OK, I'm going to back up a little. As suggested by kpitti, I'll stick with one question/topic at a time. Seems like a reasonable approach.
I have been using Coinbase since it seemed to be the easiest to use for people like myself, but I really don't feel secure with it - or any other exchange bc I don't understand the technology. I thought I was correct in trusting that my bitcoins were totally secure on a paper wallet, barring my losing it or letting someone get ahold of it or my key. But I'm not sure about that. For example, if Coinbase goes the way of Mt. Gox (some people lost everything gox was holding for them, right?), are my bitcoins lost to me for good? Or is the paper wallet (or equivalent, i.e. usb storage etc.) proof of my btc on the blockchain itself and therefore title to those bitcoins? I apologize if my understanding of all this is totally erroneous!
ps - I'm in the middle of Digital Gold right now, trying to get some sense of the evolution and terminology...
With coinbase, your bitcoin are not necessarily safe. Coinbase has control of your private keys, which means that they can also spend your Bitcoin. If they should scam, or be hacked, someone could spend your bitcoin for you and you would lose all of it.I have been using Coinbase since it seemed to be the easiest to use for people like myself, but I really don't feel secure with it - or any other exchange bc I don't understand the technology. I thought I was correct in trusting that my bitcoins were totally secure on a paper wallet, barring my losing it or letting someone get ahold of it or my key. But I'm not sure about that. For example, if Coinbase goes the way of Mt. Gox (some people lost everything gox was holding for them, right?), are my bitcoins lost to me for good? Or is the paper wallet (or equivalent, i.e. usb storage etc.) proof of my btc on the blockchain itself and therefore title to those bitcoins? I apologize if my understanding of all this is totally erroneous!
ps - I'm in the middle of Digital Gold right now, trying to get some sense of the evolution and terminology...
However, if you use a desktop wallet (or any wallet that is not a web wallet), then a paper wallet backup will be safe.
That is not true. Since October 2014 coinbase announced that their Multisig Vault gives the customer complete control of their own private keys. According to their news:
"Our new Multisig Vault gives the customer complete control of their own private keys. Coinbase has no ability to move funds (which means you are safe from Coinbase being hacked, going bankrupt, or anyone seizing your bitcoin). It also means that you as a customer have much greater responsibility in storing your backup key securely. If you lose this backup and forget your multisig password, Coinbase cannot help you recover your bitcoin. For this reason, we only recommend this feature for advanced users."
So at coinbase wallet you can export/import private key
never felt the needs to write manually an address, QR code or copy/paste
Use your smartphone to do it, like @monbux said. Mycelium is good bitcoin wallet in smartphone so far.