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Topic: What is the most secure device to store Bitcoin? (Read 401 times)

hero member
Activity: 491
Merit: 1259
Nihil impunitum
I just bought a Trezor T, Nano Ledger X and  a Yubikey to keep my bitcoin safe.



First two devices are understandable but why you bought Yubikey? AFAIK, that device has nothing to do with bitcoin storage and is used for authorization purpose. Sure if you want to use it when logging to exchange sites then it's OK , but again the safety of the storage there depends on them not on you.
sr. member
Activity: 2240
Merit: 270
SOL.BIOKRIPT.COM
It is best to have the bitcoin storage on a device that has never been connected to any networks and will never be connected either. A fully offline airgap computer. Otherwise the connected to internet device is already at risk whether user goes to risky sites or not.
But your suggestion is still good to create a hot wallet with small spending amounts in it.
This was the post that prompted the question? it was rhetoric.



Not sure why you're asking this question just now though.. but yea..
I wish you didnt attach such sarcasm. especially when you didnt read the content of the previous post.
hero member
Activity: 2786
Merit: 657
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Creating two user on a computer, using live USB or chrome is not completely save and it is better to use a different computer entirely.
Having said that, chrome is not the only browser that reduce risk factor cause Mozilla firefox does either and it also increases anonymity level unlike chrome that's auto WebRTC integrated.
It's pretty obvious that nothing is absolutely safe and not everyone can get a new computer specifically just for a specific use. Using a LiveCD would be fairly secure in the sense that only persistent rootkits would be able to infect it. It's more of a middle ground for OP.

Chrome is better than Firefox in terms of it's malware protection due to it's design. Anonymity should not be an issue here; OP is asking for security advice, nothing about privacy. If privacy is your concern, you should be looking at a browser that is privacy oriented, ie. Tor, Brave. Firefox is not designed for privacy without any specific modifications.
I agreed with you about the live C, chrome protection against malware and Firefox specific setting for privacy but Firefox don't auto save user data like chrome and it also the best browser use for VPN. Brave also auto enable WebRTC and it a project emulated from Chrome i don't trust it privacy this day when some flaw was detected.
Having said that, people can still get both privacy and security online through Firefox browser just by you install malwarebytes which will block trackers, ads, and also block malicious website/content on Firefix through the addon link.
legendary
Activity: 3038
Merit: 4418
Crypto Swap Exchange
Then your private keys would never touch an online environment.  The problem is that the USD device to move the signed transaction might be a vector as well.
The USB?

Using a QR code might be better for this, it's like a one-way communication and would give a true airgap setup. I think there is some limits to the size of the transaction, but that shouldn't be of a concern. If it gets too large, then you can just use multiple QR codes to stitch it together or use a different encoding. Electrum uses base43.
legendary
Activity: 2352
Merit: 6089
bitcoindata.science
Is it possible to hold bitcoin in a wallet and never need internet for its transaction?

If you mean sending funds: you need internet connection to send out your money.



I know it is possible to sign a transaction in an offline environment. Then you move that singed transaction to another computer (which is online) and use that second compute just to broadcast it.

I never did it  , but I know it is possible.

Then your private keys would never touch an online environment.  The problem is that the USD device to move the signed transaction might be a vector as well.
mk4
legendary
Activity: 2870
Merit: 3873
📟 t3rminal.xyz
Is it possible to hold bitcoin in a wallet and never need internet for its transaction?

If you mean sending funds: you need internet connection to send out your money.

If you mean receiving funds: no, you don't need internet connection. All you need is your bitcoin address, and you can receive as much transactions as you want even if your device(computer/phone/hardware wallet) is turned off.

Not sure why you're asking this question just now though.. but yea..

legendary
Activity: 3038
Merit: 4418
Crypto Swap Exchange
Creating two user on a computer, using live USB or chrome is not completely save and it is better to use a different computer entirely.
Having said that, chrome is not the only browser that reduce risk factor cause Mozilla firefox does either and it also increases anonymity level unlike chrome that's auto WebRTC integrated.
It's pretty obvious that nothing is absolutely safe and not everyone can get a new computer specifically just for a specific use. Using a LiveCD would be fairly secure in the sense that only persistent rootkits would be able to infect it. It's more of a middle ground for OP.

