Topic: Good bitcoin security starts with strong PC and mobile device security (Read 419 times)

Imho this in insufficient if you want to ensure your coins are safe. Of course, it's always a balance between how much the safety costs and how much money you protect.
Imho if you don't want to pay for a hardware wallet and you know a bit of this and that on computers, making a Tails OS stick and use it as a cold storage (with internet always disabled from start) is already way better than relying on Windows (which btw I also prefer).


Well, never say never. A 0-day vulnerability is always possible (imho even for Linux!). And better get the correct protection before feeling sorry you didn't.
It's like insurance: you tend to see it as money thrown out of the window... until you need it, if ever.

Honestly, I have been using windows since 90's and unless you get attacked personally, like someone actually aims at you, or you do not use your computer in a silly way downloading whatever you find, then it should be fine. Most of the hacks happen either because hacker aims at a single source, or it is because some bad computer user who downloads some virus to their computer when they are trying to download something else.

This should be very scary because you have no idea which one you are. To prevent that, have a very good anti-virus program in your computer that way you wouldn't have to worry about what's going on, it should be very normal and you could just continue your life without worrying about what's happening in the end.

Yeah it is one of the popular brands when it comes to anti-virus and I think some devices are already pre-installed with it if not McAfee. On my Laptop I see that it has a McAfee but I uninstall it because like you, I also considered it as a bloatware.

I still have a default antivirus anyway which is also called as Microsoft defender because my OS is Windows. Maybe some people are just paranoid but I think they won't be like that if they have valuables in their machines and then their machine is also high-end. For us, we might care less because our devices are already old and we can replace it easily if in case it got destroyed, be it by a virus or from natural causes.

You forgot to add the part that they shouldn't download any kind of media online, mainly porn, anime, and movies being the biggest of them all, they contain the most likely malwares that would infect that computer or device, and as much as I like to do pirate stuff on the Internet, it's probably best to just buy the medias that you're watching rather than download it in some illegal website, you know that you'd be safer although there's a small price to pay for it.

Some more tips: Whenever possible, use an authenticator app or physical passkey for 2FA verification on your phone instead of text messages.
Text messages are vulnerable to sim swapping where scammers can take control of your phone by convincing your cell phone company that they are you
in order to receive a new replacement SIM card under your name, which they use to drain your accounts.  


AT&T (one of the largest telecom companies in the US) just had a massive data breach where private information of up to 70 million customers was compromised including phone numbers and emails. Two days ago I received a notification from Microsoft Defender that my email and phone number were found on the dark web. It identified the cause for this as the AT&T data breach.

Luckily for me I no longer use the email and phone number that was reported from the AT&T data breach because I moved last year to an area that is not served by AT&T and
have since changed my email and phone number. But this is an example why you should use an authenticator app (or physical passkey) for 2FA instead of text messaging whenever possible.

Also have at least one separate email that is used strictly for banking and financial purposes, that you never give out to anyone but your bank, crypto exchange, etc.
Then you have another email for personal purposes.

Some tech savvy people think that Windows is a virus. I guess that I'm not that paranoid and I don't want to deal with Linux distros.
I have Windows Defender and Malwarebytes, but I don't use VPNs. I just don't trust the VPN providers that much.
I also would never use Bitcoin/crypto wallets on my smartphone(I have an Android device). I think that the mobile devices are a little bit more vulnerable than PC/laptops. Just don't click suspicious links, don't download suspicious files and don't use free public Wi-Fi. You will be fine just by following those tips, even if you don't have anti-virus software and VPN.

I'm talking of computer and laptops that has Linux as default OS (Linux based OS in the market)  that's why i said they are on higher specs and only rare produced based on the link i provided if you may read. I'm not talking of the minimum requirements of Linux to be installed because you're indeed right of those info, no doubts about it

I haven't used one myself yet, but many people I know do. Mac OS or Macbook is the most secure way to use Bitcoin in this case. I don't know of any other case where security is as strong as the MacBook. But many people say that viruses attack here too. But it is comparatively less. But because MacBooks are expensive, not everyone uses them or can afford them.

