Bitcoin Forum

 
Just a reminder

Its not safe to use USB sticks or SSDs for long term storage they lose data over time if they are not powered!

You can't just stick your private keys on a few USB sticks or SSD and box them up for 4 - 8 years you will lose all your coins.

For long term storage have at least 3 backups paper wallets or HDDs. You can even use something like DropBox But be sure to encrypt your wallet and change the name.

You can even hide your wallet inside a image file.

Thanks for the advice... I never tought about an usb stick losing it's data.
How about hardware wallet tough? Most of them have seed words to restore your wallet, but i'm pretty sure the device itself won't last forever either, so you might want to add them to your list?

yeah hardware wallets are just USB sticks with some extra logic bits right? So if they lost power for more then a few years they could become corrupted to. I wouldn't trust them, just more crap that could break.

How does that help us if we already know this. Could you enlist some more ideal information

I've said this a few times, but not this clear, so I'd add a well done here.

My usual advice is to keep the private keys in (laminated) paper wallets. This would be the safest copy, the primary copy.
For commodity you can still keep a secondary copy on USB sticks, just after some 1-2 years you should move the data on another stick, else you can lose it.

Since dropbox also came into discussion, I'd advise for tresorit.com or similar cloud storage providers: the ones that offer end-to-end encryption, which (at least on paper) means that whoever reads their server cannot see your data plainly (like in the case of dropbox).

interesting, i did not know this, especially this part about the hardware wallets. although i am already using USB sticks for my cold storage i am also keeping a paper backup printed too.

Oh wow I really had no idea that that would happen over time. I use a ledger wallet which is pretty much a USB with add ons. Now I'm going to consider moving to a paper wallet. Thanks.

I didn't know that.Its news to me thanks op for sharing.Btw can we back up same wallet in 2-3 different ways like dropbox and usb both? in case one get corrupted or we lost one,other could be used?

I can't speak for all Bitcoin clients but its my understanding that if you tell your Bitcoin client to print a paper wallet it won't move any coins. Your wallet.dat file will still have all the keys.

You can copy/paste your wallet.dat file as many times as you like. You can copy/paste it to CDs/DVDs/USB sticks/micro usb cards, each one will work.

Even if someone sends you coins after you put your wallet in cold storage you will have the keys for all the new coins that come in.

Plz someone correct me if I'm wrong but the wallet.dat file also includes 100 new address (adjustable) so even if you continue to use your client with the same wallet and generate new addresses (up to 100) your backup will already include the keys to these new receiving addresses.

Well that's certainly good to know and I imagine it's the same with micro sd cards as well? So I guess it's paper wallets and maybe encrypted DVD's then. Fortunately I don't have that problem, all of my coins are with Coinbase (for better or for worse) :P

yeah any solid state memory.
But if your storing your coins with a company you don't really own them. If that company goes under you lose everything. Your coins are not ensured or protected by any law.
That company could be hacked or even shut down by the government for breaking the law and seize all the coins with no obligation to return any of them.

The general consenses is about 10 years until you start to get I/O write errors. Mounting and reading from the devices will last until entropic decay transpires.

Drive manufacturer Flashbay has said that data retention could theoretically be in the region of 60 to 80 years, if stored in a perfect environment. In reality, it is far lower, but at least 10 years if you buy a quality USB stick. But there is nothing wrong with a paper wallet or a CD of course.

When you upload it to DropBox is has additional risks, i would not recommend that.

Paper Wallets have their risks too. Nothing is risk-free.

Yeah this is great advise to get because I did not think that that could actually happen. I will now definitely change my wise my ways of storing my Bitcoin data.
Glad to hear something talking about this.

Sorry no the life span of a memory stick is about 10 years if you power it but without power you will start to see significant data corruption after just 4 years.

If you encrypt your wallet and change the name and file extension its pretty dam safe to store your wallet on DropBox. Even if a attacker found your file and knew what it was they couldn't crack it.

What if you keep plugging them in every now and then, say after 6 months periodically? Will then they be safe, I have some keys which are not part of my electrum wallet(its seed is written somewhere safe, so not worried about that) and I have their keys on couple of USB sticks.