Chrome is better than Firefox in terms of it's malware protection due to it's design. Anonymity should not be an issue here; OP is asking for security advice, nothing about privacy. If privacy is your concern, you should be looking at a browser that is privacy oriented, ie. Tor, Brave. Firefox is not designed for privacy without any specific modifications.
sr. member
Activity: 2240
Merit: 270
SOL.BIOKRIPT.COM
I would suggest that you format your Notebook. Then, you can create two Users: A user without any admin privileges, just to use adult content. And another user account, with admin privileges, to use only for crypto with your hardware wallet.
It is best to have the bitcoin storage on a device that has never been connected to any networks and will never be connected either. A fully offline airgap computer. Otherwise the connected to internet device is already at risk whether user goes to risky sites or not.
But your suggestion is still good to create a hot wallet with small spending amounts in it.
Is it possible to hold bitcoin in a wallet and never need internet for its transaction?
sr. member
Activity: 1610
Merit: 264
~
Well they're all hardware wallets, but since you mentioned that those devices you mentioned are infected with viruses, you're better off doing clean install with your laptop. Though it's not a malware, I would still do it for security. Or use live os.
In your smartphone, not sure if you're using Android or Apple device but I would consider either factory reset or reflashing stock rom.
full member
Activity: 1414
Merit: 129
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Using hardware wallet is good, Before installing it on your system don't forget to reset your system and setup your laptop with an updated version of OS.
If you have to visit those website then there might be possibility infected by malware. You can use antivirus but sometimes antivirus is not enough to prevent latest malware.
So, It is better to use a separate device with secure connection for your cryptocurrency. I always use two device, one for doing my daily activities and another one is for crypto and forum related work.
hero member
Activity: 2786
Merit: 657
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I would suggest that you format your Notebook. Then, you can create two Users: A user without any admin privileges, just to use adult content. And another user account, with admin privileges, to use only for crypto with your hardware wallet.

This may mitigate some problems. However, the best thing is to avoid watching adult websites in the same device as you trade cryptocurrencies.
Privilege escalation attacks are not uncommon in malware and I would certainly always assume the worst case scenario with this.


Using them for suspicious website alone wouldn't probably infect you with malware if you're using a browser like Chrome. It has a sandbox that should reduce the risk factor.

Anyhow, unless you are able to separate your browsing activities from crypto, I can't see anything that would be foolproof. You can either use a LiveUSB for those or a different computer completely.
Creating two user on a computer, using live USB or chrome is not completely save and it is better to use a different computer entirely.
Having said that, chrome is not the only browser that reduce risk factor cause Mozilla firefox does either and it also increases anonymity level unlike chrome that's auto WebRTC integrated.
full member
Activity: 1022
Merit: 100
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I think you can use for storing that device  which you do not usually use in another network like riskfull websites. Or you can format of your riskfull files. That can also harmfull for your store. You can used nano ledger for storing on device. It is safe and secured for storing your BTC and another coin.
legendary
Activity: 2422
Merit: 2228
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Another way is to go to bitaddress.org. Go offline. Print out a paper wallet or a few if the amount is substantial and move them to safe locations. Bitcoin thieves are computer geeks and less likely to use brute force. Just don't tell anybody about where you store them.
I don't know why are you suggesting creating a paper wallet where OP has bought a hardware wallet and asking for a suggestion which would be safer to store his assets. Isn't a hardware wallet safer than a paper wallet? There is always a risk to get a phishing attack during generate a paper wallet.

@OP, you may use any reputed hardware wallet like Ledger or Trezor. I have been using Ledger for a long time and didn't face any issue yet even I had stored a big amount. Always keep in mind, if you can't keep safe your device, seed phrase, and private keys then you aren't safe, doesn't matter which wallet you have been using. Just secure all these things and use a hardware wallet to secure your funds.
Ucy
sr. member
Activity: 2730
Merit: 403
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The most secure way is to store bitcoin is to learn programming, cryptography and make your own wallet  Grin


