Wallets, wallets or Bitcoin wallets store the private keys needed to access bitcoins registered in a public address or key to spend them. The main types of purses available on the market can be divided into two categories depending on whether they are independent applications (apps) installed on personal devices or online accounts opened on platforms of companies that provide such service.
For the standalone application category, there are three types of wallets depending on the device you use: personal computer, mobile and gadget (hardware) purses. The security of the bitcoins that are owned and whose passwords are stored in these devices will depend solely on the user, who must back up the portfolio and store it in a safe place. To do this, you must create the backup and encryption passwords for the wallet.
The first password will allow you to open your wallet on any computer that can run the application; For its part, the second will allow you to move the bitcoins you own. Both passwords must be strong, to prevent someone from deciphering them, and annotate in several places, to avoid forgetting or losing them.
If online portfolios are used, security will depend on the user and the company providing the service. The user should be responsible for placing a strong password and activate all security measures that the website provides: telephone verification, two-factor authentication, secret questions, among others. The company will be responsible for protecting the platform from attacks and, in some cases, from securing bitcoins to losses.
ESSENTIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A CRIPTOMONED PURSE
Control over money: Cryptomonet portfolios can allow individual management (only the user owns the private keys), the joint management (the owner and the company have private keys), or by a third party (the company owns the keys Private) of the money stored in them. Depending on the control over the money management chosen, it increases or decreases the responsibility and control of the user and the security of the funds in the portfolio.
Validation: Crypton Coin Purses can be used to validate completed transactions, complete validation (complete node, fully unloaded block chain), simplified validation (single node, only download block hash), or centralized validation (full node Of a third party). Based on the type of validation used by the wallet, a third party should be relied upon to validate the transactions performed correctly.
Transparency: Cryptomon coin purses can be fully transparent (the application code can be audited and verified by the user), transparent (the code can be audited but can not be verified by the user), or nothing transparent (the code Of the application is closed and the application is run remote). Depending on the degree of transparency, the user will more or less have confidence that the application developer did not add secret or malicious code that could cause them to lose their funds or be stolen.
Environment: cryptomoneda portfolios may be installed in vulnerable (virus-prone) environments with or without two-step authentication, secure environments (such as cell phones where applications are isolated), and highly secure environments , Gadgets). Given the type of environment used, the user must activate mechanisms such as two-step authentication and place complex passwords to their portfolios and devices to prevent loss or theft of funds.
Privacy: cryptomonet portfolios can reveal information about their users to network nodes (such as IP address), re-use portfolios with each payment, and whether or not to allow use of the portfolios. Tor browser to prevent other people or companies from associating transactions with the user's IP address. Depending on the type of privacy that the portfolio provides, the user should be more or less aware of the information that reveals to the network.
PERSONAL COMPUTER PURSES
Bitcoin Core
BITCOIN CORE
Control
100%
Validation
100%
Transparency
100%
Environment
33%
Privacy
100%
Electrum
ELECTRUM
Control
100%
Validation
67%
Transparency
67%
Environment
33%
Privacy
67%
Copay
COPAY
Control
100%
Validation
33%
Transparency
67%
Environment
33%
Privacy
67%
BitGo
BITGO
Control
fifty%
Validation
33%
Transparency
33%
Environment
fifty%
Privacy
67%
PURPOSE FOR MOBILE DEVICES
Bitcoin Wallet
BITCOIN WALLET
Control
100%
Validation
67%
Transparency
67%
Environment
67%
Privacy
67%
Mycelium
MYCELIUM
Control
100%
Validation
33%
Transparency
67%
Environment
67%
Privacy
67%
Copay
COPAY
Control
100%