Bitcoin Forum

Can anyone tell me which is more secure and why?

Trezor hardware wallet or Tails live booted from verified DVD using Electrum

Security from tails depends on how you will store your private keys. It won't be very different from using a wallet without Tails.

Hardware wallets main advantage is that private keys never leave the device and are really hard to extract.

...and to add onto that, hardware wallets are a lot easier to use than alternate cold storage methods. Rather than boot from a DVD into Tails, you just need to plug in your Trezor, open your wallet and send your funds. It doesn't get much easier than that.

I'd say as long as you safely secure your private keys (ex. memorize your Electrum seed, keep the seed written somewhere secure), using Tails + Electrum would be as secure as a Trezor. The main difference between Tails + Electrum and a Trezor is the cost - if you're planning on storing a large amount of bitcoin in your wallet, and you're willing to shell out $100 for a hardware wallet, I'd recommend the Trezor. However, if you aren't storing large amounts, or you don't want to spend $100 on a hardware wallet, then Tails + Electrum should serve your needs just fine.

I'd like to add that you lose a layer of security if your Tails is connected to the internet.
You can always sign your transactions offline and broadcast them with anything else though.

Thank you both for the replies.

Can Electrum pull your wallet balance from a seed if it is offline, but is a lightweight client?

Do you have a link handy on how to sign an Electrum transaction offline and broadcast them?

Thanks again!

From Electrum docs: http://docs.electrum.org/en/latest/coldstorage.html

No one really uses two computers for cold storage anymore except some hard core Armory fans. Trezor is so much easier.

You're mixing up different things now as Tails is a Linux distribution and Trezor is a hardware Bitcoin wallet.

They are two completely different things.

Not really, in this case. You can set up a secure bitcoin wallet inside of a Tails environment, or instead use a Trezor. The OP was wondering which bitcoin wallet is more secure: an Electrum wallet inside of Tails, or using a Trezor inside of his normal OS.

I was not aware that because they are two different forms of accomplishing the same goal that they could not be compared in terms of security.