Topic: Risk only what you can afford to lose (Read 571 times)

The bottom line is, we all need to be ready for the worst-case scenario that could happen anytime. And this isn't just about crypto; it applies in general. Any plan, if you have contingencies for both the worst and best situations, I believe it will still run smoothly. It won't be as bad as we think.

If you're holding crypto, whether it's in a non-custodial wallet or a custodian wallet, you still have to prepare for the worst risk (if it happen suddenly) losing your assets. None of us knows how far hackers can breach our defenses... there are no trial sessions in the hacking world. If you fall victim to a hack, you'll bear the loss of the assets taken from you.

Efforts to secure assets are a must, and as for the ultimate outcome, whether issues will arise in the future or not, no one can guarantee.

We do get the idea of putting our seed phrases safe but there are just instances wherein in some instances even if you avoid the don'ts you'd be still a victim by chance. Point here is to be more vigilant of your wallets. On the other hand, there are many users here in this industry for years who haven't encountered any problem with such concern. I too myself, fortunately never experienced problems with wallet private keys. So maybe, being preventive could guarantee securitu over your funds. FOMOs just take place which causes panic to some users. At the end of the day, isolated cases of hacking related stories won't give us assurance of the details on which should be specifically avoided unless it happened to us on the actual.

That is why there is not method that is absolutely perfect to secure our coins, if that was the case then every single one of us will be using that method already, we need need to take into account a lot of factors when deciding which solution is the best for us, and while stamping our seed words on a piece of metal do secure it against many dangers, it is also true that it makes our seed words more susceptible to be thought as important to any thief that may enter our house, and if they know anything about this market they could easily steal our coins.

You've raised some crucial points about the security aspects of airgapped hardware wallets, highlighting that while they are one of the safer options, they're not infallible. Let's delve into each of your points to add some more depth:

Cord Connection: Indeed, any physical connection, like a USB cord, introduces a potential vulnerability. Data transfer, even in a supposedly secure environment, can be a weak point. It's essential to use trusted and verified cables and ensure your computer's security when connecting.

SD Cards: You're right about the vulnerabilities of SD cards. They can be compromised and are susceptible to physical wear and tear. The best practice is, as you mentioned, using a new SD card solely for wallet updates and keeping it in a secure location. Also, downloading updates only from the official source minimizes risks.

QR Codes: The inability to read QR codes directly is indeed a limitation. It's crucial to generate or scan QR codes from trusted sources only. One mitigation strategy could be using a secondary device to verify the content of a QR code, although this might not be feasible for everyone.

Reliance on Company Updates: This is perhaps the most significant concern. Firmware updates are necessary for security, but they also present a risk if a company's systems are compromised. Diversifying the types of wallets used and regularly monitoring news and updates from the wallet provider can help mitigate this risk.

Your conclusion about there being no absolute guarantee in crypto security is spot-on. It's about managing and minimizing risks, not eliminating them. Educating oneself, staying updated with security practices, and being cautious with updates and data transfers are key. Your advice on using SD cards and being cautious with QR codes is particularly valuable.

As for updates from companies, apart from praying, actively following their security protocols and community feedback can offer some reassurance. Many wallet companies have robust security measures and are quick to respond to vulnerabilities.

Your emphasis on understanding the inherent risks in crypto and only investing what one can afford to lose is sage advice. In the world of digital currencies, staying informed and vigilant is the best defense. Happy holidays to you too, and stay safe in your crypto endeavors!

As far as storing things in a safe lace goes, getting to stamp your seed phrase on metals and all that, it doesn’t really seem like the best of ideas to security for me. Yeah, it might ensure that it never gets lost, washed up, have some wear and tear taking it’s strolls on it but, you might end up presenting it’s importance to just anyone that could come across it at first glance. That’s in the event of any invading of your safe spot of course.

I think some of the ideas to making something relatively safe is by making it as common as it would seem to anyone. In a way, it could be something that would be less attractive and can be handled anyone by someone who wouldn’t even know the value attached to that which is before them on in their possession.
This doesn’t mean you don’t keep it in a safe place, of course you would put it away in some place safe but, I don’t think you have to make it look so important.

