Topic: Buying Used Computer Equipment For CryptoCurrency Unsafe? - page 4. (Read 1043 times)

Used and new computer?
Then what should we buy then?
It all depends on the merchant you should only buy from the right one.
If you are having trust issue then go directly to factory to buy.

that should be fine as long as you keep it just for storage and don't connect it to the internet. Just wipe it clean before using it. As mentioned earlier just because it's new doesn't mean it's safe from a virus.

Do not buy used or NEW computer equipment for crypto use  

You all forgot that even new computers can and do come with malware/trojans/viruses.

Eg. My Lenovo laptop came with superfish malware when it was new. And it is still there. I couldn't get rid of it. Lenovo did publish repairs for many models of their laptops, but mine didn't ever get the repair.  

And for the paranoid:
There has been some talk about some hard-drive manufacturers hiding a wireless chip in the HDD, that could be used in stealing data from machines that are not connected to the internet. Apparently the potential thief would have to get within a few hundred meters of the device. Scary. How could you check against that kind of threats?

Lol yeah if you want to be 100% safe, never connect to the internet, any data collected from your computer will never be sent to the hacker database.

yeah I know there is a lot of chance for a hacker to steal. but I have never bought a used laptop and cracked it because of that, if you want to be safe, reinstall it, discard all the data on the laptop and all viruses will gone.

I'm not an expert but this is also what i believe, when you completely did a clean format and installations and provide good anti virus you can be safe
as there's no possible threat in any hardware devices, not with I'm not aware of, but if you are doubting better not to buy and save money to buy brand
new and you'll not be worried about it.

Well you say laptop charger has no issue.


What about say a powerbank for your laptop?  Example those things that you buy where it gives you power to your laptop when you have no outlet?  I seeen some where you connect it to the same power slot on your laptop... but i also believe they have some that connect to a usb-c port if im not mistaken?



So is buying a used powerbank safe in either of those cases?  S

This is very interesting and I feel I have something to add. I never knew about this but I read and was shocked. Did you know some pro gamers that play counter strike used their mouse to cheat?
They had an aimbot built into it. I don't know how I think it is pretty amazing even though its wrong. Now I would assume if a complex aimbot can be programed then something else can. However people don't go around selling second and mouses with key loggers on them. The counter trike cheat mouses are not like other mouses they have something or another that allows them to hold a program but they look like any other mouse.
Keyboards I guess you can do the same but I am pretty sure you have to mod the keyboard. I mean a keyboard is not a computer is cant process anything.

So dude basically I wouldn't worry about pc hardware it's fine. I buy all my hardware second hand and have never had an issue. I paid 1/3 the price for my gaming pc. I mined with it and everything.
Only people who want to do something and have a plan for it will mod a mouse or keyboard. So for example they will swap their modded keyboard or mouse out with another one in an office and hack like that.

Ram and USB drives have flash memory so no need to worry. RAM clears when it has no power.

The only thing I would never buy second hand would be hardware wallet. It just isn't worth it just to save a few bucks.

in my opinion if you have wipe and clean installation, and install a trusted antivirus I think there are no more problems. related to hardware I don't think there is anything to worry about because Harwdare has no memory allocation for executable programs except from the installation driver, use installations from trusted sources when installing drivers or using drivers on disks that are received with hardware packages. and you are safe.

Hopefully we will all have lots more crypto in the future, so it is better to learn about security when you only have a few Satoshi. That way  the million or so that you will make next year will stay safe.

It is better to be safe than sorry,So it is better to spend more than buying cheap if it could secure your investment and other things.
This is better than risking your investment or funds,So we should really be careful on choosing where to buy our stuffs for crypto .

Security is very essential especially when talking about cryptocurrencies. But people nowadays take it way too seriously even for those who have like under 0.01 btc. I mean there is no point of securing your wallet if you do not possess a lot of balance at least more than 0.1 btc. btc yes, you can feel insecure about your balance and people can still those if you are not careful enough but aren't you sometimes taking a lot of security when no one is even interested on stealing your balance.

I haven't read all of this thread, but I'd like to make a couple of points.

reformatting the hard drive isn't enough,you need to re-partition the hard drive to ensure that there aren't any hidden partitions. Installing Linux on a former Windows machine would be a good way to do this.

Another safety precaution is to flash the latest BIOS. There are trojans that are able to insert code into the installed bios. I believe this is one of the tricks used by intrusive governments.

Are you serious?
Equipment that can't store data can't be used to transmit viruses to your laptop.
Not only that but also the charging port is not designed to accept data transfer.

It's a big difference between a laptop charger and a USB phone/tablet data cable that can also charge.

Few other items im curious about.



1.  Laptop Charger

Why should you buy used goods? To save a bitcoin wallet so that it is safe not to save it on a computer if we cannot buy the item, I only store it in my cellphone, memory or flashdick and use a passcode to open the file. For the past few years all of my wallets are under control.

Yes everything can be steal especially if you buy used computer because in our generation technology are so progressive its better tobe safe used ledger nano if you want to stock your altcoin or maybe buy unused computer do a self manual installation.

it might be overkill but for some people (especially the more gullible ones) this is a basic defense against social engineering and malware attacks so a couple hundred bucks for a cheap laptop might be a small price to pay. i wouldn't want to keep private keys or log into exchange accounts on the same PC i use to torrent or open email attachments.

i don't keep any keys online myself but that also requires a second (offline) pc. i prefer the airgapped pc/qr code method for signing tx vs hardware wallets. i'm still a tad paranoid about using hardware wallets with potentially infected computers. maybe i'm just old school.

Yes I believe that buying and using already used computer for cryptocurrency purposes is unsafe habit. And I think even a second hand cellular phone is also unsafe. Why? Because we know how technology become progressive now. Nothing is impossible. Anyting what you do  can steal specially when they put a device in used computer that you used. All your info and private keys can be steal.

Hey all related question.  So i want to buy a new security camera for my apartment.  The reason is because if there are any thieves or if someone were to access my laptop and do something with it and then leave it as is and then if i use it, then i might have no idea they installed malware/trojan or anything like that.


Im going to buy a camera on amazon and i notice some reviews, they say the camera is hacked etc.  Reviews were like they heard or saw someone viewing their home or apartment with it.


Now if that is the case, does that mean they could view your keystrokes or anything you view on your laptop or anything like that?  However, if you are setting it up with only your cell phone which most of these security cameras seem to do, then thats fine?  I want to buy a security camera and point it at my door when im not there or even there but one concern is if it gets hacked, could i potentially hack my laptop or something or internet network or hack my wallet?  Or make sure you get a security camera where you dont read anything like this in the reviews.

I guess there is a possibility on Modem or Router and USB Flash Drive. On router the old owner can login back to the network and maybe it will infiltrate the computer within the network if you did not change the settings, like admin password, wifi pass, etc,. and in the flash drive there is a possibility that it has a virus the simple solution is format or scan with antivirus. That's it there is nothing to worry about.


Well, this is another story I didn't know until now that this is possible, I guess it is better to buy a brand new item and then build it with protection and security from antivirus. Anyways do you know how to remove this kind of virus (Mebromi)?