In the context of anti-virus, also the possible benefit of having a separate Linux (partition, VM or WSL) only for transactions could be part of discussion.
You can also use Tails for broadcasting transactions. But I would like an input from someone who knows more and better than I do. Is an anti virus truly safe? Do they not scan computer files? If yes, does my wallet.dat file not get scanned in the process? Sure, you can add the Bitcoin folder to the list of exceptions. But still, the popular and best anti viruses are closed source. I do not trust them.
And I would also like to see a discussion about VPN - which worth using and why - and a comparison(?) between VPN, TOR and use of proxies (free/hacked or not).
There was this list of VPN's that sell your data. It included VPN's that supposedly do not. Many of the popular ones collect, analyze and sell your data. I would not use VPN's because it seems like a false impression of having privacy. Maybe the only situation in which I see them useful is for local websites that deny access to Tor nodes. But otherwise, Tor all the way.
-
Regards,
PrivacyG