Ledger wallet coins are backed by the seed and as long as you have the recovery sheet and/or have noted it down somewhere safe then your coins are safe as well because they can be recovered using another ledger wallet/mycelium/multibit hd.

Yeah that is true. And the company say that the ledger wallets last for around 30 years, I would have sold my Bitcoins a long time before that. I guess that I am quite safe then.

I have issues with hardware wallets because they have so many other things that could break like a leaking battery.
But If you insist on using a USB stick you must be willing to baby sit them, they should be safe you just need to power them up every few months and have multiple copies of your wallet on each stick.

I didn't realise the lifespan would be as short as ten years.  I did read about some kind of DNA storage being looked into, I would imagine this would have quite a long lifespan, until then I suppose old school paper is the way to go!

I agree. What about archival DVDs? Maybe if stored in a proper environment, without light and humidity they could last for decades?

According to the US National Archives, CDs and DVDs have very similar lifespans. Generally, unrecorded (blank) CDs and DVDs have a shelf-life of five to ten years. The experiential life expectancy of recorded CDs and DVDs is between two and five years, though based on manufacturer claims, ten to twenty five years, or even longer, isn’t unprecedented. In any case, using very conservative numbers will reduce the risk of losing data.

These numbers also depend on environmental factors and how often the disc is used. Any optical media is extremely susceptible to damage because there is little protection on the readable surface—just think about how many CDs of yours have been scratched through regular use, it happens to all of us.

I had no idea that the data can be lost over time  :o  Thanks for this information!

decades are a long time  :) . if you really want to store it for this long timeframe, just make a addtitional paper wallet and put it in a bank-vault. or google "M-Disc", that would be another option.

a proper environment, without light and humidity is an important factor in any case.

This is what I do. Not cold storage

I clone my whole SSD to a HDD every year and keep that and an extra copy of my wallet on a USB stick in a safe. I also hide a encrypted Truecrypt file hidden inside a image on Dropbox. (heavily encrypted)

extra Pro Tip:

If your running a full node client you can also use a "symbolic directory link" generator to move your whole Bitcoin client wallet and Block chain off your main drive to another drive within minutes. it's like a shortcut pointing the program to a new location. This way you won't wear out your SSD with all those read/writes and you save space on you SSD!

Ah it sure make sense. Just like any other appliances it will soon malfunction if not use overtime.
Is. There's any tutorial about jhiding they back up wallet on an image file?

How to combine a file or folder into a image tutorial.

http://www.wikihow.com/Hide-a-File-in-an-Image-File

I remember someone has stored its savings into bitcoin ,around 3500 dollars soo he stored 5 btc into a cage and he said he would let it near a fountain for 10 or 25 years i dont remember right soo there is a higg odds that he will be loosing his coins over the time instead being saving it as bitcoin i hope he reads this information and avoid loose his savings.

Pernicious nonsense!
USB sticks are the safest way to store our bitscoin treasure. They just need to be buried in a back yard, under the birdbath >:(

USB sticks, Flash ROM, does not wear out because of "lack of power" - it is solid state circuitry - they wear out due to the maximum number of read/write cycles.

If you keep one in safe dry place and don't use it, it should retain its data for 60 to 80 years until the physical circuitry degrades.

WRONG!

Google "How long can a SSD store data without power?"

I found out about this the hard way, I lost 1BTC in 2013  :-[

The original article speculating that SSD's had a short "powered off" shelf life were discussing SSD's that had exceeded their endurance rating (i.e. were worn out) and were stored at higher temperatures. This spawned an internet myth that newer SSD's had a short shelf life for data retention.

For new drives, particularly the lower speed Flash ROM sticks, the powered off shelf life is vastly longer. At least a decade probably much longer.

Your so wrong but you do what you want with your coins just plz don't spout your nonsense here.  

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2925173/debunked-your-ssd-wont-lose-data-if-left-unplugged-after-all.html

Consider the source.  
Companies will always over state the life span and abilities of there products to sell more. Websites will always be at the beck and call of advertisers. PC world sells a lot of add space to Cruical. They would not risk that income.

