1. Before you can use any cryptocurrency, you need to pick a wallet to use.
What type of wallet you want depends on what you want to use it for. If you intend on mining, stop and reconsider because you probably can’t make any money. But if you want to anyways, you need a full wallet. Otherwise, a light wallet is probably all you need.
Turns out this site is better at explaining this than me.
But for other cyrptocurrencies, check out these sites:
2. Install the wallet and then back it up.
Obviously you need to install the wallet in order to use it.
Once your wallet is installed, the first thing you need to do is backup your wallet. I can’t stress this enough. You NEED to backup your wallet. I have not neglected to backup my wallet before, and I have lost coins. Don’t be like me. Backup your wallet first thing.
There are a few ways to do this. Personally, I use google drive. But you don't want your wallets just sitting in google drive vulnerable to theft. My wallets are encrypted using 7-zip. 7-zip is like Winrar but better and free. When you install a wallet, it will place a .dat or .wallet file on your hard drive. The file extension will be in your roaming folder. For example, the file path for a dogecoin wallet might be something like this: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Dogecoin . The roaming folder is often hidden, so you might need to turn on "show hidden folders" under your system setting for your computer. Grab the .dat or .wallet files you want to back up and put them in 7-zip file and set a password. Personally, I would also save this password using a system like keepass. Lastly, upload your 7-zip to google drive or dropbox.
There are a few ways to do this. Personally, I use google drive. But you don't want your wallets just sitting in google drive vulnerable to theft. My wallets are encrypted using 7-zip. 7-zip is like Winrar but better and free. When you install a wallet, it will place a .dat or .wallet file on your hard drive. The file extension will be in your roaming folder. For example, the file path for a dogecoin wallet might be something like this: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Dogecoin . The roaming folder is often hidden, so you might need to turn on "show hidden folders" under your system setting for your computer. Grab the .dat or .wallet files you want to back up and put them in 7-zip file and set a password. Personally, I would also save this password using a system like keepass. Lastly, upload your 7-zip to google drive or dropbox.
3. Test the wallet
Now let's test your wallet. Here is how you can try it. You can use a faucet to get small amount of cryptocurrency for free.
View 3 more here