Or probably just develop your own program and encryption system no one has developed before or will easily understand.
And I wouldn't consider a hardware wallet that isn't open-source/transparent as most the most secure to store Bitcoin.
hero member
Activity: 1806
Merit: 722
Leading Crypto Sports Betting & Casino Platform
Everything can be hacked in this world no matter how hard you try to secure your device. You will just increase the security by some methods. I suggest you to use Ledger Nano wallet. Plus, Don't use your normal computer/mobile for storing your coins, in the case of emergency or if you don't want to spend too much money for offline wallets you can format your whole computer with Tails-OS and use it only for crypto and bitcoin stuff, nothing else. Specially, porn and adult content. Generally, use your own safe-computer if you don't want to buy a new offline wallet, otherwise I suggest you to buy a Ledger Nano.
legendary
Activity: 3038
Merit: 4418
Crypto Swap Exchange
I would suggest that you format your Notebook. Then, you can create two Users: A user without any admin privileges, just to use adult content. And another user account, with admin privileges, to use only for crypto with your hardware wallet.

This may mitigate some problems. However, the best thing is to avoid watching adult websites in the same device as you trade cryptocurrencies.
Privilege escalation attacks are not uncommon in malware and I would certainly always assume the worst case scenario with this.


Using them for suspicious website alone wouldn't probably infect you with malware if you're using a browser like Chrome. It has a sandbox that should reduce the risk factor.

Anyhow, unless you are able to separate your browsing activities from crypto, I can't see anything that would be foolproof. You can either use a LiveUSB for those or a different computer completely.
legendary
Activity: 3094
Merit: 1127
100% security doesnt really exist on this world and talking most secure then this wont only just varying on hardware itself but also with those things
that you are doing. Who would consider on using the Hardware wallets on an infected computer? If you do have that kind of common sense then it
will really save up your ass from time to time. Trezor,Ledger etc. is indeed safe but doesnt mean that it would completely wipe out those
probabilities of such mistake to happen.
legendary
Activity: 2548
Merit: 1234
To the most mentioned above was right, a Hardware wallet is the safest way to store our Bitcoin safe because it's our solely responsible to have strong security in our Bitcoin wallet.  So we should have all of these necessary safety precautions and must up-to-date those latest securities improvements regarding how to protect our valuable assets in cryptos.

A Hardware wallet device designed that can protect itself from being infected by malware as said above, but once we are doing a transaction often online, we are vulnerable at risk.  So, you should separate the cold storage wallet and the hot wallet storage if there's a daily small transaction we need you can transfer your hot wallet or transfer to cold storage for saving purpose, this is a good practice and one of the best methods to safeguard our crypto assets.

Separate device for cryptocurrency wallet is good advice, it should clean and must be often use in browsing or not always connected to the internet connection and most especially avoid public networks providers, they are vulnerable or sometimes have security flaws, this might also a risk while accessing your wallet.
legendary
Activity: 2212
Merit: 7064
I just bought a Trezor T, Nano Ledger X and  a Yubikey to keep my bitcoin safe.

I'm considering that I should invest some more money for a dedicated device to store my Bitcoin. Since I'm positive that my current devices, both laptop and smartphone are infected with viruses and trojans because I've been using them for Adult websites regulary.

What is the most secure device out there that works with my hardware wallets and yubikey?

First rule to remember, your seed words are more important than device you are using.
There is no perfect and most secure device for keeping your bitcoin safe, and everything can have flaws.

I would always go for open source wallets like Trezor if you already have that, but only if you are using BIP39 passphrase, and if you are sure that you have trojans and viruses than don't use that devices for anything.
Hardware wallets are generally designed to work fine even with infected computers and only thing that can affect you if you have some keyloggers that record what you type.

Clean up, format and install fresh OS on one device (it can be some cheap old laptop) and use it only for crypto related stuff like wallets.
sr. member
Activity: 861
Merit: 423
I just bought a Trezor T, Nano Ledger X and  a Yubikey to keep my bitcoin safe.

I'm considering that I should invest some more money for a dedicated device to store my Bitcoin. Since I'm positive that my current devices, both laptop and smartphone are infected with viruses and trojans because I've been using them for Adult websites regulary.

What is the most secure device out there that works with my hardware wallets and yubikey?