Seeing this phrase, I had a desire to categorically disagree with you. I won’t even read the links you provided, since I know from my own experience that using Linux systems most often requires minimum requirements. Having more than 4 gigabytes of RAM is extremely rare; generally, for the average user, 2 gigabytes or even less is enough, since the styles are all minimalistic. Yes, I know that there are a lot of servers running on Linux, and they probably require great requirements, but not for the average user. But what are we talking about? So that the user can surf the Internet and use a wallet. Windows is popular because it is used by gamers, designers, and those who require large amounts of RAM. And here you are confusing Linux with Windows.
I once provided data on the amount of Linux usage, and I would advise you to also read it.

https://truelist.co/blog/linux-statistics/
https://ik4.es/en/system-requirements-of-different-linux-distributions/
https://likegeeks.com/how-to-install-linux/

Linux is not completely bullet proof but you need to understand that it’s market share is very small compared to the huge amounts of people who are using Windows.

Also it’s much easier to trick a novice Windows users than it is to trick an advanced computer user who uses Linux. Hence why most malware is found on Windows.

Neither Linux, Windows nor Mac are completely immune to viruses and hackers, and that's why I say that how we use them is much more important than our choice of operating system. Let's use whichever operating system we find most comfortable and easy to use, let's focus on how we use it to bring the most security, then we will be safe from cyber attacks hacker. The fact that we force ourselves to use Linux to improve security but get into trouble while using it is even more dangerous, so don't think that Linux is safer, it doesn't mean we will be safe from hackers. I have been using windows for many years with Electrum, I have never had any problems.

“Stop watching porn” indeed
You sound fully security loaded though. I know about the phone feature you speak of. Just make sure that when you switch to that profile, you never download any apps, and there is only one user downloaded app which is your wallet app. You don’t need to browse the internet, so stay off it. When you switch back, you can keep browsing.

What about Kaspersky? I think it is also a top choice anti-virus software, but in my opinion, if our computer is only used for basic operations and office work, we do not need to use anti-virus software third party viruses. Microsoft's Defender is more than enough to protect us from most viruses and common attacks.

I use a fairly old and slow computer so I don't want to install too many 3rd party applications. But fortunately so far, I'm still safe from everything online and I think everything is not as scary as we imagine.

Do you know what computer or laptop brands or models has default Linux OS on it? Of course, there is, computer brands has models with Linux based OS, but only a few. Most sold or selling computers and laptops are in windows only because it's the default OS (as the market trend^[1] since then) that can you buy in the market, 60-70% of them are in Windows then next is Mac because of Apple laptops and Mac books, etc.
On the other hand Linux based OS in the market is just rare^[2], mostly are high specs that only techy people can use, and mostly personally installed from techy peeps.

Regardless of the computer OS, if the user doesn't know and has bad practice of doing things while online, you will get attacked, lost funds, scammed, phished, etc. But talking about malware, most malware are for windows system since there are a lot of them to target in the first place, Linux based are "very well-protected" against malware but it doesn't mean it's immune.

[1] https://www.statista.com/statistics/218089/global-market-share-of-windows-7/
[2] https://itsfoss.com/get-linux-laptops/

The greatest antivirus out there's your common sense, other than that and it's all up to Microsoft's Defender. I seem to notice a lot of people here talking about the best antivirus software out there and other than McAfee and Malwarebytes I can't really vouch for any other else, and I have used a couple of antivirus softwares in my life, including Avast (And I should say, you should NOT download nor even think of using Avast, it's a shit bloatware which will cause you more problems than benefits, trust me), and apart from the ones that I've stated here I wouldn't give you any other antivirus software to depend upon other than the in-built windows antivirus and your common sense. Cause for me the more you depend upon these applications the more neglectful and belligerent you become when surfing the internet and the more unsafe you make yourself against these threats.

So in that regard actually depending on less antivirus is a better thing than downloading every single anti-virus software app on the market just so you would feel safe and secure against bitcoin hackers, which aren't easily deterred by antimalwares and antivirus software anyway.

