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Title: Is it worth while to adopt Linux as my host OS for keeping my BTC secure? Post by: Capitalism Prevails on August 25, 2013, 09:30:46 PM Would it just be better to store my BTC on a virtual machine of Linux with Windows being the host OS? I installed Ubuntu 13.04 and i have to admit i'v had nothing but problems with it ever since.
It's definitaly not very user friendly. Everything should work seamlessly without hassle or learning terminal command and i have to admit that Windows did a better job of that. I can't pair with bluetooth devices like i could on Win7. My printer doesn't work because i have to use some kind of universal driver which takes up too much ram. And to top it off Virtualbox doesn't work very well either! I always have problems with sharing items between my host OS and the guest OS. I fix it one day and than it's broken. I thought Virtualbox would be my saviour but it's not. Title: Re: Is it worth while to adopt Linux as my host OS for keeping my BTC secure? Post by: Abdussamad on August 25, 2013, 10:06:58 PM If your host machine is compromised then the guest OS can also be compromised. So there is no benefit from running your wallet in a VM under windows.
Linux is not as easy as Windows but it is more secure if you use it right. I don't think you are the sort of person who is going to do that so you should stick to Windows. Keep most of your bitcoins in paper wallets generated on a second offline computer. Or install armory on an offline computer and use that. Title: Re: Is it worth while to adopt Linux as my host OS for keeping my BTC secure? Post by: batt01 on August 25, 2013, 10:09:39 PM Have a look at Zorin OS or Linux Mint, its still linux but more windows like.
Title: Re: Is it worth while to adopt Linux as my host OS for keeping my BTC secure? Post by: grue on August 25, 2013, 10:31:02 PM If your host machine is compromised then the guest OS can also be compromised. So there is no benefit from running your wallet in a VM under windows. I highly doubt anyone is going to write malware that can compromise a virtual machine and a the guest. It's by no means 100% secure, but it definitely offers more security. For added security, you can buy a USB flash drive and install linux on that. At least that way, a compromised windows system has no chance of compromising your (secure) linux system.Title: Re: Is it worth while to adopt Linux as my host OS for keeping my BTC secure? Post by: Abdussamad on August 25, 2013, 10:52:28 PM It doesn't have to be custom malware. A keylogger installed on the host machine will also pickup passwords, passphrases and deterministic wallet seeds you enter in the VM. For example when setting up an electrum wallet you are asked to type in the seed to make sure you wrote it down correctly.
Title: Re: Is it worth while to adopt Linux as my host OS for keeping my BTC secure? Post by: Abdussamad on August 25, 2013, 11:04:33 PM And if someone has backdoored your computer they can monitor everything you do and access any file whether it is in a VM or otherwise. So if the host OS is not safe you can assume the VM isn't either.
Better instead to install Linux on bare hardware as the sole OS on that system. |