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Topic: Separate Computer for Bitcoin/Financial Information vs Personal? (Read 3270 times)

full member
Activity: 1750
Merit: 186
Well i heard lot of ppl use a chromebook or separate computer for doing financial and banking transactions.  So wouldn't this be more the same but much more important?


Do you think a separate computer should be used solely for crypto?  My thoughts are you should use your main computer for your financial and email and daily things. 


But anything else... like imagine streaming sites, that should be a completely separate computer.  Thoughts on that?  I mean youtube is safe for you main computer but not streaming etc.  I feel like using a chromebook for anything else like downloading files/videos and streaming makes more sense than using it for a financial computer etc.
member
Activity: 868
Merit: 63
I often find myself thinking about a simple thing; If you have gold or anything valuable, you're locking it up in a safe. Same with money, you don't keep it all in your pockets, you store it in the bank. You should do the same with bitcoin, either get a dedicated machine or keep it stored in a cold wallet.
Why risk it?
I think that OP knows what to do with it, this thread is 5 years old and I think that there isn't nothing new to advice to OP. That is like the basics of not getting broke easily, diversifying your storage to make sure that when one is compromised, you won't worry about your whole wallet getting stolen.
full member
Activity: 210
Merit: 100
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I often find myself thinking about a simple thing; If you have gold or anything valuable, you're locking it up in a safe. Same with money, you don't keep it all in your pockets, you store it in the bank. You should do the same with bitcoin, either get a dedicated machine or keep it stored in a cold wallet.
Why risk it?
legendary
Activity: 1316
Merit: 1481
Bitcoin wallets store the private key(s) which are the only source to manage your btc wealth and are lucrative targets for external attackers. Losing possession of the private key, an external attacker basically owns the BTC in the compromised wallet. Managing bitcoin wallets offline, in isolated air-gapped computers, it has been suggested to increasingly reduce private keys leakage that can lead to theft.
If the above holds true, I would never suggest anyone to deal with bitcoin on a device, computer, mac, phone you name it which is also used for other activities.
That is not very wise. There are many guides available on how to properly manage bitcoin privkeys, search for them.
jr. member
Activity: 43
Merit: 7
I have a laptop that i do everything on.  Basically use it for anything financial related such as bank accounts, electrum wallet, bitcoin wallet etc.  I stream youtube, watch sites etc so far with no issue.  My issue though is i like to watch porn.  Now i do watch porn through those streaming sites like xvideos, porhhub etc which doesn't seem to give me any issues.


The other thing though is i like to download porn from sites online.  Reason is because these videos you cannot stream it through pornhub, xvideo etc.  The other thing is i like to click on preview images of porn pictures.  I always done this without any issue.  But i was told that clicking on links are not really safe since a porn link for an image could cause a virus.



Basically the big main sites.  I was told in those forums... links for porns and images are usually very safe as long as the posters who posted it are long time posters and have a lot of likes by other members.  I believe they said a lot of these links are looked at by the site in case there is a virus, it would get deleted.  Of course someone who posted the video that is safe could later edit it etc.



I assume anyone here that has a laptop that does that bitcoin and financial information... you have separate computer for that... and one for your porn and other stuff?  By other stuff that means like downloading torrents etc.  I read someone mentioned that he downloaded some video game that was pirated and all his bitcoins got lost because of that.  That the uploader put a trojan/virus etc.  I don't download any torrents at all.  I do however like to download porn videos from depositfiles, rapidshare etc.  I also do make sure those posters are long time posters.  But i also like to download certain videos in another forums where even though they maybe long term posters, i dont know if videos are safe or not.   I have so far when downloaded those videos... haven't had an issue in a while with my laptop due to this.  Such that i use it for banking with no issue.


But i have not done this with a bitcoin wallet on my computer.  Does anyone here have advice on this?  I'm sure many of you like to download porn, click on images whether its porn or something else or download torrents etc.  Is it always a bad idea if you do this on your laptop where you have bitcoins stored?   I read any exe file is very bad.  Then again how would i even know a file is exe.  Couldnt it be another file but its really exe?


Also if this thread is not put in the right subforum, can it be put in the correct subforum?  I believe it does belong on bitcoin discussion though.


OK, I know its a bit outdated but Tails OS can help you with that.
legendary
Activity: 3346
Merit: 3125
A good solution for you will be Virtual machines. You can install VMware for virtualization and a Linux virtual machine for porn purposes... that way if you get any kind of virus or malware it would be easy to delete the virtual machine and install a new one. Even you can clone the virtual machines, that way you don't have to install the SO each time you think you get hacked.