Let's look at reality and evaluate what's going on. If Linux is really so easy to use and so good, why do the majority of computers in the world use Windows and Mac? We even have to spend money to buy the other two operating systems, while Linux is completely free.

Also, if we use Linux, is there a guarantee that our bitcoins will never be stolen or attacked by hackers? What percentage is guaranteed that using Linux will never be attacked by hackers? Don't worry too much about the computer factors we use, what operating system, what brand of computer, the most important thing is how we use it.

Good basic security is much to ask for, this is something that many people don't know about, in my family alone I am the only one who knows how to keep a PC safe from malicious traps and all my family members do ask me for guidance, I meant every one of them.

This was how I knew that not everyone will have time to learn this things to keep themselves safe when using a PC, the only advice I give them was to never run a crypto wallet on their PC, because I won't always be available to solve their problems, since hackers are getting smarter every day, they might find a better way to steal data from PC at any time.

To be safe with a PC do not keep any information on it, onlg use it to solve the web and do some work that has no connection with money or a bank account because at this rate we can't outsmart getting hacked or getting viruses or other, we can only limit the chances.

I think Linux has the reputation of something that is used only by developers and hard-core tech geeks. That is why few non-tech people will touch it or even know what it is.

To learn a whole new operating system that is not very well known to the mainstream is daunting for most people. That is because everyone grew up learning computers on Mac and Windows since  those are the only two operating systems that are widely used in the education system. For better or worse Windows and Mac have a suffocating monopoly in the education system. Since virtually every child learned to use a computer through Mac or Windows it is just easier to keep using what you are familiar with as you grow older. They also have a monopoly in retail because 99% of computers sold are preloaded with Mac or Windows so you would have to go out of your way to even find a Linux computer to buy.

When you walk into any computer retailer all you see are Windows and Mac products on display for you to see and try out.
It is hard for Linux to be competitive when no one can even see or touch your product before buying it.

This is true. And that's one of the misconception of having linux as there desktop main OS. The pros of mac and windows are only because of its UI and looks, while most linux distros are more in simplicity and speed but some of them already good UI. And some of these OS are beginner friendly like Linux, MX Mint, Ubunto, Zorin, many to mention.

There is not really much to learn, installing one of the many Linux distributions is more simple than installing Windows these days, as all the drivers and most common applications are installed by default when you install the OS, and even if it was true that decades ago you needed to use the terminal for almost everything, this is not true anymore, and you can install, remove and use the majority of the software through a GUI, which most users should be extremely familiar with already.

Exactly, but even without clicking a link, your assets can also be compromised. The thing is, there are many ways a hacker could do in order to steal anything from their victims. Just by surfing the Internet, you could be affected by viruses or malware. If you want to be secured, then don't even visit websites that have suspicious looks and suspicious website links. In this advanced technology, it is very hard to secure our assets or reputation. That is why it will be a good option to have a second device wherein there is your OTP SIMcard. It's like your treasure vault. You need to secure that device very carefully, and you are the one who knows its existence and where you will hide it. Also a good option is the use of a VPN, or virtual private network. It will make your searching on the internet more secure, especially for harmful or malicious links and websites.

Sometimes people click on links by mistake that appear perfectly legitimate but turns out to be a fake website that installs very dangerous viruses and malware.
Security software such as Malwarebytes browser extension will block you from visiting such websites.

If you type in a URL of a well-known legitimate website, but mistype it by one letter you could be directed to a fake website that looks exactly like the real thing.
That is how people accidentally download malware, viruses, keyloggers that can record all your keystrokes, etc that steals your personal and financial information including your passwords.
That could lead to catastrophe for you. In such a situation a hardware wallet alone will not save you. It doesn't matter if you have Linux or whatever operating system you are screwed.

Unless you are a robot that never makes a mistake and never makes a typo it is foolish to believe that you are perfect and will never make a simple human error.