If Reliability is Paramount a Western digital blue hard drive or a paper wallet is far safer then a memory stick or SSD for long term storage.

Thanks. Was just about to ask you if you had a link to show how this is done. Appreciate the link.

Personally I would be comfortable with storing my key data on a pair of new unused USB drives and plug them into a wall power source, not a PC where they might get stolen or infected, once a year.

I wouldn't trust magnetic media for any period of time. I've never lost data on a flash drive but have seen countless hard drive failures over the years including ones I had in storage. Among other things, exposures to a magnetic field can corrupt or erase them.

Thanks for the advice, i didn't know that usb sticks could be corrupted in few years (if there are no powered in long time period). I thought that usb sticks will last more years.

Why would you even consider using USB's for long term storage? I can't even hold on to my USB for more than 2 years because either they always break and malfunction (from dropping too frequent) or I lose them.
USB sticks are only good for not-so-major documents because they can easily be infected.

Well what are your other options? Magnetic media is horrible, DVD's are worse, and the cloud is potentially vulnerable to hacking. If the data is just a private key you could etch it into glass or something but for larger data sets not many good options.

What do you usually use?

Clearly paper wallets - provided these are not printed with a thermal or inkjet printer (laserprinter or even better matrix printer) - or engraving the keys into even more durable material are the best solutions for longterm storage.

The problem of long term availability also extends to the various hardware wallets on the market. There you have both a dependency on working hardware and a dependency that the company that provides services to access your funds still exists in the future. That's why I never bought hardware wallets. (I would buy a hardware wallet however, if it was small and would work as a standalone Bitcoin wallet with the ability to send and receive transactions without requiring external devices, so I could keep funds selected for spending separate from my phone - just like a traditional wallet.)

ya.ya.yo!

Buy a Trezor. Use a passphrase to protect your seed and store the seed safely away in a couple of places. The password you keep in your head. The seed if compromised is worthless without the passphrase.

ATM I consider Trezor a better solution than KeepKey or Ledger. KeepKey does not allow for a passphrase and I do not care for the 2FA using a phone Ledger requires. If someone comes out with a better solution than Trezor I would be the first to recommend it.

Did that. first search result:

Debunked: Your SSD won't lose data if left unplugged after all

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2925173/debunked-your-ssd-wont-lose-data-if-left-unplugged-after-all.html

I didn't realize USB sticks were not safe. Can you please explain why? And why does being powered help?

this is the first time i have ever heard about this is it for real? Didn't know that if the drive isn't charged for a long time
that he can forget my stored things wtf?

someone must be digging right now:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1465634.0

And yeah, i totally agree with op.
i never tried to store them in the proper places, but all my old usb sticks presented malfunction at some point so i would never trust my bitcoins in that.

I suppose archival quality Blue Ray is an option - apparently Facebook uses it for data they think will need to be stored for long periods of time.

Archival blue ray discs are more expensive but are supposed to have vastly longer shelf life than regular ones

Is anyone else wondering whether Satoshi unknowingly stored his coins on a USB stick? All that stuff he mined back in 2009 will be about seven years old by now...

I did not realize this. Thanks for letting us know. You may have just saved me a few dollars.

I only use paper wallets as I find them to be more secure than trusting a HDD or USD drive with your backups.

The only secure way is to store it on an encrypted RAID 0 array made up of 8 MFM HDs (NSA has back doors on the new IDE ones *DO NOT TRUST*).

I never use any digital means to store private keys... they are simply to unreliable. I have 5 year old harddrives and memory sticks {unpowered} and I get read errors already. { These HD's are

Seagate drives used for storage, and not daily use } I do not trust memory sticks, due to the BadUSB exploits. I only use laminated paper wallets and a Trezor hardware wallet for smaller quantities

and daily use. I have several copies stored in different locations and kept in different banks. { Safe deposit boxes } 

RAID-0  provides no fault tolerance or redundancy and is generally only used to increase throughput.

