Setting Up a Monero Wallet - A Simple Guide
The best way to keep cryptoassets secure is by utilizing official wallet software. It is recommended not to trust third party providers and exchanges with your cryptocurrencies.In this short guide we will go through a Monero wallet installation and configuration.
Download
- Visit official Monero website
- Choose your operating system
- Take note of SHA256 Hash displayed on a page
- Click the GUI (Graphical User Interface) version to start download
- Check the hash of downloaded file, to ensure the integrity of the content:
5.1 On Windows: OpenPowerShell
->Get-Filehash -path Downloads\XXX.zip -algorithm SHA256 | fl
-> Compare the output with the one on step 3
5.2 On Mac OSX: OpenTerminal
->shasum -a 256 -c XXX.zip
-> Compare the output with the one on step 3
5.3 On Ubuntu: OpenTerminal
->sha256sum XXX.zip
-> Compare the output with the one on step 3 - If the hashes match you can confidently extract zip file content to a desired location. Approximate size after extraction is 270 MB
Install
- Double click
monero-wallet-gui.exe
- Choose your language
- Select
Create a New Wallet
- A
mnemonic seed
will be displayed consisting of 25 words. Without it you will not be able to recover yor wallet:
4.1 Save this seed in a safe location
4.2 Write it out on paper and store the paper in a safe location
4.3 Double and triple check that the seed you are saving or writing exactly matches the one displayed on your screen - Next you will be asked to enter the
strong password
5.1 For generating a strong password you can use a password manager likeLastPass
orKeyPass
Otherwise check Online Password Generator or come up with your own.
5.2 For a strong password I would recommend to have minimum of16 characters
and usesymbols
,letters (both UPPERCASE and lowecase
,numbers
,special characters ({ } ~ , ; : . < > and etc.)
- Click
Use Monero
- A
Monero daemon
service, will start downloading a blockchain. In order to use all functions of the wallet it is important to download a full blockchain. If you'd prefer to use a blockchain bootstrap, instead of syncing from scratch, you can use a faster method explained below
Import Monero Blockchain (Optional)
- Download official Monero Blockchain to the directory were you extracted zip file contents.
- Open
CMD
->cd
to Monero directory -> runmonero-blockchain-import.exe --input-file blockchain.raw
- This process first verified
blockchain.raw
file content and after that starts importing. - If you want a faster process run
monero-blockchain-import.exe --verify 0 --input-file ./blockchain.raw
(not recommended) - After import is finished you can start the
monero-wallet-gui.exe
Send Monero
- Click
Send
tab in Monero GUI - Enter amount you want to send in
Amount
field - Choose how fast you want your transaction to be processed by changing
Transaction Priority
- NOTE: Higher fees might apply - Paste in the Monero address in
Address
tab where you want to send the amount - (Optional) Enter 16 or 64 hexademical characters in
Payment ID
- this will make transactions easy to identify to merchants - (Optional) Add custom description for local use
Description
- If you intend to make frequent transactions to a single address it is recommended to add them to the
Address Book
Receive Monero
- Click
Receive
tab in Monero GUI Address
displays your Monero address- Generate payment ID by clicking
Generate
- this will allow you to quickly identify transactions - Integrated address is a combination of Address and Payment ID
- Choose
Amount
you want to receive - Now you can either share
QR code
or aMonero address
to receive a payment
Now you should be all set and ready to go, enjoy your private cryptocurrency.
You might want to check why privacy aware people should choose Monero on the link below:
Why Monero? - Privacy Focused Cryptocurrency
Be wary of the critical vulnerabilities discovered in computer processors. These weaknesses may affect both local and exchange wallets:
Meltdown and Spectre Vulnerabilities - Quick Overview
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