No offense but I’m trying to connect your response to my actual message, and wondering what you are trying to communicate. Yes, crypto investments are risky and one is prone to lose money, but i think the angle of the conversation here is on keeping your Bitcoin safe, and what could go wrong too irrespective of the procedure and process you take to backup your wallet info or keep it discreet.

Your security is only as strong as your weakest point of failure but if you are taking all of the necessary steps, you can protect your stack as well as it is possible to protect any physical asset here on earth.

If you are generating your own seed phrases, stamping into metal, and storing it somewhere safe, you have the highest level of security that an average person can reasonably have.

When a hacker really knows his stuff and understands how to target your machine and your wallet, setting up a little bit of code that initiates procedure calls to find out when your wallet comes online should not be a problem at all. But I think it might still not be worth the effort as hackers could probably find other addresses that are more or less guaranteed online frequently a million times easier. A lot of people share a lot of stuff, including PKs and their locations. There is probably no good incentive to use tech to target you, unless you now let us know that the wallet contains 100,000 BTC.  

I don't know why people are fixated on the thought of using only one wallet for everything. Hardware wallet, yes that's the best thing and that's why it should be used for storing Bitcoin for the long run. Keep it safe and don't connect it to anything until you are happy with your investment and you want to convert it into profit. So there will be nothing to worry about with that particular wallet. But we usually use other things too. Transferring crypto from exchanges to private wallet etc. for that I think it is somewhat good to use software wallets. It doesn't cost anything and you can easily create another wallet at any given time.
If you see any suspicious activity with your wallet, you can simply create another one and transfer your coins to that wallet. You can't afford hardware wallets? Just buy a cheap PC, install a clean OS then install the wallet you want for this and before doing everything make sure you make that device air gapped.

Let's not be too paranoid. You can set up devices in such way that they read a qr code and display what was read without taking any action. This means that you can get malicious code, but will have to confirm it on the device for that code to execute. If you decide to scan a code with an address and get a bunch of strange code instead, just do nothing, cancel the whole process and flag this QR as scam attempt.
I use an offline wallet that isn't truly airgapped because it goes online from time to time when I transact, but for an attacker to be able to target me they'd have to know the IP of that machine and be there waiting when it comes online, which is literally impossible since last time I used it was months ago.

that is true, even if we say we are already being meticulous with our things, we can't guarantee that we won't encounter any hiccup along the way. but to avoid potential risks, we should always check our wallet and other things surrounding it.

we can avoid simple mistakes or troubles by observing the following practices :
- checking if the hardware wallet is free from any fracture and other damages
- keep up to date with the softwares you are using, and how they are being updated
- avoid phishing links and other malware sources
- don't disclose your activity to the public by not posting to your any social media channels (as much as possible being discreet with your crypto dealings so you won't be the target of these scammers)
- read news and other happenings surrounding this market, so you can easily discard coins that you think is in danger of exiting the market

Perhaps, we're just human and often commit mistakes even if we are too careful. There is no need to be perfect here but what is the most important is that we did the right thing.

Crypto investment is quite risky and we know that already which is why we don't need to rush but rather think twice before investing because there is no turning back. That is why we have to assess ourselves if we can take the risk as well and of course, the willingness we have in this way, we can't blame anyone and never feel regrets when we lose our money.

Well, a happy holiday everyone, and on this note, I still will like to let us all know that, we are still our own security, which ever way we try to look at it, we are still our own security.

So, if you are using a hardware wallet, the company does have the responsibility of making sure that all security features and updates are made available to their users, and we the users also have to responsibility of applying those security features, and at the same time, scanning every security or software updates coming from the company to make sure they are free from error codes, malicious codes and so on, this is a knowledge we owe ourselves for our own security.

In the end though, I will say that, the best strategy still is to not depend on just one hardware wallet for all your crypto transactions and so one, have multiple of it, and set one or two aside as the wallet that hold your long term crypto investments, and this one(s) should only connect to the internet not more than once or twice in a year if need be, else, just keep it off the internet and only connect when you are ready to move the coins and sell it.

