Quote from: HCP on August 02, 2017, 11:31:40 AM

Are you sure about that? All you are doing is switching your trust from one software/hardware provider to another (with closed sources)...

But hey, you found a system that works for you... Wink

To be very fair, open sourced=/safe. The user still has to independently verify and install the firmware himself to be 100% safe. Though I find that rather redundant.

Not sure if you are misled or just don't bother researching on the topic but:

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First, I desire to be in control of my private keys.

Do you have any proof that the hardware wallet providers have access to your private key?

As long as you can audit the source code and install it yourself, and can capture the packets sent, I can't see how they can do this without users noticing.

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Second, different hardware wallets, or any type of wallets, be it hardware, desktop, mobile, or online, have different approach to encryption.

Most hardware wallet uses a standard method of generating seeds. It is widely used and with the seeds, you can import it into LOTS of wallet or just simply write a script to extract it yourself.

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Third, replacement cost is very high with hardware wallet.

Refer to my second point.

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I can email myself my strongly encrypted private keys (so even if my email gets hacked, no hacker can crack my private keys unless they have some super hyper ultra quantum computer that can hack into any strongly encrypted private keys within minutes/seconds/hours).

Jesus, I don't even know if I should continue but oh well.

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Fourth, to rely on any 3rd-party wallet to secure and/or cold storage my cryptocurrencies is itself a big security hole.

How are they helping you to secure when you are free to review the code to find and test for bugs? If you don't like to rely on third-parties, it might be better for you to write your own OS or wallet.

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Fifth, I am not a fan nor a believer of some apocalyptic event to be caused by some major EMP attacks, either from some man-made terrorist attacks or from a natural cause like solar spot, solar flare, or solar storm.

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Sixth, direct control of your private keys allows you to enjoy any free cryptocurrency due to hard fork.

Point 2 and point 2.

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Even if I am using the world's most secure wallet ever, doesn't mean I can let down my defense and start tolerating any infested computer.

It's kinda hard to hack a wallet when the keys are never exposed to the outside world.