggers etc?

is Keeping BTC on coinbase considered secure?

Never. Not your keys, not your coins.

Eh, the link in the OP basically just says that paper wallets aren't any more secure because both methods can be effected by malware on a PC. Duh? Use a completely clean PC if you can to do it. At least once you have a paper wallet your money is no longer in the hands of some random software team.

what about alt coins that aren't usable on hardware like the nano s? I'm assuming the alt coins wallets aren't the best place to keep them?

I wouldn't say "secure", but I still recommend it depending on the amount. For people with just a few thousand, I'd recommend to just keep it on coinbase. Some exchanges seem shady and I would not recommend storing on them. Biggest downside, IMO, is that you currently don't have access to your BCH and bitcoin gold if you had kept it on coinbase (although that will probably change in the near future). The average noob is probably more likely going to get screwed doing something dumb with managing their own crypto vs keeping it on coinbase. How many stories have you heard of people not making proper backups and losing their money due to a hard drive crash? Also, the less you have, the more fees as a % of your investment you'll have to pay to move it to your own wallet. No method is perfectly secure, so it's about risk tradeoffs. I recommend using 2FA with something like google auth though, if you do store it on coinbase.

Read this and the look around for how to implement each step
https://cryptoconsortium.github.io/CCSS/

Hardware wallets should be safe even on compromised computers. The private keys never leave the device and password input is direct onto the device so a screengrab/keylog would be ineffective.

Hey all got a question about this. I keep my btc in my electrum. I will be most likely getting a nano ledger s for it.


I like to know where do you guys keep your altcoins but the ones where its not very popular. For example, if you buy 10 different altcoins... im not talking about eth, litecoin etc but lesser known ones. Do you keep it on an exchange or do you download a wallet for every single altcoin? Because that would definitely be a lot since you would have over 10 plus different wallets on the computer? Other issue is you have to make sure you download the legit wallet for each coin? So if you buy altcoins on bittrex or any other exchange but buy good amount of money of it, would it still be fine leaving it on an exchange like bittrex as long as you have 2fa etc? I thought the pros of using an exchange is you keep the coins there... thus no need to download a wallet for each coin. For example say you want to buy some greencoin, bluecoin on bittrex etc... i cant imagine people downloading wallets for every single one of these?

I'm sure a lot of folks do. I would say I'm about half and half between wallets and exchanges, but Mt Gox has scarred the community so everyone stresses not to leave any coins on an exchange. They're probably right.

So would you say keeping your coins on a major exchange like bittrex would be fine or not? Because they seem to be the number 1 exchange for altcoins.


Another thing i want to ask. But i read lot of people got their bitcoin wallets or eth wallets hacked because they downloaded a fake wallet to claim their bitcoin cash and gold etc. I believe when they do this, they enter their seed and then the hacker gets it and empties their seed. So does this mean if you click on any malware link, there is a good chance clicking that could hack your bitcoin wallet such as electrum or any other wallets even if you have a password on it to send btc?


The other thing is this. Let say you get your computer stolen or someone had access to it. The thing is electrum... most people put a password on it where you have to put it in before you send btc. But if a hacker gets your computer, could they basically just download a trojan/malware and your electrum wallet and any other crytocurrency wallet you have and then hack it? Because if thats the case, how do you protect yourself if say someone was to access or get your computer somehow? Would putting a windows password at startup be enough or not because i read its very easy to get through that?


I read something about bitlocker where it completely secures your computer. So if you download that, would that mean if someone gets your laptop, they cannot access or view any files to it, unless they have the password at login? Because most people use program like keepass to store their passwords for sites etc. But how many people out there make sure their computer cannot be accessed without a password? And would bitlocker be the only way to prevent this?


Because besides clicking on links/malware or downloading malware, if someone has access to your computer, is that pretty much your whole computer is in jeopardy? Can someone mention how you can completely safeguard your computer if someone was to get access to your computer? Thus if they get your computer, sure they get it but they cannot access the files? I know people say use a hardware wallet for your bitcoin... but what if you have 10 or more different wallets because you bought coins like greencoin etc then? Because those would definitely get hacked if someone has your computer right?

Think I've figured it out. He's a (very) clever shill for bittrex. He keeps casually mentioning them or bumping threads about them and always talks about altcoins which bittrex makes all their money off of.

That very well may be! In that case I would just like to say that I abhor Bittrex for their ridiculously high fees and wish more US facing exchanges dealt in a wide variety of **** coins. God bless Binance.