Did you mean RAID-1?

i don't agree i can buy one new each year, they cost nothing, like $4 so there is no problem with them as a backup, also don't have just one but by plenty of them at different time so you are even more safe

No no! Make sure it's RAID 0, because otherwise NSA can just steal one of your old MFM drives and replace it with another, and you'll never know!

Thanks for explaining this, i am only using paper wallet myself for long storage with storing them in bank vault and few backups in my google drive with google account being 2fa.

You can buy 4GB sticks for around 6-8 bucks depending where and which country.
Buy a handful every year and make several encrypted back ups. Don't see any big problems if you do it like that.
Of course additional to that paper wallets are always recommended.Use good paper/ink and seal them well!

I bought an expensive USB key a while ago to back up my wallet.dat
I can't see that losing data, maybe with a shitty $5 one though it could happen.

to be 99,99% sure : make another backup  :)
(M-Disc DVDs)

Yeah usb and ssds are not recommended because i tried all my usb and ssds to dont use for a long time..
I am technician and i know if you dont use this devices and if you reuse it sometimes its asking for a format or it is not detecting to your computer..
So beware.. if you really still want to use it better to use it daily and make sure have anti virus or put  a password to your usb stick or ssd..

Chances are your data should be fine, but just make sure to plug it in occasionally to check up on it.

And, as said by the OP, just write stuff down multiple times and put copies in multiple secure places. Just make sure you have as many instances of the information as possible for the maximum possible level of security when it comes to your investment.

I'm not sure what brand it is, but if it is considerably more expensive than other USB sticks of the same size, it should be on the higher end and will likely hold your data better. Just make sure to check reviews for it.

This is one of the reasons I prefer optical media (CD, DVD, Blu-ray). They are cheap and durable.

check out M-Disc DVDs

Engrave your private keys in a block of tungsten, basically indestructible.

http://we.lovebitco.in/img/tungsten.jpg

Yea, I'm aware of that too.

Thank you!

I was not aware of that. Really nice information that you gave me. I was considering buying a Ledger wallet, but I will finally stick (:D) to the good old paper wallets !

Hugh quality stainless steel and letter+number punches and put in 3 locations.

Even if you use them, it should be encrypted

I was considering using something like online hosting for keeping my backup wallet. But then again, keeping anything in a a online cloud storage is problematic.
I've seen so many hosting companies gone bankrupt that I have very limited trust toward online services. Dropbox is not exception...

Floppy disc or better, maybe, punched paper tape.

Note if you take this route best not to post pictures of your engraved tungsten block to the internet  :)

I don't think that it will be really needed to use something as sturdy and expensive. A common iron block will be a lot more than enough I think ;) !

Not if you bury it under a birdbath for 20 years ... much water; much bird poo ... corrosion :(

Well, you know, if you plan to do so, I would not use USB keys too. Best would be something written or cut in an aluminium plate or maybe block, since it isn't affected by humidity.

https://www.google.com/search?q=corroded+aluminum :(

I would have to agree. I wouldn't ever leave a substantial amount of Bitcoins on a USB or SSD. Eventually these will fail and you'll be left with nothing. Paper wallets are a great option. Make a few copies, laminate them, whatever it takes!

You should tell this little antidote to this guy:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1465634.msg14791412#msg14791412

He thinks his bitcoins will be safe for 20 years stored on usb sticks buried in his backyard.

thanks for the heads up

Great info, don't make usb storadge as a master repository for your files and data. Electronic device have a time limit of age of its useful life. Always backup the data in some safe place, internal hdd, ext hdd and usb storadge, I do not use cloud or online backup because I was not so doubt with them.

why tungsten? there are better metals/alloys to use which are way cheaper than tungsten and also easier to acquire. you can buy stainless steel or aluminum anywhere and also cheaper. and also don't forget that engraving on steel is easier than tungsten.

worth mentioning this project here: Cryptosteel (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=977486.0)

Why not!? What is the reason?

I wish I could backup my data online, but in my case that is only practical for small files because my upload rate is slow (100kB/s). For this reason, only critical files are uploaded online (in addition to local backups).

