Setting Up Blockchain Wallet on Web Browser

The Blockchain bitcoin wallet runs on a web browser on your desktop PC or laptop. The login method is however, slightly different from the version on smartphones and mobile devices. You may also find that there are more settings to configure for the Blockchain Wallet on Web Browser, compared to the Blockchain Wallet on Mobile Devices.

The guide below will show you how to:

1. setup and create a new bitcoin wallet provided by Blockchain.info
2. increase the security settings of your wallet to the highest level possible
3. set other wallet preferences

To get started with a Blockchain bitcoin wallet on your browser, go to https://www.blockchain.info in Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, or any secure web browser. Click on Wallet at the top menu.

Alternatively, you may go directly to https://www.blockchain.info/wallet/#.

Creating Your Wallet

Follow the steps below to create your wallet on the browser:

1. On the main page shown above, click on
2. On the following page, key in your email address and password. Use the same email address as the one you registered your smartphone Blockchain bitcoin wallet with if you have previously done this. You may use a new email address if you do not have a smartphone Blockchain bitcoin wallet yet, or if you simply need another wallet account.
   
3. The first security step you will need to do is verify that the email you registered this wallet with is indeed your email address and accessible only by you. Go to your email inbox, look for the email from Blockchain, and click on the link Verify Email.
   

   NB. Your wallet identifier (a series of alphabets and numbers) is given below the link. You do not need to memorise this, but you may need to refer to this for future logins as logging in to your wallet on the browser is done with the wallet identifier and not with the email address.

   

4. Your browser will open with a page to indicate the your email has been successfully verified, and you will then be taken to the homepage of your wallet.
   

However, before you proceed with a transaction or anything else, you will need to complete the security settings on your new wallet. Please see the next section on Security Settings.

Security Settings

As you will now be managing your own bank account, it is imperative that you ensure your security settings are at the highest level possible. “Managing your own bank” sounds more daunting than it really is, and as you will see in the following steps, the procedure is simple and not very different from setting up a new email address or online banking account. These steps will ensure that your bitcoin and transactions are protected from unauthorised access.

On your Blockchain bitcoin wallet home screen, click on SECURITY CENTER located on the left sidebar. You will be presented with a number of security setting options.

Security Settings are divided to the following levels and parts:

SECURITY LEVEL 1 – Prevent Losing Access to Your Funds

1. Email Verified
2. Backup Recovery Phrase
3. Password Hint

SECURITY LEVEL 2 – Prevent Unauthorized Access to Your Wallet

4. Link Mobile Number
5. Enable Two Step

SECURITY LEVEL 3 – Advanced Security Options to Harden Your Wallet

6. Block Tor Requests

SECURITY LEVEL 1 – PREVENT LOSING ACCESS TO YOUR FUNDS

1. You should see by now for Level 1 that the first step in Verifying Email has been completed.
   



2. Next, go to Backup Recovery Phrase, and click

   2a. Key in your main wallet password to proceed.
   
   
   2b. As stated in the Security Tip, you are advised not to store your Recovery Phrase on your computer or online. Anyone with access to your Recovery Phrase practically has access to your wallet and funds.

   At this point, you may print out the provided Recovery Sheet or prepare a pen and paper to write the Recovery Phrase down.
   
   

   2c. You will be presented with a phrase of 12 random words. Write these words down and number each word in order from 1 to 12 on a piece of paper or the Recovery Sheet if you had printed it in Step 2b above, and keep it somewhere safe.

   This Recovery Phrase will be required should you need to restore your funds and your wallet in the event that the password is forgotten or the service becomes unavailable. Click Next Step once this step is done.
   
   2d. You will then be asked to verify your phrase by keying in the correct word into each box based on the word order number.
   Click once all the correct words have been keyed in.
   
   
   2e. Click to complete the Backup Recovery Phrase procedure.
   

3. For the last step in Level 1 Security, key in a Password Hint to help you remember your password. If you’re using a password you are sure you won’t forget, you may choose to skip this step.

SECURITY LEVEL 2 – PREVENT UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO YOUR WALLET

While SECURITY LEVEL 1 is to ensure that you do not lose access to your wallet funds, SECURITY LEVEL 2 is to prevent others from accessing your wallet. This introduces a multi-tiered security authorisation over the basic login password and makes it difficult or virtually impossible for someone who doesn’t hold your mobile phone. This is because additional codes sent only to your mobile phone are required after the basic login password is keyed in.

4. Under LEVEL 2, click on Link Mobile Number.

   4a. Key in your mobile number, and change the country code prefix if necessary.
   Click when done.
   
   
   4b. Upon clicking Save, a code is sent to your mobile phone via SMS (Short Messaging Service).
   
   4c. On the next screen, key in the code that was sent to your mobile phone and click .
   This step verifies that you are the owner of the phone and a similar code will be sent to you via SMS (of the registered mobile phone number) for future logins on the browser.
   

