Bitcoin Forum

Which OS is the most secure when I want to use a crypto-wallet and make transactions? I heard that Ubuntu, is it right? :)

Some people might say that Linux is safer but at the end of the day, If you're not careful with your browsing habits and with what you're doing online, It really doesn't matter which Operating system you're using.

My suggestion would be to use a Hardware wallet If you have anything above 1000$ and you're looking to accumulate more. Aside from, you should be fine using Ubuntu and Electrum as wallet.

Strict to your question:
From what I know people around here use to use Tails, but a google search for encrypted linux distribution (https://www.google.com/search?safe=active&hl=en&q=encrypted+linux+distribution&oq=encrypted+linux+distribution) gave pretty good results, here's a more extensive list you can check (https://www.techradar.com/news/best-linux-distro-privacy-security).

Extra:
If you don't do anything fancy, any distro is OK. Depending on the amounts you want to handle, hardware wallet or cold storage may be things worth checking.

I have to agree with OmegaStarScream, altough in my personal experience, i'd say *nix OS's are built with a different security concept... This, together with the fact that most virusses target microsoft products, do make *nix OS's more secure than microsoft products out of the box.

Offcourse, an end user can make the best designed OS vulnerable, or the worst designed OS secure... This is why you'll probably get a different answer to your question every time you ask somebody else... Everybody has their own experience, everybody has their own setup procedure, everybody has their own toolset they know how to configure,...

If you want a really secure, free operating system, you might want to take a look at openBSD

I would recommend not to use the machine running the wallet for anything else - not even surfing here.

Just install the wallet, run it, close it when you're done and shut down the computer.

Do not mix "important" wallets like your BTC/LTC etc wallets with software from unknown altcoins. If you want to run such wallets, use a extra PC with a virtual machine on it.

So:

1 PC running (e.g.) BTC client (the one client which is the most important one for you). Never do anything with it but running the wallet software. OS? Linux (e.g. Tails) > Windows, but in this case not as important as:

Second PC, running virtual machines for using fresh/unknown software. Do not store any backups from wallets on this PC. Use it only for experimental stuff.

Third PC or at least a seperate HDD running a fresh OS on it storing wallet clients you trust - as soon as they reach a certain value put the coins on a fresh wallet and save it on a USB Stick / paper wallet / etc

The most secure OS will be the one that you understand better.

For example, if you are using linux and some hacker get close to you computer, he could easy vuln it with:


He could edit ssh to allow anonymous connections and your linux will be the most vuln system.

So, there are no secure OS, use Windows use Mac or use Linux, and end you need to know your system to be on the safe zone.

Linux Mint is quite a like Windows, in terms of simplicity etc but it's still Ubuntu, you could switch full time to that and never have to go back!

If you hold a decent amount of coins and want complete anonymity/security when it comes to your transactions and crypto deals then I'd recommend tails linux ( of course I'm talking about an offline wallet here and not a node wallet.. IE private key only). It's just about the best OS on the planet when it comes to privacy and anonymity. Also If you use a hardware wallet you're pretty much guaranteed to be safe anyways on any operating system so the OS doesn't really matter in the end... A good thing with tails is as soon as you're done it basically erases itself. You can also use it anywhere on a USB drive, so take it anywhere. Heck do your crypto shit at work if you want!

https://tails.boum.org/

Well it HAS to be an open-source operating system. So let's just throw away any windows version or Mac version. You should only be using open-source software if you can. It is far more trustworthy, IMO. If you are new to Linux then Ubuntu is a good choice. There was a time when Linux was hard to use, but Ubuntu will be easy to install and use for anyone who has ever used a computer. There are a few things to learn, but not a lot. And Linux stuff is normally well documented. Ubuntu makes an old computer sing like new.  Burn an iso disk and give it a try, it's free.

https://www.ubuntu.com/desktop

All operating systems have vulnerabilities. Technically, from what I was reading earlier, OpenVMS on Alpha has the least amount of vulnerabilities released for it.

The most secure systems are airgapped rather than relying on system level security measures.

Hell, even if you have a secure operating system, if you have an insecure chip, you can still be pwned. Fucking ring-3 bullshit AMT and damned predictive timing attacks.

I believe nothing is secure. Even you have the safest OS in the world, if you gave your private keys then security is pointless.