Anti-malware software on a device you use to access Bitcoin is a very sound idea. The need of it depends on your OS, though, right? With Windows, it's highly desirable, but maybe it's not as important if you're using Linux.
Being careful online, such as not downloading things you aren't sure of and not clicking on unfamiliar links someone sends you, are also good basic things. As for VPN, I think it's more about privacy than about security. I use it occasionally, but I don't think it's related much to using or not using Bitcoin.

Maybe they find it to hassle for not using their device since not everyone have capabilities to buy multiple devices just to secure their assets.

But the least they can do is not to click any random links and don't use their main wallet to connect on platforms or anything questionable for them to avoid getting compromise we know to many schemes has been done by those criminals and we need to be more careful and knowledgeable on to good to be true schemes to avoid getting take advantage by those people who are greedy to do anything just to get easy money for theirselves.

To many good suggestion above so for its up for people to be knowledgeable individual to avoid this hackings and exploitation.

The simplest and the most secure way is not to keep your Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies in devices that you use daily and are often connected to the internet because no matter how many antiviruses and security precautions you take, there can always be a way for those malware and viruses to get access to important stuff in your device and you wouldn't even know about it if you are always connected to the internet and use a lot of programs and software on it.

So the best way, as others have suggested it as well, is to either use a hardware wallet or a device that you specifically use to keep your cryptocurrencies and you never connect it to the internet so that your wallets and backups and everything stay safe and out of the reach of attackers and exploiters.
You won't have any worries if you are not having any important stuff in your personal use device whether it's a mobile phone, a laptop, or a pc.

Not to have even the most basic computer security like antivirus and browser protection, VPN, etc seems pretty crazy to me.

You want to avoid public wifi as much as possible but it is not always possible if you need to do some work or access the internet while traveling,
that is what VPN is for so hackers can't steal your data. If you use wifi at home or share wifi with others at home I would consider using VPN for that also.

I'm doing the same thing, but for me though, the risk is all similar anyway, if the hacker or whatever malicious entity is trying to attack you specifically, they'll always find a way to get to you and we can't anything about it. The phone that I use for my wallet for my bitcoin storage is pretty much split into different phones, I got one of those phones that have a second device feature, I haven't tried using that to store my bitcoins but I hope others here have tried this and would it be advisable to store it there. I also use Brave browser if you want to avoid accidentally downloading malwares when you're visiting websites, another thing that can help you if you don't want to unknowingly download malwares is to buy your subscriptions to anime, don't download stuff that's on those free anime streaming website and stop watching porn, this last one, you will prevent yourself from getting them malwares and you become a better person too in terms of how your brain is wired.

You have made a good point.

Also we are talking about bitcoin here. You need to be above average to be able to successfully secure your coins. So when he says linux is complicated and it is for smart people while windows is for dumb people, he also admits that 99% of the population is dumb and will never successfully secure their coins.

If people insist on not learning about linux and other security practices, then somebody smarter and evil will take advantage of their stupidity. In this age not learning about linux is a choice between being stupid and smart.

On some rare occasions though, even being smart cannot help you. Even the bitcoin dev LukeDashJr got hacked and lost his coins to a thief in the past when you think about it. Sometimes we are just careless.

If you talk about Average Joe want to protect their coins, then you don't have to install many software because the more software you have, the more chance you made mistake.

They don't have to install VPN, browser guard, antivirus etc etc, as long as they didn't click any unknown links, pirated software, join airdrop etc etc, they're high likely safe.

They also only need hardware wallet instead of air-gapped wallet.

When it comes to mobile apps, at least with the iPhone. Each app is sandbox from another. Meaning that unless you give permission, one app cannot access the data from another app. This is why mobile phones are generally more secure compared to say someone using Windows and running executables from the shady websites.

Also phones can only run signed code. So the app needs to be approved and signed by apple for you to run it. Hence why it’s again much stronger security compared to a windows Pc.

VPN has almost nothing to help regarding to safe guarding your device and funds. I agree on AV and other security stuff but VPN? Naaah. Also, good practice on using your wallet and your device, of course, is the best way to avoid malware. Especially downloading random stuff online.

