Author

Topic: How to safely decrypt a private key on a computer that has been online (Read 820 times)

member
Activity: 111
Merit: 10
If you do not have anything important on this disk - better buy a new one. Grin
copper member
Activity: 2856
Merit: 3071
https://bit.ly/387FXHi lightning theory
I erased and reformatted my Mac hard drive and then encrypted my Trezor backup private key with a 20+ alphanumeric password before connecting to the internet for the first time. Now my Trezor just broke and I need to decrypt this file...problem is now my MacBook has been online...
So how can I decrypt the file safely without having to erase and reformat my drive again Huh Embarrassed

Thank you  Smiley

You should be able to just take your computer offline if it's just the private keys you want to decrypt.

Disconnect your internet or even turn off your router, then, once private keys are decrypted load them into a secure encrypted client.
Presuming the only things you use to do this is the clipboard, it's unlikely any data will be stolen.
HCP
legendary
Activity: 2086
Merit: 4361
If you're worried, try using a Linux Live CD... with no persistent storage and no networking functionality built in/switched on.

If you boot into that OS and do the decryption and then reboot, all traces should be gone... and the viable attack vectors or chances for data leakage are minimised.
sr. member
Activity: 588
Merit: 250
I erased and reformatted my Mac hard drive and then encrypted my Trezor backup private key with a 20+ alphanumeric password before connecting to the internet for the first time. Now my Trezor just broke and I need to decrypt this file...problem is now my MacBook has been online...
So how can I decrypt the file safely without having to erase and reformat my drive again Huh Embarrassed

Thank you  Smiley

You could do it anyways given that the odds of you getting hacked just for logging online are slim-to-none.

Otherwise I suggest buying a small Chromebook, using it for whatever you need and then return it when you are finished. Wink
jr. member
Activity: 57
Merit: 29
I erased and reformatted my Mac hard drive and then encrypted my Trezor backup private key with a 20+ alphanumeric password before connecting to the internet for the first time. Now my Trezor just broke and I need to decrypt this file...problem is now my MacBook has been online...
So how can I decrypt the file safely without having to erase and reformat my drive again Huh Embarrassed

Thank you  Smiley
Jump to: