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This is how i keep my private keys safe since i can't afford to buy a hardware wallet.
1. A complete new harddisk
I bought a new harddisk and install window 7 on it and copy all my private keys in there, i don't bother to leave this harddisk in the pc, after the copy is completed i remove the harddisk and keep it.

2.My Recording book
I have a long hard shelled book that i use for keeping records of all the airdrops and bounties i promoted because sometimes i used to forget easily so i write down my recovery seeds in this book as well

3. Flash Drive
I have a good 8gig flash drive as well that i use to copy software and files from one pc to another so i format this flash drive and copy my private keys and recovery seeds in it.

At first no one knew i am into crypto stuffs and secondly i don't share my room with anyone cos i am living alone, those who have people around them with face problems like friends going behind your back checking through your stuffs or even stealing your things, hardware wallet is still the best though.

pretty good information, but some people have their own way to store private keys without hard wallets. I myself currently use a flash disk to store it. besides that, I also store it in a WinRAR with password, and it is stored in some online storage. Well, I'm sure it's very difficult to realize that these are private keys.

The best way to do this is to store private keys in a Linux distro like Mint or ArchLinux on an Airgapped device that has never connected to the internet. Using windows the security risk is higher. Do not waste a full had disk on that though.

Keeping soft copies of your private keys on separate locations is again risky of theft from one location which has least security. That you need to assess. Written private keys are at risk of being lost or destroyed by water or fire and being stolen.

Compared to this hassle, a hardware wallet is definitely going to be better.

the way I store private keys
1. I use a web wallet (Myetherwallet)
2. Bookmark the web wallet site to avoid phishing attacks
3. copy on white paper, PC, MOBILE and flashdisk
4. I will not tell anyone and only I personally know about this.

You will be fine if you are not connecting to the internet since you've load windows7 setup on the harddisk already, its a very good move and since you are living alone and no one knows you have something valuable in keep they your private keys will be safe from preying eyes but still hardware wallet is hassle free

The information provided is very helpful. I've experienced being hacked before. So, I started making sure that what I am accessing the correct web wallet. I bookmark the website. I also never click on any link. I also make sure that my computer is properly maintained, free from any virus and malware. I keep a hardcopy of my privatekey. Wallet security is a must, a lot of people are losing their money because of being careless.

If you are using web wallet then your private keys is not safe, if you are thinking its safe you are wrong, unless you don't give full details, web wallets are wallets that still requires for login to access the wallet even if they use private keys,this is why its risky cos anybody can get access to your login details, why not use standalone wallets? the app version on myetherwallet is even better

Thank you this is very important and valuable information. I keep my private keys on paper and in my safe. Perhaps banks with their safe-Deposit vaults will be needed for this in the future (thoughts)  ;D

Good to see that this works for you. However, of might not work for everyone. It is also good you admitted that hardware wallet is the best.
Also, if you can afford to buy another hard disk coupled with a good flash drive, you should be able to purchase a Trezor wallet, because it is not so expensive.
It is much safer to use a hardware wallet, because your external hard disk and flash drive can be corrupted with malware, which might lead to loss of information.

Store it down to the HDD and encrypt it is my way to go. However, a hardware wallet is preferable if you have a huge sum of money stored into your address otherwise not really worth it. There are even some people who write down their privkey to a steel plate and then store into somewhere else they think safe.

But in my opinion, just save it in your drive is just fine (make sure that your HDD or flashdrive didn't have bad sector) , especially if you live alone like what you described above no one is going to barge into your house searching a HDD even better if it's encrypted aswell. A paper wallet can do too, but is easily burned, lost or torn apart.

Everyone protects the private key in its own way and this is yours. Even I have read here that someone created signs to keep his private key. There is a sign for every letter and number that he uses that way.  The more reliable, the better, but I am going easy way, maybe if I have enough BTC to scare, then I will find my own way of protection.

Its bad news for all investors who are using online web wallets, why not use pc wallet or mobile wallet? any wallet that ask for email and password to login is very dangerous either you are given recovery seed or not someone can have access to your email one day or if your email got hacked you will lost your coins

You might also upgrade your Windows 7 into 10. If you didn't know, Microsoft has already announced to cut their support to Windows 7 by January 2020. (https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/windows-7-support-ends-year/)

Go upgrade to Windows 10.

What you do is good and I think most are doing that kind of protection and backup. Right several backups just to be sure although you have been living alone.

Even if you have a hardware wallet, you will still find ways to keep your private keys safe. A hardware wallet is not for saving private keys; it is for saving coins.

Anyway, that is great of you to find alternatives for keeping your private keys safe. But if you think that a hardware wallet is really expensive, think twice. A Ledger Nano S is only worth less than $70. That is not too expensive especially if you have a portfolio which is worth much more than that. And what is $70 if that means you really own them in the safest possible way?

That's some good strategy in keeping your private keys safe mate. I got hacked recently and i don't really know where the security breach was but it seems someone had a remote access to my pc and i had saved my private keys on my pc. A friend adviced me never to save my keys on the same pc which i use for activities in the cryptosphere. I have now written down all my keys and deleted them from my pc. Hopefully, this asshole would stay off my assets.
i have formatted my drive and also get a new OS. A friend also suggests to use linux operating system as this is safer than Windows. What do you guys think?

Believe it or not, better use the Wallet Paper safety or just write them down (print them if you feel better).
Make many copies of it in the safest place you feel comfortable with.
Flash Drive is a great choice, anything that is not connected to internet is the safest you can get , that's for sure.

why you can't buy a hardware wallet? its cost is about 50 dollars. the actions you did are much more complicated than just buying a wallet

I presently write all my private keys and password offline on my diary and have a duplicate diary should one of the two not immediately reachable. I know hardware wallet remains the best when storing huge fund, keeping the wallet offline without any interaction with the internet remains safest.

I use wallets with local passwords like metamask, but this wallet will not require entering the Private key regularly. The remaining is to keep the Private key safe by printing it on paper and keeping it safe, and finally, Security for my computer.

having lots of backups and airdrop and bounty notes is very useful, but protection must also be extra. If you use a flash drive and a special hard drive, you need to provide more protection for the Private Key by pressing it and then give a password, it will be safer if there is malware that suddenly attacks your device. Make sure Antivirus remains updated.

Metamask is also very good, I use it for transactions in decentralized exchange to be more secure without the need to enter the Private Key again. But be careful about fake metamask too, be sure to download the original extension on the official website. or check again before downloading.

I think you could put your private keys together with important credentials like pass phrases, username and passwords to other sites like web wallets, account in exchanges, etc.,  to an encrypted password manager like KeePass and protect it with a master password then after that, partition your harddisk into two drives - C: and D: and make an encrypted volume in drive D:with the use of an encryption software like Veracrypt, etc. and once done, copy your encrypted password manager file to the encrypted volume and disconnect your harddrive from the system unit and keep it somewhere safe.

In the event your that your harddrive is stolen, the thief will surely find it very difficult to access your encrypted file in an encrypted harddrive and wouldn't even notice that there were important data in that harddrive of yours.


Your recovery seeds are almost like  private keys and its not advisable to just write it down on a recording book which is very insecure in nature. Use a password protected spreadsheet app like excel to store your important records and store it also an encrypted volume in your harddisk  as mentioned above.


You can encrypt your flash drive also and password protect it. Additionally, you could make another redundant back up as well.

Just a reminder: "Encryption is the key to security".

Having a flash drive and putting a password to it that you can always remember by heart is a good way of keeping privaye keys. I would never write it somewhere on PC or to a notebook, because you know if someone reashes it, your all assets are gone. If you keep them somewhere safer, it will be hard to reach so your keys will be in safe hands.

You shall read more about the differences between the private key definitions and the hardware wallets definition. The private key could be stored safely when you write it on a paper and save it in a safe, really safe place. You'll not need anything else more than that paper to save your holdings in. Don't fear and don't be acting like that, it's fine.

Ooo yeah. You very good keep anonymity you private keys. Keep up the good work.

Indeed, it has become fundamental in securing our wallet, if I only store it on a PC (which is given a password) and upload it to Google Drive, if at any time the PC / Laptop is empty, then there is a request on Google Drive. I recommend storing private keys in pdf files and online in dropbox. Because if one day my offline file is missing or wrong, I can still download my file in the dropbox.

Harddisk can get damaged without using them and same as flash drives too, paper wallet is better although it can get burnt but keeping it in a safe locker is better, i like using new email account to keep private keys, i don't use the email for any other things except keeping private keys inside

save it in a notepad or any kind of words app and store it on a safe folder which cannot be easily find (hide it)
Put a password on your computer and never share it to anyone. Like me i dont let any one borrow my PC and i am the only one who know the password.