I don’t even have my wallet on my laptop because I believe that it is more easier to get hacked on a laptop than it is on a mobile device. This is because on mobile device, we spend more times with apps, and i am always certain about what app i have. But on windows, a malware can come from chrome, and that’s even where metamask and the average wallets gets connected. You may not know when you get redirected to the wrong site and won’t notice anything wrong, until someday when your balance is empty. Thought I have a software that protects my laptop really well, I don’t risk it.

I remember creating a simple app on my PC for a game that I'm playing. I made everything on that Windows machine and made sure everything is properly coded. When I tried to run the packaged app, Windows Defender blocked the app and put it into quarantine mode. These pre-installed security systems in PCs are more than enough for an average person, and is great in detecting apps that may harm the user's device and files. Also, I don't think the average person that isn't technologically inclined can turn off these security features today unless they have to because of a requirement on some of the apps that they are using. Even still, it should be obvious that when a software is asking you to turn off your antivirus software, there is something wrong with it.

As for hardware wallets, I still believe that it's only a necessity if you are planning to stockpile on bitcoins and hold for long. If not, then a simple PC or a mobile phone is more than sufficient provided that that device isn't connected to the internet at all times or used to browse shady websites.

Before I was involved with crypto, I was very careless with my devices.

I often just click on links without even being sure what was in it. If I needed to see it, I have to click on it immediately. I would also connect to public wi-fi not caring about the consequences it would bring. Now, I try to be more careful and thoughtful of what goes in and out of my phone, who is allowed to have access on my phone among other things..

Coin security basically lies in the place where we properly store the seed phrase or private key.
A personal computer is an electronic device that can help, but it also depends on its use. If the user is careless about the computer they are using, not only coins are at risk but all important data is also at risk.

For me, using the desktop version of a bitcoin wallet can be safe if we are able to maintain it well with the aim of carrying out the process properly and correctly. Stay away from internet connections that are not necessary, I even want to be offline if the PC has a wallet there. Mobile wallet versions are better avoided for large amounts.
Using a VPN isn't bad for privacy, but using Tor is better.

Using your mobile or PC for small funds would be fine, but for large amounts of funds, we must practice a hardware wallet. Device would be compromised anytime, even though you have been using VPN or some other software to protect your device.. Hackers are able to break your system since they use the latest technologies. So it is always better to use a hardware wallet from which you need to sign a transaction. I am using a software wallet only for small funds. Large amount holding on to a hardware wallet. 

OP if you say "Good bitcoin security starts with strong PC and mobile device security," then what will you say about the security  apparatus or structure of the big exchanges that got hacked of huge amount and volumes of funds and assets? are they not using sophisticated devices? as far as I know, these exchanges uses the best security devices for saving and storing assets and funds but still, they suffer hack and have assets carted away by hacker who did that. What I am trying to say is that irrespective of the sophisticated devices you use, the safety of your assets and funds is right in your hands, and this is determined by the way you store your keys and where you store them.

So therefore, "Good bitcoin security starts with strong PC and mobile device security" does not necessarily mean one should get all these but it is still good if you have them but cultivate some safety acts that could help you  prevent attacks on your devices. This is what I think could help you secure your assets and funds pc and mobile devices are just added advantage.

After my experience, I see that any wallet located on a computer or mobile device connected to the Internet will not be 100% completely secure.

Windows Defender is not as efficient as you think. It is quite good, as it is integrated with the Windows system by default, but it is not as efficient as other paid programs such as Norton, Kaspersky, or Avira. It is better to have another program that is always up to date.

The best solution is not to store any wallet or private key on a device connected to the Internet.

It all depends on the person who is making his/her devices having strong securit and also how that person handle hsi/her security measures. There are pirated softwares that people can download but for having tight security using pirated softwares is not the best choice because the software could be modified by the person or a group of person who modified it. So it would be better if you have the softwares that you are going to install should be from the original site rather than downloading modified ones.

