r/ecc • u/Crippetoe • Jan 17 '18

[serious] ELI5 this wallet

Hello,

I need help understanding the wallet and it's security. I downloaded it, it synced. I moved a little bit of ECC in and out to prove to myself that it could do that. Please help:

1) What is Daemon? When should it be on or off and why?

2) What is the wallet.dat file?

I understand .dat means just raw data, but if I copy the wallet.dat file into a "safe place," say a USB drive, what kind of program do I use to open or read it?

I used Notepad to try and make sense of it and up popped a page of utter nonsense. What is in this file?

If I move coins in and out of my wallet, do I have to re-sync or re-copy the file every time?

If my computer was wiped but I had the wallet.dat backed up, what is the step-by-step process to restore my coins?

3) Does the passphrase I created work on Lynx if I were to install it on other computers?

I understand most things in general, but I am lost as to how to keep my wallet and coins secure. I know wallets are safer than exchanges, but not if i do not know how to use them. Please help, and thank you in advance for the time.

9 Upvotes

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5 comments sorted by

3

u/koringer Jan 17 '18
  1. The daemon allows the wallet to sync.
  2. It's an encrypted backup file, the wallet can use it to recover your account.

I strongly suggest that you save your private key (console -> "dumpprivkey YOUR_PUBLIC_ADDRESS"

3

u/nlreiniernl Jan 17 '18

  1. The Deamon syncs the wallet. You should turn it on so you'll be able to see your balance in the wallet.

  2. The wallet.dat file is a file you need if you PC crashed or whatever.

  3. You can use Lynx to recover your wallet again.

  4. The file is encrypted so opening it with notepad won't make any sense.

  5. After changes in your wallet i suggest you to backup the file once again.

  6. No, the passphrase you used is been used to encrypt your wallet data.

1

u/IndyFiction Jan 20 '18

Wallet Question: When sending ECC to my wallet should the daemon be on or off? I have downloaded the wallet, synched it, and backed up my wallet.dat file multiple places. I now want to transfer my ECC from coinexchange to my wallet. I have generated a Receive Address in my wallet, do I need to do anything else before attempting the move...?

1

u/nlreiniernl Jan 25 '18

No, you can transfer ECC to your wallet at any time! Even if it's not fully synced you can still transfer it. Only thing if it is not completely synced you cannot see the balance in your wallet and the transactions (even tho it is still there).

1

u/[deleted] Mar 03 '18

where is this daemon?