I have a hardware wallet but nevertheless, I also store passwords and keys on paper and only I have access these records. Perhaps this is not a very modern method, but rather reliable.

I think storing your Private keys in mutiple forms is best. Paper and usb sticks hardware wallet is good to.
just dont leave every copy in one place in case of a fire you can always get a safety deposit box

I once lost a coin from the Airdrop result. At that time I gave me the wrong wallet address and what I gave was a private key. I saved my private key in WPS Office and mixed it with other data.

So it became a mistake that I thought was very heavy. I was lucky because inside the wallet there was only one type of coin proceeds from Airdrop. Now I keep it in a place that I think is safe. I have two computer devices and that one serves to save the data. And now I have minimal errors and the computer also can not be hacked.

Good, although I've got a ledger nano S, which to me is affordable. I also use a personal book to write down mnemonic phrases and private keys. I have a metal trunk where I keep my important stuff, that's where I keep the book. So even though my friends and family come around, nobody gets access to the trunk. Well, everything that has an advantage also has a disadvantage, hence we should weigh both sides and choose the best safety measures to safeguard our private keys. Thanks

One last thing, even though you've exercised the utmost security practices in protecting your sensitive information such as placing it in a secure medium and in a safe place doesn't mean you will be complacent with your security setup and let your guard down!

I guess you forget that there are other ways that your private keys might be obtained, maybe with a phishing technique through unsolicited emails, manipulated links and pop up messages, etc - all of this are techniques employed by intruders to gain access to your important information such as private keys, etc (without even touching your harddisk physically!). I hope you should be aware of this and be vigilant always before its too late!

Nice tips dude. but until right now, maybe most people are not doing this way.
My self still doing old school method with burning all of my important file into DVD rom. To avoid virus, and maybe deleted from another way (exactly we will not this happen). All you guys think this way still worth?  ;D

Securing our trezor in terms of missing it out or events that people gets it is really alarming that's why as much as possible still have other ways like those OP stated but still be sure on where you put and left it, example the printed datas or if we prefer to print better make it a mini notebook were you can paste those prints and secure in some fireproof and waterproof small cases along with your important files. But be very careful on whom you discuss your earnings with to avoid envy by others.

I’m thinking about this one too and I feel like the process are more complicated than using a hardware wallet. Ledger is a good one and you don’t need another hard drive to protect your wallet because its already on the ledger and all you have to do is to keep your private keys away from anyone.

Hardware wallets are good investment if you have a serious amount of cryptocurrencies its the best choice in my opinion. But its individuals responsibility on how they keep their private keys safe no matter what method they apply.

Nice idea that you shared here, I also do not have a Hardware wallet, because it is a great idea to order it online on amazon if I'm not mistaken, one of the things you mentioned I do is Flash drive or USB if call all private key, seed phrase and password as well as addresses saved, while no nano ledger for storing my coins. I can only ask if you saved it from your pc. You saved the pc passwords and private keys do you delete them too?

Such wise ways to take to protect your coins. Don't need a hardware wallet if you take care like this. Never connect your hard disk, or Pendrive with internet to be 100% secure. I heard some hackers can hack all the money only by an email! So, whenever you have enough money, buy a hardware wallet first.

Thanks for the idea, I think the title is misunderstanding because hardware wallet keep our private key but we still need to keep the 24-word recovery phrase. My choice is 2 because most of the time the safe ways to keep our private key/seed is write down in a book or paper, keep it's on flash driver is another option if confirm pc is 100% clean and not infected virus.

I think your  strategy  is great  i will share  with my friend  who computer got hacked  remotely by the time he realize most of his  tokens were  gone. But I am going to use this strategy  as well  thanks  for sharing.   

I did not save my private keys in online because I know that there is a chance that I can lose my fund because of hackers. What I did is I print my private keys for me to ensure that I am the only one who have access to my funds.

How is it complicated? hardware wallet cost 50$ of cos i can't afford that, i bought the new harddrive for 10$ and i don't connect the harddrive to the internet, its much safer this way but i know hardware wallet is the best but my option ain't bad either

I'm glad you posted that nobody knew that you are into Crypto because you have just posted where and how you keep your private keys, if anyone of your relatives or friends know who you are in this forum and they read this thread, they will try to look on that flash drive or hard disk, better not post where and how you keep your private key in public, there is a risk doing that.

ABBC (https://abbccoin.com) has developed its new wallet to be non-custodial. This gives the user full access and control to his/her own private keys.