Good bitcoin security starts with you and not your devices. Good bitcoin security starts with you developing your consciousness towards security. If you are not security conscious or have poor security consciousness, it will not matter the device you get because you will always be careless and your carelessness will put you at a vulnerable position to become a victim.

Good bitcoins security also involves using a good PC, OS or mobile device, but it is only about that.

Reading this comment defines everything I wanted to say as I read just the title of this thread.

But if I should say what I wanted to say in another manner, @OP, I would tell you that obtaining good Bitcoin security measures lies in the hands and knowledge of the Bitcoin investor. Come to think of it, it's possible to have strong PC and mobile device security like you have said, but would you agree with me that a Bitcoiner can still carelessly leak the security phrase of their wallet to the public? There are many ways a Bitcoiner can expose their security information without even realizing it, and it's a lack of proper knowledge and other mistakes that causes that. That's why, as I said above, to obtain an optimal level of security, it is in the hands of the Bitcoiner. 

Someone can have the best security device in the world, but once they mistakenly download any malware unknown to them, they are finished. Hackers have different ways to attack your device; it could be through emails, receiving any file, or even downloading an image. Keep your detail offline like @NeuroticFish have said, and you will be safe.

This is where you are completely wrong. A well-known linux distribution like linux mint is almost the same thing as windows. People often think linux is an OS from Mars that only aliens use. If you give it a chance you’ll probably like it more than windows. Linux is fast, linux is secure. You can run games on it via wine, you can edit videos and do many other things which you do on your windows PC. There are only a few paid programs (often Adobe products) which are not available on linux but these programs are becoming cloud/browser apps slowly and that means they’ll be running on linux too.

Just give it a chance, linux is freedom.

Good bitcoin security starts from hardware wallet, that's the only option

You are very correct about not minding all the serious talk of buying expensive gadgets or installing expensive antivirus softwares and VPN to have better security.
While it may offer a better chance of good security set up, even a low budget device or gadget like even perform better in the hands of the right user.

It's agreeably more about responsible behavior or irresponsible behavior while using the internet, because am very sure that anyone won't just be hacked if they never really left some crumbs of information carelessly on the internet or gave permission to apps without reading properly.

Also, using offline wallets should be a better security option for storing any kind of coins that is invested for long term or even short term.

I would also like to say that in favor of Linux, by talking about it, you OP only prove that you have never tried to watch a video on setting up Linux. There may be more than one, but several lessons would give you a good idea that for the purposes you are talking about now, basic knowledge about Linux is quite enough to use it. Besides, you are too calm when you say that you use Windows Defender; this “guy” already gave several holes in 2023, so you don’t need to trust him, just like all the extensions that monitor your every move. VPN can disconnect at the wrong moment with the slightest connection problem, which will reveal your real IP, but you will have due confidence that you are protected.


 

https://truelist.co/blog/linux-statistics/

Since you aim to create this thread for beginner, i will just say that not all VPN offer same security or privacy. It's especially true for free VPN which usually collect and sell your personal data.


99%? What an exaggeration. Steam deck (which has built in Linux) prove you're wrong. There are some distro which could be used by some average person with just a bit of learning.

You don't need a strong PC and strong mobile device to have good security.

If it is a clean device, by your behavior, your device is safe, secured and you will not lose your bitcoin.

You can buy a PC like Core i7 and high RAM, other good things but if you have bad behavior when using Internet, it can be affected.

Don't put your security in technical support and protection from VPN, AntiVirus Software. They are not protect you 100%. Behavior is most important.

As far as I know, Linux is an open source operating system but using them is quite complicated, unlike Windows or Mac. Aand I have been using Windows computers for over 10 years, and so far, I have never had any problems with bitcoins being hacked or any security related issues. So in my opinion, a strong PC is a computer you use properly, using genuine software...It's not true that if you use Linux you're safe, and anyone using Windows or Mac is at risk.

As an investor, normal user, I think VPN, or Google service is enough, unless you are a criminal or doing illegal work then you need high privacy protection and use tools like Tor.