Didn't know until now that USB sticks could become useless altogether after years on inactivity. Is this also applicable to the sticks which are produced in the last few years? I have yet to back up my wallet in any USBs so this is a great piece of advice that I just came across with, for future reference.

Yes.

Additionally, flash drives which are working fine today can become useless next time you use it. They usually do not show signs of failure.

Then, if you are counting important data in 1 device. You may face loss of data soon.

Magnetism wear off after a while and the media it is stored on also deteriorate after a few years. If you plug it in and leave it for a while, the magnetism will increase and it will last longer. Just use a offline computer when you doing this, or your data stored on the device could become infected or even collected by a hacker.

In any way, this is how it was explained to me. I hope the guy was not pulling this out of his ass. ^smile^

do you create this thread inspired from other thread?i see poeple post on thread that he have plan to burried his USB stick contained some bitcoin,and forget it until 20 years. its really that use USB sticks or SSDs for long term storage they lose data over time if they are not powered? if that true,i think people who have plan to burried his USB stick must be read this.

Paper wallet is the best cold storage for me because it's plain old paper that can easily outlast all the fancy new hardware wallets and other storage devices like memory cards and thumb drives. And as an added protection you could laminate your paper wallet and put it in a safe deposit box and that will certainly last forever. Hardware is not reliable and it can break down at unexpected times. Heck I have bought HDD's and SSD's before that had bad sectors or became unusable in a matter of days after the purchase. I suggest using at least 1 paper wallet along with your hardware devices to store your private keys on.

Thank you for this info. I usually use USB sticks for storing files , i've been doing this for about 2 years .luckily my USB is still safe and not yet been formated or loose corrupted files .

So what's safe to use?

Wow I admire you that you have continuous use of your usb for 2 years. I can't use my usb for that long because my usb is always infected when I plug it in from a friend's pc to get some files  :'(

Well, yes, they probably can lose data over time, as everything does.

Paper wallets are probably the safest since they are stored completely offline, but they are a nuisance when you want to access them again.

But Dropbox isn't a good idea... The company can close anytime, and there might be a hack in the system. Who knows?

the key is exposed too much in this way, not only because it is there well put on show, but because that thing is also heavy to carry around and big....

Is this thing true how can my files just disappear that's unbelievable. Why would somebody
don't use his/her usb stick for 4-8 years if there are privacy stuff on it. Don't think all your files
will disappear.

I think you are missing the point, if you are making a long term storage of your private key then is it properly not a good idea to either "put them on display" or carry them around.

Data in USBs and SSDs are not stored using magnetism, they are rather, stored in tiny computer chips. This is also the main reason why most of them are very durable. However, a potential problem about USB and SSD is the limited read and write life which isn't an issue with low usage. The quality of the SSD or USB is important as it is directly related to the data retention of the media.

there may be the need to move that thing at some point, maybe because you need those coins desperately, maybe because you are changing your appartement, that what i mean

do not take everything for granted, little problems always arise, and thus problem lead to a big problem some times

Yeah it just doesn't make very much sense, so the files just disappear out of nowhere from your usb that is very strange indeed. I just do not believe and I am going to try this out.

I am using USB sticks since very early 2013 when I bought my first coins at around $20-$25 and everything is working fine. Currently I have my wallet.dat files stored on 8 USB sticks and 3 HDD's. Each device holds all my wallet files, so if 1 USB stick for whatever reason stops working I still have 7 USB sticks and 3 HDD's where my wallet files are stored. :)

I think paper wallets are the golden standard when it comes to long-term cold storage of Bitcoins. If they are laminated they pretty much will be indestructible unless there is a fire but I don't think hardware wallets can withstand fire either. By the way it would be cool if we could get a business card sized piece of metal and etch the private keys on it. It would be very easy to move this card around when needed and you can literally store it in your wallet.