I actually use windows XP even outdated I feel secured because I don't keep my keys around.

Ubuntu is just one of many distributions of Linux.
Linux is safe in general but mostly because most hackers write malware for biggest possible audience (windows) and linux attacks are more targeted for individuals.

So yes, in general you will be safer.

That's a good question. I would probably say some king of GNU/ Linux is a good bet. Just be sure to keep it up-to-date and don't install anything from unofficial repositories and follow good practices. Some hardening won't hurt too. On other hand I think Windows is the least secure OS right now when Secunia PSI is no longer available, I don't know how to use my Windows PC without this piece of software as there is no way to keep everything updated with latest security patches unless you manually update everything which is close to impossible in my case as I have a lot of software installed, I'm using this particular computer since 2011.

Using Windows XP is really really not recommended though, as there are zero security updates for that operating system now. If you were to use Windows, probably at least use Windows 7 so you receive security updates somehow. Even though you're pretty secure on your browsing habits, it wouldn't hurt to use a secure operating system.

ubuntu? No way.
Ubuntu is one of User friendly distributions have a good community and good support behind it but not known as safe or privacy focus distro at all.
It had many security problems during years.
Even there was scandals for Ubuntu . last one i know was "Ubuntu Spyware".
Mint could be a good choice for anyone new to this area to learn what gnu/linux is.
Among  the security focus distros the best choice could be tails as NeuroticFish mentioned above. has electrum wallet by default.
You can read more here.(https://tails.boum.org/ (https://tails.boum.org/)) its just live distro and not recomended for newcomers.
And check all distros popularity here. (https://distrowatch.com (https://distrowatch.com))


Its not true. you could not,Can not, and will not be able to Secure windows Ever.

The most secure OS is worthless if the user of the system behaves unsecure. 99,99% of successful hacks/scams are because of unwary enduser, not because of the system they use.
To answer your question: there are huge hacking contests each year with enormous rewards for teams which find leaks in common OS and browsers. MacOS and Safari are usually cracked first.

No operating system is that secure. Use hardware wallets as everyone suggested
Every OS has flaws. Also don't let your near internet if you want security and don't want to lose :p

True, but don't just give away your private keys. Do what you can to protect it, it's your money.

You have to upgrade somehow though like they said this depends on how you use your browser and your habit with what you download.

Does hackers are still scouting on older version of windows?

More secure is to use encrypted paper wallet (cold storage with encrypted backups) and generate transactions manually with coinb.in, electrum or bitcoind. Then you only need to use internet to get inputs (with your public bitcoin address) and to push tx. You can sign your tx offline therefore your private key is never exposed to internet.

Linux distros are secure in general and are better than Windows. If you also need privacy, make a tails usb (https://tails.boum.org/). With tails you can use electrum over tor with encrypted persistent storage. But even in this case an offline paper wallet is best.

Yes you are right . I'd recommend you to NOT download a cracked version of Microsoft Windows 10 or other version . Linux is free and completetly secure. Also for wallets I'd recommend you a external hardware

I'm not going to start a pointless discussion, but I wholeheartly believe there is no 100% secure os. Even the os you recommended has had vulnerabilitys at some point.

As you might have noticed from the part of my post you didn't quote, I'm not a Microsoft fanboy either. As a matter of fact, I maintain Linux servers as my daytime job. I still stand by my earlyer statement... For example: I'd rather run a tool on a windows server that has been maintained by a skilled windows sysadmin that had enough time and funding to do and maintain a proper setup compared to running a binary on a Linux box that has been installed and used by a newbie that made a lot of mistakes (like running everything as root, installing unknown binaries, not updating, no firewall,...)

I'm not interested too.
we are just talking :)


100% security does not exist at all.
But when we are talking about Security/Privacy OS it means it is safe and stable by default.
This is clear enduser could make it unstable easily.
The thing i like about tails is about its Documentation.(realy honest about privacy and security tools and concepts)


Which one do you mean? mint probably.
First of all i never said mint or any OS does not have vulnerabilities .
Every OS could have vulnerabilities in some period of time.(And will be resolved by updates)
But there is difference ‌Between vulnerability vs Backdoor or Spyware , ...


What you said (and i quoted) was Wrong conclusion .  I mentioned Microsoft windows for example.