Another computer is a good solution too, but virtual machines is the free way to solve it.
full member
Activity: 1638
Merit: 122
On my part, I am not using a different device for cryptocurrency and my personal life, I am using one device for both things, but sometimes I also use my computer as well, I just always be careful on everything I am doing on my phone like installing the application and I always have the anti-virus on it.
There would be no problem if you know that your device is free from viruses, as that is one of the reasons for your account being hacked.
same i rarely use my computer because it gives me a pain in my neck and back of long sitting doing works but i use my smartphone the most for everything .
no need a seperation for me because i know what im doing , im not installing random softwares and i have helpful extensions  in my browser to protect my device whenever im visiting nsfw sites and im zipping my important crypto files with passwords.
using one device saves us time and money
member
Activity: 518
Merit: 23
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Does anyone know if getting a new cheap windows laptop and then installing linux would solve all these issues?  By that I mean using it to web browse sites that might have virus/malware and watch/stream porn and tv etc?


Would using linux on a windows laptop solve this issue?  Also i have used a chromebook to do this but issue is it doesn't have much space and I want to download videos etc.


If you plan on buying a cheap laptop that has minimum specifications, it might be able to run Linux on a Virtual machine but that would mean sacrificing the memory that it has for something that was meant to run the installed OS. It would create a new PC within your Laptop but if your fine with that, you can do that and avoid threatening malwares that might affect your computer but with the advancement of bad actors (hacktivists, phishing, and other cybersecurity stuffs), it still might be better to personally avoid known websites that would render your laptop useless.
full member
Activity: 574
Merit: 125
On my part, I am not using a different device for cryptocurrency and my personal life, I am using one device for both things, but sometimes I also use my computer as well, I just always be careful on everything I am doing on my phone like installing the application and I always have the anti-virus on it. There would be no problem if you know that your device is free from viruses, as that is one of the reasons for your account being hacked.
full member
Activity: 2142
Merit: 183
I don’t care how good your anti virus is OP or how careful you are. Do not store your main bitcoin stash on the same device you do every day browsing & work on. I don’t want to see you as another poor bastard who gets hacked & loses their life savings. There are too many sophisticated bitcoin thieves around desperate for free bitcoin, don’t be another statistic.

Keep your bitcoin offline or if you have to store it on a laptop don’t use that machine for anything other than bitcoin. No downloading torrents or files from random shady sites.
Of course, having separate technical devices for working with cryptocurrency and watching videos is best. If viruses appear, it will be very difficult to remove them. Sometimes the removal of virus-infected programs does not help, because they can be in system files and their removal is either impossible, or will lead to incorrect operation or even shutdown of the device. Resetting to factory settings also does not always help, and even then we sometimes lose some information. It will be much easier not to risk it.
legendary
Activity: 3304
Merit: 1617
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I don’t care how good your anti virus is OP or how careful you are. Do not store your main bitcoin stash on the same device you do every day browsing & work on. I don’t want to see you as another poor bastard who gets hacked & loses their life savings. There are too many sophisticated bitcoin thieves around desperate for free bitcoin, don’t be another statistic.

Keep your bitcoin offline or if you have to store it on a laptop don’t use that machine for anything other than bitcoin. No downloading torrents or files from random shady sites.
full member
Activity: 1750
Merit: 186
Does anyone know if getting a new cheap windows laptop and then installing linux would solve all these issues?  By that I mean using it to web browse sites that might have virus/malware and watch/stream porn and tv etc?


Would using linux on a windows laptop solve this issue?  Also i have used a chromebook to do this but issue is it doesn't have much space and I want to download videos etc.
hero member
Activity: 1246
Merit: 588
I like to add to this.  If i were to get a separate computer to do things such as download porn/stream tv shows and sites etc... what would you recommend?  A regular laptop or a chromebook?


Also someone mentioned that even if you use a separate computer... if you were to use your regular internet connection, a virus could still get to your network?  For example on the laptop i mainly use, i would be using my own internet connection.  But with the separate computer, even if its a different computer and i download porn/visit dangerous sites etc but i use my own internet... then its possible to get hacked?  So i would need to use another internet connection to download porn/stream tv show and sports etc?

To answer your question of to why do we still need to separate our financial information to our personal wants using a different devices even if we are still using the same connection. Yes, it is true that even if we do so have different devices our internet connections are still very fragile to any viruses. But the good thing here is that you separates your financial information into other device in which as long as you did not connect that device to your broadband while downloading then that is merely safe.
full member
Activity: 1750
Merit: 186
I like to add to this.  If i were to get a separate computer to do things such as download porn/stream tv shows and sites etc... what would you recommend?  A regular laptop or a chromebook?


Also someone mentioned that even if you use a separate computer... if you were to use your regular internet connection, a virus could still get to your network?  For example on the laptop i mainly use, i would be using my own internet connection.  But with the separate computer, even if its a different computer and i download porn/visit dangerous sites etc but i use my own internet... then its possible to get hacked?  So i would need to use another internet connection to download porn/stream tv show and sports etc?
full member
Activity: 1750
Merit: 186
Hey all.  How many people here have a computer only for their bitcoin, litecoin and everything else wallet?  Thus you only use the computer to send/receive cryptocurrency only.