There are multiple ways that you could have prevented your flash drive. I feel that you kind of ignored the fact that most flash drives are vulnerable to attacks and you just recklessly plugged yours in random PCs.
Do a little research and you'll see there are a lot of ways like maybe Panda USB Vaccine or ClamWin or any portable antivirus that you can install for your flash drive.

well that thing in the picture looks more like a Joke to me. because who in his right mind would purchase a block of tungsten to engrave with private keys, you can use a lot lighter metals and as a plate not a big ass block.
there is actually a reply on top of yours  (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1466206.msg14803808#msg14803808) saying explaining this.
so you can use an stainless steel plate for this purpose and encrypt the private keys before engraving them.

What is the point of so much security? How many bitcoins OP have when he make this kind of security.

I think if someone wish to rob you, you can do what ever you wish and in end you will be robbed.

Best advice here, anyone should know (and I guess only newbies don't) that USB sticks can become corrupted over time, so its ideal solution to change that USB every 6 months (just a 1GB usb which is cheap can contain your SEED phrase) so you will be safe. Of course don't throw the old USB away, you never know it may not break, so keep all of your USB-s during this time in a safe place for you.
I would stay away from any online upload file service no matter how safe they advertise to be, for your own safety.

Omg, thx for advice
I never through about it

What about microSD cards etc., same problem?

I didn't know that after 8 years without power flash storage loose data..

Dear, Saint and blessed paper

More or less microsd cards too have the same features as the USB's, so its better to avoid those too for the enhanced security.

MicroSD cards are much worst due to the size and the cost of the storage. The size would be a problem since it would be hardly visible in most situations and you can easily break it. MicroSD cards can be much more expensive than flash drives while being less convenient to connect to your computer/devices.

How about engraving the keys on a piece of stainless steel?

I was considering a trezor, but I don't see how trezor like devices aren't going to suffer from the same thing as any solid state storage, so I think I will keep saving my stuff on different usb and on different hard drives too and do period backups. It's simply impossible that they all break at the same time and I end up with no bitcoins. Additionally, upping it somewhere with a strong password and changing the file extension seems like a good idea, but im not sure if changing the file extension cam damage a wallet file.

As far as I know you can change the file extension to anything just remember not to change the name and extension to anything that your computer is already using and then try to hide your file inside that program folder, you will likely break the program and/or overwrite your data.

If I was forced to share my PC with someone I would create a new wallet.dat file with a few dollars of bitcoins on it and use that as a decoy. My real wallet would have a new name like cat.img inside a folder full of cat images. :P


If you want to protect your bitcoins from attackers your best tactic is to hide them where a automated program wouldn't look and under a name and file extension the program would care about.

Usb sticks for short term storage only

I think we may be chasing a Red Herring here.

Flash manufacturers test their devices at >125C, which is EXTREMELY hot, for 1000 hours with 0 data retention loss to be standards compliant.

According to this study, which someone posted in response to a Trezor discussion, 1000 hours at 150C is equivalent to a century at 25C

http://www.nxp.com/files/microcontrollers/doc/eng_bulletin/EB618.pdf

You believe what you want but my own personal life experiences with memory sticks have tought me to be very weary of the listed manufacturer specifications and tolerances.

Paper wallet
Laminate it
Keep in bank safety deposit box (~ $15 - $25 per year)
Tattoo private key microscopically camouflaged within another tattoo on your body.

Make sure trusted family member has access to bank safety deposit box in the event of your death. Also inform trusted family member of hidden tattoo for private key(s).

Another option could be to keep copy of private keys in separate safety deposit box at a different bank in case you don't like tattoos or in case you die in a horrible fire and your body is burned to a crisp or you get eaten alive by sharks or a pack of wild dogs.

Also be sure to give trusted family member access to this second safety deposit box in your death will.

That's talking about the silicon, the wafer itself. Not the whole device, which has other parts (caps that short, resistors that drift up, possibly other silicon, circuit runners/solder connections that go bad due to shitty substrate/thermal cycling, etc., etc.).
And, of course, it's probably something like half-life, e.g. "50% chance X will be broken in 100 years," that sort of thing, not a guarantee that X won't break in the next 5 minutes.

The company posting that study guarantees its products for, according to them, 10 to 20 years. That's replacement cost, AFAIK, not "we'll make good on all the data you lost."

