Proof of keys? I control my own keys thank you.
Trusted third parties? Isn't that an oxymoron?
I haven't had any coins on an exchange since MtGox. Luckily that mistake only cost me 50BTC. Never again.
Closest thing I have to a trusted third party is my Trezor which I somehow got talked into using against my better judgment. Luckily I only have 5BTC on it. I stopped using it last year after having it for less than half a year.
Obviously cold ("paper" wallet) storage is much more secure. Only I have control over the keys and they're never exposed to the internet except when I sweep a wallet into Mycelium to transfer coins and that's only small amounts for short periods of time.
This is why it's good to spread your stash between dozens or hundreds of small wallets. My biggest single wallet has a little over 30 coins in it (from pulling out what I had at Cavirtex after being Goxed) but I'm almost scared to sweep it to split it into smaller wallets because that would entail risking that many coins at once by exposing them to the internet.
I suppose I should empty my Trezor on Genesis Block Day as a way to assert ownership of my keys instead of trusting Trezor. Then again why wait until Jan. 3?
So paper wallets (encrypted I assume) are the only thing that you consider to be absolutely safe? also how do you create them? live cd on normal net connected pc (disconnected when creating paper wallet), some kind of specialist device, or air-gapped computer that has never seen the internet?
Does anyone else here think ledgers or trezors are insecure? would choosing your own seed for them, rather then random one provided on setup of device, help you feel secure with it?
I used to use paper wallets but now using a hardware wallet, wondering if maybe I shouldn't.
old school would be air-gapped computer, virgin never touched the internet, with the wireless card physically removed. Direct connection to a printer that is only used for the purpose of making paper wallets with no wireless capabilities.
I use a ledger now, ( still have the air-gapped with armory signing offline ) I really like the ledger. Most vulnerabilities appear to be when someone has physical access to your ledger device. ( nothing is perfect but I like the hardware wallets.)