Every device will have some kind of flaw. Hence IMHO, Bitcoin is best stored for long term with pen and paper. Write your WIF key in your notebook and put it in a safe place, e.g. your Book shelf or Bank locker whichever deems better.
member
Activity: 518
Merit: 33
Storing your Bitcoins offline is the safest way, so you have to buy one of the hardware wallets which can be removed from your device and be kept offline and you can keep it in a very safe place.

Or just use a paper wallet which involves all that you need to access your wallet to be printed on a piece of paper, but then again you should be really careful with this one since it's all you have and one way to be extra safe is to make copies and keep every copy in a different safe place so that if something happens to one copy you would have access to the other ones.
legendary
Activity: 2282
Merit: 1041

Security will only depend on how you take care of it. You may have secure Linux OS and install Bitcoin Core in there but you are also watching porn every day using that device that might just pick up a malicious file that will work on Linux system. You are still in danger. You already have a ledger nano, you can always use that, I can read reviews about it being safe as long as you have the private key. 
legendary
Activity: 1134
Merit: 1599
Airgapped PC with a clean, encrypted install of a Linux OS is your best bet. Keep that as a safe offline storage for the long term and use Electrum or Wasabi as your wallet. Store BTC on the airgapped PC (and sign txs from it) and use an online PC to view your balances (so your offline airgapped PC has the seed while the online PC has just a view-only wallet) & broadcast txs.

Here's a tutorial for installing an encrypted Debian system: https://xo.tc/setting-up-full-disk-encryption-on-debian-9-stretch.html

If you want to go "over the top", be careful since your computer might have some microphone/camera/wireless modules on it. If you want to prevent even more kind of hacks, it would not be a bad idea to remove those as well. Other tips..: try to use USB devices as least possible as you can.
newbie
Activity: 17
Merit: 3
The most secure way is to store bitcoin is to learn programming, cryptography and make your own wallet  Grin
full member
Activity: 390
Merit: 163
Another way is to go to bitaddress.org. Go offline. Print out a paper wallet or a few if the amount is substantial and move them to safe locations. Bitcoin thieves are computer geeks and less likely to use brute force. Just don't tell anybody about where you store them.

I think diversifying where you store your coins is good, but paper wallets are the most secure in my opinion.
full member
Activity: 1624
Merit: 163
If you're really paranoid about this. Why don't you just buy another PC or Laptop and let that device be the storage for your crypto.? I mean, it's unnecessary because you already have a good hardware wallet but it will help with your mind. You can connect it to internet but don't do browsing or downloading in that device just to be safe.
AGD
legendary
Activity: 2070
Merit: 1164
Keeper of the Private Key
Well if you have the resources to buy new devices why not but if you don't have the resources yet you can still format you old devices and get the clean up for use again.
It is not the answer.

You can format your disk, reinstall your OS but it can not save you when you connect your device to the Internent and more unsafely if you visit adult websites or blindly click and open any given links from strangers or from anyone else.

You can not format your device every day.

I store my bitcoin in Electrum on an offline device. I only connect it to the Internet when I spend my bitcoin.

Why formatting a disk when you can unplug it and use a live os and any encrypted usb stick to store your data?
sr. member
Activity: 2520
Merit: 280
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Even if you buy a new device and connect it to the internet means it is potential to get inflected with some kind of virus but the chances will be reduced a lot anyway you already bought a hardware wallet then no need to waste your money to buy another pc just to broadcast the transaction.
legendary
Activity: 2044
Merit: 1018
Not your keys, not your coins!
Well if you have the resources to buy new devices why not but if you don't have the resources yet you can still format you old devices and get the clean up for use again.
It is not the answer.

You can format your disk, reinstall your OS but it can not save you when you connect your device to the Internent and more unsafely if you visit adult websites or blindly click and open any given links from strangers or from anyone else.

You can not format your device every day.

I store my bitcoin in Electrum on an offline device. I only connect it to the Internet when I spend my bitcoin.
member
Activity: 504
Merit: 57
Well if you have the resources to buy new devices why not but if you don't have the resources yet you can still format you old devices and get the clean up for use again.
legendary
Activity: 2716
Merit: 1383
I just bought a Trezor T, Nano Ledger X and  a Yubikey to keep my bitcoin safe.

