Quote from: eternalgloom on March 08, 2018, 01:07:17 PM

While I really love Linux, advice like this doesn't accomplish anything, makes you sound really elitist.
You can safely use a hardware wallet and be a Windows user. Even using desktop wallets is fine 99% of the time, if you take some basic security precautions.

I'm completely unconcerned with how I sound. I'm only concerned with evidence-based strategies that work.

Quote from: eternalgloom on March 08, 2018, 01:07:17 PM

Usually wallets get hacked because the user installed malware that he downloaded himself, direct attacks are very unlikely, especially if you don't have a big amount of coins.
If you have a big amount of crypto assets, invest in a hardware wallet.

Absolutely. I don't have any hard statistics I can quote but it seems likely that 99% of malware is inadvertently installed by the users themeselves.

Regarding hardware wallets: for me the jury's still out. I don't like being dependent on a hardware device in case something goes wrong with it.
Electrum is an open source program that I can run directly from source code without installation. That's very empowering.

Quote from: eternalgloom on March 08, 2018, 01:07:17 PM

Another important thing to note is that an unconfigured Linux desktop might be a bit safer than Windows by default, but it's not completely safe either.
An uninformed Linux user can do much more damage to his own system than an uninformed Windows user

Yup. Like any power tool you can do useful work with it or also cut your own hand off. Taking responsibility for your own actions and safety isn't quick and easy; you have to do actual work.