You are not entirely correct because the most important thing is your habit and how you use your devices. To protect your Bitcoin, good practice requires that you use wallets you are in control of the private keys, then never save your private keys and every other secret information on the computer or mobile phone irrespective of how strong they may be. This step is more important than having laptops and phones with strong computing power.

I'm not disputing that good computers and mobile phones are not important neither do I challenge the fact that a secure computer and mobile device is bad, they are just one aspect that comes after good practice. If you repose so much confidence in the security of your computers and mobile devices, you might be tempted to save sensitive information there and that is dangerous.

Of course but I am focusing on basic computer security in this thread.  One can have the best hardware wallet but if you neglect basic PC security
you are leaving yourself exposed to other types of attacks.



Linux may be better for security than Mac or Windows but learning to use it is not feasible for the average person which is 99% of the population.

For the people that still installs other security apps on their computers, it would never make any difference because hackers have a way of bypassing them no matter how secure it is, most of the time they're not enough, probably the only thing that you can do is to prevent because once you've been hacked, it's already too late and if you're not a tech savvy yourself, it's futile to race against them anyway. Definitely helpful to have a strong computer and security in the first place, maybe not clicking on suspicious links would help you even more because you're preventing them any chances of entry.

Actually no.
If you want proper security for your coins you have to start with a setup where the seed or private key(s) never get into the online world.
This means hardware wallet, or an offline computer or signing device, but also means the seed backups are done and stored properly (offline, pen and paper, ..)

Imho the second step is a good practice, eg double check all the characters of an address when you send coins or when you paste "your" address anywhere.

Of course, some local security is welcome on the computer or smartphone the watch wallet is on, but, as you see, it's not the first in the list.


I see people were talking also about privacy.
Imho the talks about proper privacy of the wallet should start with a local Bitcoin Core. Else, if one uses a public server for his light wallet, his addresses can be linked and his privacy may be gone even if he uses Tor, just because at some point in the past he may have been using a CEX.

When you want to talk about "strong PC" it means you're need avoid to use bad OS like Windows or Mac, start to use Linux. It's the first thing you need to do, using wrong OS make the further steps wrong too.

VPN isn't good choice if you want to protect privacy, use Tor.

Google DNS is bad too, didn't you forget if Google is the company that combat against privacy?

Malwarebytes was good when I was still using Windows, but yea all the default stuff installed on most devices is good enough. You just need to not be dumb and install random pirated software.

Also, don't forget hardware wallets. It should pretty much be mandatory for 99% of people.

When it comes to securing your bitcoin don't forget about having good basic security practices on your laptop, desktop and mobile devices.

That means always using a VPN whenever connecting to the internet, with a good antivirus and anti-malware software, preferably connecting through your own hardware router.
These viruses and malware can be programmed to steal your personal information including crypto. Of course you never want to connect to any public Wifi connection without a VPN.

I use Malwarebytes browserguard extension for many years that prevents you from visiting suspicious or unsecure websites, known phishing websites, etc.
This browser extension is free for many browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Apple Safari, etc. You can also get it free for your mobile device.

For antivirus I use Windows Defender and the paid version of Malwarebytes which is very cheap if you get it from Newegg.com.
Windows Defender and MB have real time protection but its a good idea to run a manual scan at least once a week.

I'm not very familiar with Mac or iPhone but I believe they have pretty good built-in defense against virus and malware. They should considering what Apple charges you haha.

Besides that I would advise to stay away from any and all altcoins because they are complete garbage when it comes to security.
Not a day goes by when you don't read about some stupid altcoin project getting drained of tens of millions or hundreds of millions of dollars.

When will people ever learn??


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For more advanced users you can choose to connect to free third party DNS like Google DNS or OpenDNS. Also disable WebRTC and IPv6 on your web browser.
Also good practice to disable third party cookies.

Also a good idea to disable Remote Access that can allow someone to take control of your computer. Remote Access is meant for allowing a legit tech support person
to take control of your PC for troubleshooting purposes but this feature can certainly be abused by bad actors to steal your personal information.