Post
Topic
Board Beginners & Help
Re: How to safely store your bitcoins?
by
HeRetiK
on 09/10/2018, 15:51:44 UTC
[...]

This means storing private keys on devices that never connect to the network:

1. USB-flash

2. hardware wallet

3. paper wallet

 
[...]

Don't forget that using an airgapped device is also an option -- that is, if you have an old laptop or PC lying around you could also use it for cold storage:

1) Install a fresh operating system (optimally Linux, which is generally more secure and usually less demanding on older hardware)
2) Create an offline wallet using Electrum (or Armory)
3) Never connect your refurbished device to the internet or any local network (optimally deinstall any network driver that may be installed)
4) Use your airgapped laptop or PC only to sign transactions and nothing else, transferring said transaction via USB or a similar medium onto your online system.


Caveat regarding using a bootable USB-Flash as airgapped operating system: Don't plug the stick in while your day-to-day operating system is still running; only use it as a boot medium

Caveat regarding paper wallets: Be aware that the private key is exposed as soon as you access the paper wallet. Which means that 1) don't reuse paper wallets and 2) only access your paper wallet on a device that isn't riddled with malware.