I'm considering that I should invest some more money for a dedicated device to store my Bitcoin. Since I'm positive that my current devices, both laptop and smartphone are infected with viruses and trojans because I've been using them for Adult websites regulary.

What is the most secure device out there that works with my hardware wallets and yubikey?
You could just format your devices so you are sure that there is nothing there and then install one of the many flavors of Linux, many people still think that Linux is difficult to use but compared to the early days there are many distributions that are very friendly with the user and that offer better security right out of the box than anything you can get with Windows, if you do this and use your hardware wallets then you will be safer than the majority of the users of cryptocurrencies and the chances you lose your money will be very low.
copper member
Activity: 2940
Merit: 1280
https://linktr.ee/crwthopia
I like how honest you are with your adult site's journey. Lol. You should be careful when visiting those kinds of sites and not click anything that could affect your computer.

Anyway, just like what they have said above me, it's practically safe in essence. Just make sure to authenticate the addresses you are going to show to you on your device in the screen of the Ledger and check if it matches the one you are going to send to. That's safe already.

Don't overthink it too much.
legendary
Activity: 3472
Merit: 10611
I would suggest that you format your Notebook. Then, you can create two Users: A user without any admin privileges, just to use adult content. And another user account, with admin privileges, to use only for crypto with your hardware wallet.
It is best to have the bitcoin storage on a device that has never been connected to any networks and will never be connected either. A fully offline airgap computer. Otherwise the connected to internet device is already at risk whether user goes to risky sites or not.
But your suggestion is still good to create a hot wallet with small spending amounts in it.
mk4
legendary
Activity: 2870
Merit: 3873
📟 t3rminal.xyz
You should be able to transact safely with an infected computer using either hardware wallet; you just need to not-get-tricked if it's the case that your computer has malware that's created to steal cryptocurrencies.

Really though, just do a clean re-install of your computer's operating system just to be sure. Crypto or no crypto, using a malware-infested device as your main device isn't a good idea.
legendary
Activity: 2352
Merit: 6089
bitcoindata.science
I just bought a Trezor T, Nano Ledger X and  a Yubikey to keep my bitcoin safe.

I'm considering that I should invest some more money for a dedicated device to store my Bitcoin. Since I'm positive that my current devices, both laptop and smartphone are infected with viruses and trojans because I've been using them for Adult websites regulary.

What is the most secure device out there that works with my hardware wallets and yubikey?

Theoretically, you can use a Ledger Nano or a trezor in an infected device.

However, there are some malware which may cause you trouble even using a hardware wallet:

Quote
Morveus Ledger Plex Director & Co-Founder
3 years ago
Your private keys are safe, that's what the device is for (protecting you against malwares).

What the Nano S will not protect you against:

Malwares that change the addresses displayed in your browser: let's say you are buying stuff on the Web, the webshop displays address "1abcd" and in a split second, the malware changes it to "1zzzz". The idea is that you will then copy/paste the fake address and send funds to it

Validating transactions without double-checking: when signing a transaction, the Nano S will always ask you to double-check the receipient address; if that address has been modified on-the-fly and you don't double-check if what's displayed on the device's screen is really the address you are trying to send funds to, you will lose money

Note that the first case is more likely to happen than the second one right now (there are no known malwares that target transaction building right now) but both of them are valid scenarios and may become more frequent in the near future.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ledgerwallet/comments/6i7mjk/is_it_safe_to_use_ledger_with_a_computer_that_im/

I would suggest that you format your Notebook. Then, you can create two Users: A user without any admin privileges, just to use adult content. And another user account, with admin privileges, to use only for crypto with your hardware wallet.

This may mitigate some problems. However, the best thing is to avoid watching adult websites in the same device as you trade cryptocurrencies.
newbie
Activity: 5
Merit: 0
I just bought a Trezor T, Nano Ledger X and  a Yubikey to keep my bitcoin safe.

I'm considering that I should invest some more money for a dedicated device to store my Bitcoin. Since I'm positive that my current devices, both laptop and smartphone are infected with viruses and trojans because I've been using them for Adult websites regulary.

What is the most secure device out there that works with my hardware wallets and yubikey?
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