Maand: december 2011

How can I buy Bitcoin via a Credit Card or Paypal?

I want to buy some bitcoins. Ideally, I would like to buy them on the MtGox exchange (because the consensus seems to be that this is the most reputable exchange), however I have found the system for transferring USD to MtGox to be very disappointing. I would have liked to be able to add funds with PayPal or directly with a credit card, however both of these are not possible.

My question has two parts:

  1. Is there an easy way to use a credit card to add USD funds to my MtGox account. Liberty Reserve, Dwolla, and Paxum seem to be the financial institutions of choice for MtGox and the rest of the exchanges. Is any of these simple to fund using a credit card, or are they all basically PayPal analogues (which Paxum seems to be) that require a large amount of setup?
  2. If it is not possible for MtGox, is there another, hopefully reputable, exchange that I can use PayPal or a Credit Card to buy bitcoins with?

What are the risks of using Strongcoin.com as an online wallet?

Strongcoin claims it is "The Safest way to store your Bitcoins. The only Bitcoin e-wallet service that’s not vulnerable to security breaches. Your Bitcoin keys are encrypted in the browser."

As I understand it, with their system your private keys are essentially encrypted by your browser before they are sent to the website. They also appear to have a method of creating an encrypted paper copy of your wallet so you can restore your wallet if the website disappears.

Even so, it seems you’re still potentially vulnerable if you access your wallet from an infected computer (i.e. through keystroke loggers and more advanced logging techniques).

What other risks are there in using such a service?

Note: I have not used Strongcoin, and have no affiliation with them in any way.

I didn’t receive a Bitcoin Payment. What does it mean when the Client is synchronizing?

Bitcoin newbie here. I recently installed the Bitcoin client, and purchased some bitcoins from Mt.Gox. My problem is that my client is constantly synchronizing. I’ve checked charts and seen that my Bitcoins were successfully purchased, but my client seems to be stuck “Synchronizing with network”. I’ve just got a constant loading icon in the bottom right, and when I hover over it it says it’s “catching up”. As I said, I’m new. Is this normal? Can someone explain what’s happening? Thanks!