Bitcoin Forum

Would it be safe if I use cold storage on USB stick? And whenever I need or use that usb I disconnect from internet?

Or should I get hardware wallet.

I dont know, i feel paranoid after reeding how insecure online wallets are.

Also do I need to be online to transfer bitcoins?

a hardware wallet is probably the easiest + a secure way for most people to store coins. an online wallet is a bad idea indeed.

check this out:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=899253.0

Which one would you suggest me to get?
Which one is the safest.

I use a Trezor for my cold storage.  Works great and easy to use.

Some people use old laptops or computers they disconnect from the internet as well.

May be cheaper to get a hard drive. You can then simply store it there for use offline.

Unless you use Coinbase Vault to store the Bitcoin (as cold storage) which makes it hard to withdraw fuds without a 48 hour canellation period.

If I use harddrive it would be same like using USB tbh.. If any virus connects to my drive im screwed. Ill just get trezor.

If you use it on an offline computer, then you are not screwed.

Though I see your point.

So you dont need to be connected online to send or receive bitcoin?

You need to be online only to send bitcoin.
If there are amounts of bitcoin you don't plan to use for long time (year/s?), you can keep those on paper wallets.

If you generated them on a safe environment (then scrape that environment) it's one of the safest options to store your money imho.

There are increasingly sophisticated viruses and trojans trying to target bitcoin. A normal usb to would likely be vulnerable to download when it connected to an infected system. You may know encryption techniques to protect the wallet file or use a dedicated piece of tech like the Trezor.

I bought trezor few moments ago, i hope it will be safe option to store my btc

just for the record cold storage is something that stays on an always offline system. even if you disconnect your pc from internet and attack the USB you might not be safe because you PC (since it was online before) might have been compromised by something like a keylogger and that can steal your cold stored secrets.

use a non-infected device in the first place, (do a secure erase before using it) then you're fine to use your usb even online

you don't need to buy expesive HW like trezor, just be vigilant and don't download random stuff from the web

my hotwallet was never hacked, and i've done with it plenty of transactions

You don't have to. To send Bitcoins, you just need to generate a unsigned TX for the address and transfer it to the offline computer using a USB stick to sign it. Some clients have streamlined this process:
Electrum: http://docs.electrum.org/en/latest/coldstorage.html
Armory: https://www.bitcoinarmory.com/cold-storage/

while this is true for someone who knows what he is downloading and doing online (you), it is untrue for technically-unsavvy people which OP probably is. so my advice is always: buy a hardware wallet. there are cheap ones too.


@Towelielie
good choice. have fun with it.  :)

Good choice to go with the hardware wallet there.  ;D ... Just as a note to other people... Even if the hardware wallet seems to be the safest option out there at the moment... someone could still steal

the device and acquire the boxed information {Seed etc...} Keep the device in a safe place and separate from the notes you made on the recovery seed . We get people breaking into houses every day,

and a person with technical skills will be able to extract vital information from this device, using these notes.  ::) .... Your fears with USB devices have merit... because of firmware hacks like BadUSB. 

TREZOR looks like normal heart rate device and nothing like something which you use to store money to be honest. So if I do ever get broken in my house I doubt thief would take it. Most of the people dont even know what bitcoin is xD

I am pretty tech-savy I know all shit about viruses and such...
I have windows 10 installed since its been out and never had any virus infect my pc but you never know what can happen in future so I think hardware wallet is best solution for me

For those that are tech-savy and want the best protection possible you are welcome to use this: https://susestudio.com/a/kp8B3G/ciyam-safe

(it uses QR codes for 100% air-gapped security)

Use electrum to send/receive coins from an internet-off pc.
If you search on site you can find a good guide about this method.
I think it's the best method before hardware-wallet, if you don't have too much movement
Good luck ;D

i'm not a fan of installing something from the web to protect my coin, i have nothing against your software, but one never know


windows 10 is not really ideal for saving your coin on a codl storage, or even worse running an hot wallet

You can find the source code here: https://github.com/ciyam/safe

(the download is just a SUSE "live" distro with the CIYAM Safe source code and Bitcoin - also remember this is purely for offline usage)

that is good. you should also think about splitting your funds if you own a large amount of coins. a paper wallet would be good for that.

maybe this is interesting too:

https://www.bitcoinarmory.com/

just for the record i want to add that windows 10 is a privacy hazard. Microsoft has officially added their own keylogger to their windows. this doesn't mean viruses or any danger to your bitcoin, just that you should say goodbye to your privacy if you use windows 10.

Dont care if NSA, microsoft or wahtever spy on me, dont have anything to hide

I guess you'd better hope that they would never decide to steal your BTC then.

BTW - are you going to share with them your bank account details and any other financial details as well (as you seem to trust them so much then I guess you should)?

Wndows 10 is also practically a virus in itself.

Possibly would be a good didea to test that site on somewhere like virustotal.

You wouldn't really use software for cold storage as it is supposed to be offline.

Huh?

You certainly can run software offline (and in fact every hardware wallet requires software for signing raw transactions).

What you don't want to do is give the offline software internet access or access to something like an infected USB flash drive.