Hey @JamesYellen,
Sure
If I had to recommend any kind of wallet, it would be a mobile wallet and a hardware wallet.
When you use bitcoin, you have a bitcoin wallet to store, send and receive bitcoins. A bitcoin wallet comes in various forms, eachwith its own pros and cons.
A bitcoin wallet is a little like an email address, except instead of having an email address and password, it has a public key and a private key. The "public key" also known as a "bitcoin wallet address", which is what you share with people when you want them to pay you bitcoin.
The private key which you keep secret, is used to access the wallet, kind of like the password on your email address, and to create as many new public keys as you want. If someone gets your private key for your wallet, they can spend bitcoin on any bitcoin addresses that was generated by the same private key.
Bitcoin has never been hacked ever. What has been hacked many times is exchanges, and peoples personal computers. It is far easier for a hacker or thief to steal a private key off a website, or a home computer than to hack bitcoin.
There is a saying in bitcoin that says 'Not your keys, not your bitcoin'. This is basically hilighting the fact that on many bitcoin exchanges and websites, you are provided a bitcoin address to send your funds, but are never given the private keys for that address.
Many exchanges keep clients funds in one wallet, and have a database that keeps a record of each clients bitcoin balance. This makes it much much faster to move the bitcoin around (off chain). Since not all clients withdraw their balance at once, they can secure the bulk of the bitcoin offline in what they call a 'cold wallet', and only have a 'hot wallet' online, which they can settle daily bitcoin withdrawals from. When exchanges and websites get hacked of their bitcoin, it is generally the 'hot wallet' for daily transactions that is affected. Depending on the exchange, the hot wallet can be small, or could contain millions of Rand worth of bitcoin. Experts sometimes say that this kind of "custodial wallet" website, where they have your private key, falls into 2 categories, those that have been hacked, and those that are going to be hacked.
As a bitcoin user, it is best practice to use and exchange to buy or sell bitcoin, and then to immediately move your bitcoin OFF the exchange. Do NOT store your bitcoin on an exchange that can be a central point of failure, and a honeypot for a hacker. Although it is far less likely for an exchange to be hacked these days, it does still happen.
The most secure type of bitcoin wallet is a hardware wallet. This is a physical piece of hardware that can store your private key, and someone has to physically get it into their hands to be able to steal your bitcoin, as well as know the password for the device.
The most popular is the Trezor hardware wallet, or the Ledger hardware wallet. Both will plug into your computer USB port like a USB stick or dongle, and will then allow you to send or receive bitcoin easily and securely. Once you unplug the hardware wallet, it is offline, and the coins dont move.
If you lose your hardware wallet, or it is stolen, the password lock on the wallet when you try to access it, and its other security features will ensure that your bitcoin is safe.
When you do your wallet setup, you are given a random set of 12 or 24 words, which is used as the "seed" to generate the private key, and thereafter, the public keys. You need to write down all the words, in order, and keep those safe. If your wallet is lost or stolen, you can use those same words on a replacement device to get instant access to your bitcoin balance.
You can also use the same words on other wallets that will also accept a word seed to add a private key which is pretty much a standard these days. Most people store their private key seed in a different location to their wallet.
Secure mobile wallet:
A good mobile wallet for your mobile phone is the Airbitz app. This is an amazing wallet for your mobile phone that is secure, gives you the private keys, is easy to use, and has some great features like a business directory with a map to see places close to you that accept bitcoin. Add your own business for free. Follow the instructions when you install the app, and they will explain how to secure your private key.
Other highly recommended mobile wallets that also give you the private keys are Mycelium wallet, and Greenbits wallet which are both excellent. Follow all the instructions step by step, and you will be fine. Store your private key / word seed securely and you should not ever have any problems.
Personally I use a mobile wallet as my 'hot wallet', that is bitcoin that I am willing to spend, kind of like the cash in my regular wallet. If I am doing small amounts of bitcoin, say under R1000 transactions, that is done on my mobile wallet. Bigger amounts I do with my hardware wallet, which is my main "cold wallet" for my bitcoin.
Web based wallets....A web wallet that will allow you to access your bitcoin wallet from a website - a great web wallet is www.bitgo.com.
During the setup process, you will be provided with a download of your private key details and full instructions.
If you lose your private key, they CANNOT HELP YOU. Your bitcoin will be lost. So follow instructions, which is to download and print the private key, and store it securely.
Using a site like bitgo means they can never be hacked and lose your bitcoin, and they can never steal your bitcoin, simply because they do not have your private key, only you do.
You can use their website to manage your bitcoin securely and easily, so sending and receiving bitcoin is a bit lilke logging into your internet banking.
If their site is taken offline, you can use your private key to get access to your bitcoin on any other wallet software such as a mobile wallet, or a desktop wallet. Although this is good to know, it is a hassle to do, especially if you are in a hurry to make a payment.
One down side to web wallets, is people are the weak link, often storing passwords on your computer, or in your gmail docs or similar. If your email account, or computer is compromised, you might be giving away access to your web wallet. If someone gets access to your email account, and then resets your password on a web wallet, they might be able to access your bitcoin.
A bitcoin hardware wallet is still the best as far as I am concerned, because it is very easy to use, and extremely secure.
We actually sell the Ledger nano bitcoin hardware wallets on our website here: https://www.bitcoinzar.co.za/secure-your-bitcoin-with-a-ledger-nano-hardware-wallet/. We sell them for R1000 in bitcoin, which includes delivery by courier to your door, some bitcoin stickers, and support / assistance by telephone, whatsapp or email.
I also highly recommend the Trezor hardware wallet, which you can order direct from the manufacturer here: https://shop.trezor.io/