You'll probably get lost if you dont have a map (a plan) and a flashlight (knowledge). Truth be told, buying isnt just a way to get rich quick; its a test of your strategy, patience, and knowledge. For those who arent rich, every deal is a big choice. Rich people may have more freedom to try new things and get back on their feet after loses, but for middle-class families, the stakes are very high. Losses can make them not want to trade again, which makes them too careful.

This isnt a sad story, though. A level playing field can be reached through education and careful planning. Strategies based on facts can work even if you dont have a lot of money. Remember this important fact: investing can be profitable, but its not a surefire way to get rich. It takes understanding, strategy, and smart money management, especially for people who dont have a lot of money. Its important to be careful, keep learning, and not depend on trading alone for your financial protection.

Not sure what your title has to do with the actual post. Was expecting you to talk about risking money that you won't need in the future. But it looks more like you are talking about how hardware wallets can be risky in different way. Fixing the title would be better. As for the risk associated with the hardware ware wallets, we can't deny any of those, but it is still better than using any software wallets. True, all hardwares might eventually fail, but modern technologies have extended the hardware lifecycles and we can use it for decades without any issue. Just make sure to make multiple backed after few years to be on the safer side. And you also seem to be worried about some "malicious" software update that might compromise your wallet. As far as I know most of the hardware wallets uses open source software and firmwares. So if something fishy is going on, people will know.

I agree with you, about nothing that can be guaranteed to be 100% safe when storing bitcoins. Because basically all methods have loopholes or weaknesses. So there is no absolute perfection. However, all of this is just minimizing it, and this must be done. So at least we must have the desire or effort to be able to secure the bitcoin assets we have as well as possible. If we have tried our best, at least we will feel calmer.

People are considering trading as just enhancing mechanism but they forget about its risk therefore if use their knowledge and know which type of strategy to be use according to situations then may be they find trading as quick rich mechanism but if their concept is only sticked to earning without knowing anything then it will be a worse decision for them to participate in trading with little or no experience.

Individuals are not wealthy so if they trade according to strategies then they can win large sum to make their situation better but if they fails then it is their financial weakness towards trading. Trading requires knowledge but without money you cannot use your precious learning for trading. Those who are rich people find more chances to earn but middle class families will either stop trading if they loss once so they will be very conscious about their money.

How to protect any coin is a personal opinion and thought, but the safe method should be communicated to others as well as yourself. You keep it on an exchange or in a personal wallet. It is up to you whether you store your bitcoins in a hard wallet or keep them in a soft wallet. People who prefer soft wallets instead of hard wallets are definitely taking more risk.

Cryptocurrencies have risks, but in softwallets.We we always have more risks and often hackers easily target softwallets.We cannot say that only hard wallet is not 100 % safe, but any business or investment, even a bank, is not 100 % safe,but still we should use all our efforts to protect our bitcoins or assets. Therefore, if people do not know, it is important to inform them about good security systems and their usage.

Of course it must be correct and must also be understood well. A reserve budget must be prepared regardless of how much you have invested - and of course the reserve budget is intended so that you do not damage your ongoing investment plans.

Sometimes some investors forget that they have to set aside a few percent of their budget for a reserve budget - some may not know what the purpose is, but the best investors are very wise to set aside a few percent for a reserve budget.

The stages for making an investment should be studied – it includes planning, investment objectives and management. So it's true - investing without basic knowledge is a waste of time and money.

First of all, your thread subject doesn't quite introduce your message, I was expecting to see something else that related to the subject.

But then again, choosing the safest way to store your Bitcoin is a personal decision, depends on different people's preferences and of course certain factors may also contribute. For you the safest way to store your Bitcoin is via a Hardware wallet, but there are also people out there who believe using a highly secured software wallet is the best and they have their reasons why they think so. Does it mean that they're wrong? Or does it mean they're outdated? No. Everyone sticks to what they believe is best for them and works more effective for them.

But whatever storage method you ever decide to choose, we should have in mind that it's not 100% safe and anything can go wrong at anytime if you're not careful enough.