Also does anyone know if a chromebook would work for this or not?  It uses OS as oppose to windows.  A chromebook is very tiny in screen but are bitcoin wallets like electrum and other altcoin wallets supported by chromebook?  Or would a chromebook not work for this?


hero member
Activity: 770
Merit: 500
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Could you get a virus on your bitcoin wallet if you use trezor?  Or that is not possible?  Thus imagine you click on dangerous links etc. 


Also are there people here that got their bitcoin wallet or altcoin wallet or anything hacked due to clicking on suspicious links or files?  I read few threads a while back where someone said he clicked on some xml or rar file and then his bitcoin wallet got hacked etc.


Also are there many links ppl post here where its a virus to your bitcoin or altcoin virus?  I see lot of new posters posting links to their websites with few posts etc.  Sure they might do that for spam or get ppl attention to their website, but are these websites dangerous where clicking on it... your bitcoin wallet and anything else can get screwed etc?
legendary
Activity: 2590
Merit: 3015
Welt Am Draht
Are there people that actually download torrents or porn on the same computer and never had these issues?  

All of the things you listed are possible.

I've never had a virus or a hack despite clicking on any old shit and downloading terrabytes of stuff. If someone was able to do it then I'm sure they would've. I've been jammy no doubt.

Back in the day I did leave private keys on the same computer before I shaped up. Now it's all on a machine that'll never see the internet again. There's really no excuse not to. What possible reason is there for taking the risk when it's so well known?
sr. member
Activity: 266
Merit: 256
My suggestion is to have only a paper wallet for cold storage.  This is coins that you will NOT be moving around on a regular basis.  For the coins you want to move regularly, I'd get a hardware wallet.  This requires the person creating a transaction to have physical access to the hardware wallet to send anything. 

As for downloading potentially harmful content, I'd use a virtual machine for the downloads regardless of whether you do crypto.  There are some very sophisticated viruses that can get themselves out of a vm into the host computer, but they are usually targeted (the hackers are specifically attacking YOU) because they are so difficult to create.
hero member
Activity: 770
Merit: 500
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I like to add on to this thread.


Are there people that actually download torrents or porn on the same computer and never had these issues?   The other thing is i read of ppl getting their bitcoin account hacked etc when they downloaded electron cash etc.  But the other thing im curious is are there links that people can post whether its on this site or any other site where clicking it can infect your computer with malware and take your bitcoin?  Thus imagine you download on someones link or signature or whatever it is.  Is that all it takes for your bitcoin wallet to get hacked?  Or that would not be possible unless they know your password for your bitcoin wallet etc.  However, couldnt they easily do this since i read there is something called keystrokes where if you type in your password for electrum or any other wallet, they could do this easily?  However if you copy and paste your password could they still know it?  I mean there are lot of sites not just like this one but say on youtube where ppl would post some link and click on it.  Would clicking some link like that on youtube from the youtube comments possibly infect your computer where your bitcoin or any other altcoin wallet is at risk?


Could you just enter a website when googling and that infect your computer where your bitcoin wallet is compromised etc?  Thus does everyone here who have bitcoin or any other altcoin very careful with what they click on ... on their computer with their bitcoin or banking information etc?  The other thing im wondering is... if someone who is very tech smart has access to your computer, couldn't they just open your bitcoin wallet?  Thus they could click on a virus link ... their virus link for example then infect your computer?


How many ppl here actually have a separate computer for bitcoin, altcoin and financial information etc?  And one for entertainment purposes?


And if you do only use one computer for everything but just dont download torrents/porn etc... what other precautions can you take?  I assume everyone here locks up their computer with a password when their computer starts up?  If you put a password on your computer when it starts up, could a hacker who have access to your computer start up your computer without that password etc?


With so many stories about wallets getting hacked, i would like to know more information on this and how you all protect your bitcoin/altcoin wallets etc.

legendary
Activity: 1946
Merit: 1137
hey guys.  Yes i know many people cannot buy another laptop.  But for the laptop for porn, obviously that laptop i want a very cheap one.  Thus if i have an old laptop from many years ago that i no longer use and that probably isn't worth more than $200, well that surely is good enough.  Or its a laptop thats worth $80, thats good enough.


But i don't have an old laptop because my old laptop broke.  The max i would spend on a new laptop for porn would probably be $300 i think.  I thought chromebook seemed to be best idea since its under $200 and because its new but screen is very small and there is not much space.  Because say i buy it for porn, eventually i can sell it back and it would be in pretty good condition.  Wouldn't i probably get half of it back etc?  Thus the chromebook only cost $100 or so etc.  But i read video watching isn't that good though.  I would connect it to external monitor but many times i would to have it by itself.

you are making it too hard on yourself. of course you can buy a cheap laptop or even a second hand one and then buy a simple DVI cord to connect the laptop to your main PCmonitor or even TV if it is supported to have the benefit of big screen.

but i don't get why you are resisting just using a simple live Linux on a DVD?
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