5. Next, click on Enable Two Step to use 2FA or 2-Factor Authentication for your logins. Like Link Mobile Number above, 2FA allows you to use Google Authenticator or a Yubikey.

   

   5a. Google Authenticator is downloadable app from the App Store / Play Store that generates a time-limited random 6-digit code for a specific website or purpose that is only accessible and viewable on your mobile phone. This works exactly like the code you received on your mobile phone via SMS in Step 4 above. As this app doesn’t rely on your telco service provider, this is a preferred option for those travelling in foreign countries without roaming facilities but with access to a Wifi network.

   On the other hand, Yubikey is a 2FA measure that relies on the use of a personal hardware USB key for logging in.

   5b. As most users do not own a Yubikey and the Google Authenticator app is easily downloadable by anyone, we will proceed to use the Google Authenticator method. If you have not used Google Authenticator before, you may download and install it via the App Store / Play Store on your mobile phone now.

   You will learn how to use Google Authenticator in the steps below. This may seem like a tedious task for now, but it will be useful to start learning how to use this app as Google Authenticator is also applicable to various online login accounts (not related to bitcoin) where security is a critical requirement. Run the app and go through the on-screen instructions for setting it up and using it.

   
   
   5c. Launch the Google Authenticator app. Click on the (+) icon and select Scan a Barcode, which opens the in-app camera. Begin scanning by placing the QR code (a square with tiny black and white squares as shown below) within the camera scanning area until it is registered.
   
   5d. The Google Authenticator app generates a random 6-digit code upon successful scanning.
   Key in this 6-digit code in the blank field and click

   
   
   5e. Click Close to complete the Enable Two Step setup.
   

SECURITY LEVEL 3 – ADVANCED SECURITY OPTIONS

Security Level 3 hardens the wallet further and prevents IP addresses that are known to be part of the Tor anonymizing network from gaining access of your wallet. The Tor network is frequently used by hackers attempting to access Blockchain user wallets. You do not need to understand the mechanics of this, but only that activating this is just a simple click of a button.

6. Under Level 3 – Advanced Security Options to harden your wallet, click Block Tor Requests.

   6a. Click .
   

   6b. That’s it! Your wallet is now set to the highest security settings possible.
   

Wallet Preferences and Pairing with Smartphone App

Now that we have completed the Security Settings above, we can start tweaking some wallet preferences and settings to suit our purpose and style of usage. This is found in SETTINGS on the sidebar. Under SETTINGS are the following preference settings:

WALLET INFORMATION AND PAIRING WITH SMARTPHONE

Your Wallet ID is shown here if you ever need to refer to it. As stated: Wallet ID is your unique identifier. It is completely individual to you, and it is what you will use to log in and access your wallet. It is not a bitcoin address for sending or receiving. Do not share your Wallet ID with others.

Next, if you have a Blockchain bitcoin wallet installed and running on your smartphone, you may want to pair it with your bitcoin wallet here on the browser. If you have not set up a wallet on your smartphone, you may find the instructions here. After downloading the wallet, return to this page and refer to the instructions below to execute the pairing process.

To begin, click

A QR code will be revealed as shown in the screenshot above. Follow the steps below on your smartphone app:

1. Launch the Blockchain bitcoin wallet app on your smartphone.
2. Select LOG IN.
3. Click on the Scan Pairing Code button and scan the QR code above shown on your computer web browser.

Note that the QR code above must be shown as black details on white background for the scanning to work correctly.

PREFERENCES

The next item down the Settings list is Preferences. As seen in the screenshot below, here is where you may key in or change the following:

• your email address
• your mobile number
• wallet language
• local currency
• bitcoin unit
• notifications (by email or SMS, or both)
• enable or disable bitcoin links handling
• auto logout duration
• themes (our favourite is Invert Colors as shown in black and beige below)

SECURITY

Under Settings > Security, the following options are available:

• Wallet Recovery Phrase
• Wallet Password
• Password Hint
• Second Wallet Password
• 2-step Verification
• Remember 2-step Verification
• other Advanced Settings (see further below)

Under Advanced Settings for Security, the following options are available:

• Activity Logging
• Login IP Restriction
• IP Whitelist
• Wallet Access via Tor
• Password Stretching (PBKDF2)
• API Access

ADDRESSES

Under Settings > Addresses is where you create new and manage existing bitcoin addresses for your wallet. If you have a regular income source from mining, or need a separate address for donation collection, you may create these addresses here for better management of your bitcoin sources.

Do not be too concerned with the advanced settings in this guide. It is advisable to first get the basic settings in order, and with better understanding of how the wallet works as you progress, you will be able to grasp the more advanced part of the wallet better. In many cases, you may not need to configure these advanced settings at all.

N.B. The guide above refers to the current version when this article was written. As things move and progress pretty fast in the Bitcoin space, some of the features and settings may have altered when you come across it in your browser.