[Solved] keeping coins safe - FAQ advise
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Hi guys, I would like to store my coins on a couple of memory sticks, which from my understanding involves copying and pasting the wallet.dat file, once that file is copied can I then delete the wallet.dat file saved on my pc? I am basically looking to keep my coins for a couple of years and I am a bit paranoid about hackers.
thanks in advance
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Hey alexg113!
That is true, copy the wallet.dat on an USB-Stick you can delete the actual wallet.dat file in your %appdata% Feathercoin.
But try it before you actually delete it. Backup it on an USD-Stick, afterwards you can rename the wallet.dat in your %appdata% Feathercoin and copy the file from the USB-Stick into, if it works you can delete the renamed one.
You could also encrypt your wallet, which should help you to protect you wallet against hackers.
Regards,
ChekaZ -
Thanks for the quick reply Chekaz, i have encrypted the wallet, is the wallet.dat file useless to hackers without the encryption key?
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The safest way to store coins is by using a paper wallet generated offline [url=http://featheraddress.org]http://featheraddress.org[/url]
I won’t be able to convince you it works, you just have to try it out a few times yourself with small amounts until you trust the process.
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[quote name=“alexg113” post=“40205” timestamp=“1386270427”]
Thanks for the quick reply Chekaz, i have encrypted the wallet, is the wallet.dat file useless to hackers without the encryption key?
[/quote]Yes, it is.
I suggest you use a passphrase, not just a password. “correct staple horse battery” for instance.
It’s also useless to YOU if you forget the encryption key. It’s a double edge sword that swings both ways.
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ok cool, thanks guys
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[quote]
It’s also useless to YOU if you forget the encryption key. It’s a double edge sword that swings both ways.[/quote]
I know its not the “most” safe but I ended up just putting my encryption key in a file that is kept only on an external harddrive that is only plugged in to back up my system. I suppose it’s not the most safe but it’s no different than backing up your wallet.dat to an external and expecting it to be completely safe - And it’s not so dumb as to have a file sitting on your desktop. -
[quote name=“Egnar” post=“40309” timestamp=“1386282440”]
[quote]
It’s also useless to YOU if you forget the encryption key. It’s a double edge sword that swings both ways.[/quote]
I know its not the “most” safe but I ended up just putting my encryption key in a file that is kept only on an external harddrive that is only plugged in to back up my system. I suppose it’s not the most safe but it’s no different than backing up your wallet.dat to an external and expecting it to be completely safe - And it’s not so dumb as to have a file sitting on your desktop.
[/quote]I hope that’s your ‘backup’, and the primary storage device is your noggin. In the case of failure of one, the other should be used to recover it. Hard drives fail ALL THE TIME. Do not trust a single copy of anything, ever. In fact if you’re smart, you’ll keep a copy off-site to prevent loss from natural disaster.
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Absolutely. I wouldn’t encrypt something I couldn’t retrieve if I didn’t believe within reason that I would remember the code.