I Laminated some stuff when I was a kid and now 20+ years later I find some of the ink has blotched a bit. Just make sure the ink is dry first.


Yes Just as a new AA battery can lose charge over time a SSD or USB memory stick can lose the incredibly weak charge it holds in each of its millions of gates. A solid state device has no moving parts, data is stored by

holding a small amount of charge inside each gate, that charge over time can leak out. Some memory sticks can hold up to 3 distinct energy levels so even the smallest change in voltage from electron drift or whatever

can over time change the output of that gate corrupting your data. This is why you must power them up from time to time. The controller inside the USB device or SSD will 'top up" all the gates with the appropriate

amount of voltage to ensure you don't lose any data but it must be done regularly.  

There are other failure mechanisms that can cause a gate to lose their voltage, I was just reading about "whiskers" (because they look like hair) growing off cheap tin transistors causing faults.

http://www.jacmusic.com/html/club/Link-List/Whiskers/microscope1.jpg

Well, 6 different sticks on 6 different locations should do the trick!  ;D

Can this really happen? because i have never experienced something like this in my whole life. I never had trouble with any of my usb sticks that I use so maybe it depends on which usb.

What about hardware USB wallets? Since it is USB based, it has to be regularly plugged in?

Keeping anything in a bank safety deposit box is worse then taking your chances with storage devices.

I am not completely sure what will happen to the data on the device if it's been left unpowered for months or even years but assuming that Bitcoin hardware wallets have the same flash memory like in ordinary thumb drives it's possible that the data may be lost if you haven't used it once for years. To feel more safe you could just create backups of the private keys of your Bitcoin hardware wallet on laminated pieces of paper and keep them in addition to the hardware device and if the hardware malfunctions you could always restore your Bitcoins by using the paper backups. It's never a good idea to put all of your eggs in one basket.

I known fact that USB devices starting losing data after long term storage, but i think in fututre people will make device that will hold data for years.

Flash ROM will eventually lose its data at room temperature but it will take an exceedingly long period of time for a new drive.

For a very heavily used drive or one that is stored at very high temperature, the data loss is a real issue but for a new drive that is rated for 1000 hours at 120 degrees C I suspect the other components will degrade before the ROM stops retaining its data.

Time to burn our cold wallet keys or dat files into a dvd rom and chuck it in a dry box?

You should read the Trezor user manual (http://doc.satoshilabs.com/trezor-user/index.html) to appreciate exactly how a Trezor works. The 24 word seed that is generated when you initialize your Trezor is the source for all your private and public keys and bitcoin addresses. As long as your seed is stored safely the longevity of the Trezor device is irrelevant. Lose it stompt it to pieces if you like. Then just recover your seed to a new Trezor and back to normal. Most folks who use Trezor keep a spare around for just that. I have Trezors that are two years old and still work fine by the way, but I certainly do not expect them to last indefinitely. The seed in effect is your bitcoin and as long as you have your seed your bitcoin are completely safe.

You can use the same Trezor for both bitcoin and litecoin and Ether support is expected as soon as Mist developers get around to integrating the Trezor API. There are other hardware wallets but I consider Trezor the most versatile.

Great post, thanks for that never thought of that, although i do have most of my private keys on paper also.... how can i learn about hiding my wallet inside an image?

Bump. (｡◕‿◕｡)

easy way --
1. Encrypt your wallet with a very strong password
2. Save it in several cloud storage
3. And for extra security save them on several HDD

that's all ;D

I agree that usb stick is not recommended if you are going to store your bitcoin,there are specific hardware storage for bitcoin anyway there are already a lot of safe and installable applications like electrum to store your bitcoin but of course,don't put all your eggs in one basket,we never know what could happen..

Yes it's true. I knew someone and told them to keep proper back ups but he wouldn't listen and walked around using his USB stock from work to home. I kept saying you can lose it etc etc but no he knows best. Well anyway. One day he went to his pc and put the USB stick in and guess what ? It said it needed to be format because it was corrupt.

Always back up !!! Click save and save again when you work. With your bitcoin keep not one not two but as many backs ups as you can. Always back up !!