Users receive their private key/mnemonic seed phrase once they register on the ABBC Wallet. The unique mnemonic phrase generates and protects the private key.

We strongly urge our users to write down the mnemonic/seed phrase (safest method) and keep it someplace secure because this phrase recovers your private key and account. Otherwise, store your private keys in an offline flash drive.

The mnemonic phrase is as important as the private key. It is the only way to access the ABBC Wallet.


Check out our Blogs:
ABBC Wallet Tips: Secure Your Mnemonic Phrase (https://abbccoin.com/blog/abbc-wallet-tips-secure-your-mnemonic-phrase/)
How to Restore ABBC Wallet (https://abbccoin.com/blog/how-to-restore-abbc-wallet/)

I use to store my private key on a separate harddisk. but then the harddisk got corrupted and lost my wallet. now I'd put it online on some very private email address.

The best way is the copy book which is prone to error of missing one word or not copying the words correctly. What if someone makes away with your hard disk?
Or what if the hard disk gets corrupted ot demands a flash? Getting a hardware wallet is the safest way of protecting wallets.

There's this story about one who claims to be Satoshi that lost his private key because he sends his laptop with the harddisk on it, now you don't want to make the same mistake like that one who claims to be Nakamoto, the best thing to do is to get a copy of you your private keys and create copy and use your imagination to keep all three copies, so if one is compromised you still have two turn to.

Hardware devices is the safest option for holding private key. If you are not able to buy one then keep you private key in a place with no internet. Like a flash drive. And don't use it frequently. Use it when it needed.

Having another drive would work or there could be a code written on paper or something.

This is a wonderful information and I use mostly the second option in the case of backup phrase but when it comes to private keys I use the first option, so that I won't make mistakes while writing it down, in this case I just copy and paste. Secondly I have friends who are into crypto too, but that doesn't mean I have to be reckless with my information so what I did was to hide it in places they will never access, because they will respect my privacy.

I also thank the OP for the info. I liked reading this thread.

One of the ways I keep my private keys safe and even without possessing a hardware wallet, and would greatly recommend is by making sure all data, I mean personal information, private keys, and other login details are kept personal indeed. Alos, making use of the two factor authentication (2-FA) system. These are really great ways to keep your account protected, and safe from hackers.

My solution is to write your private key on a piece of paper and divide it into four and distribute it to four different parts of the house. Even if your house is robbed, they can't be found. Or you can divide it into 2 pieces and put it in different bank safes. Of course memorize the exact solution.

Print the private key encripted with a password you will never forget(may be the first paragraph of your favorite book or something)
Hide it in some place people would never look for, like an old book or magazine(write it directly in the book might be better because a piece of paper may drop if someone goes through your things looking for something hidden).

Also make backups just to be sure

You like to play games with yourself. One day your dog may eat some parts of your BTC.
I use encryption in ZIP with password. Then sometimes I add new seed phrases to this archive and upload to the cloud. To be more safier I make several copies on flash card and HDD. Main rule - write your main password somewhere, but no one will guess what is this password from.

They are also good options for saving your private keys but I think I personally prefer to use paper wallet to store my private keys, although paper wallet is risky also, relatives and friends could steal it, and this is why I laminated it and then store it in my safe in the bank, another way that I also store my keys is true hardware wallet that you don't use, desktop wallet has been very effective to me and I don't use it on a personal computer that I use to browse the internet often.

I guess I am lucky to have up to about three personal computers, one of them is strictly dedicated to my cryptocurrencies, which I just store my information such as wallet key, and use it strictly for anything that is related to cryptocurrencies without having to connect it to the internet, so I am not scared of any phishing software or scammer.

I also store all personal wallet data in a personal e-mail, because e-mail is safer and will not be lost when the hardware we use suddenly breaks down, as long as we keep our e-mail well, so that our data in the e-mail remains secure.

Majorly, I tell people that the safest and most secure way of keeping your wallet safe is by creating a secure file and storing your keys there. Something that only you have access to. You can also write out on your personal diary, or anything, but the key thing is that only you should have access to it, or if any other person should have an access, then it should be someone trusted.

I don't think it's enough if it's just backed up in an e-mail. I think it's better to store it in other cloud storage so that it increases the security of our wallet data and also don't forget that the data is encrypted to be even safer because the email or cloud storage provider is a third party. which may not guarantee our data safe.

You don't share and don't talk about that you are related with crypto. But i have question that if something bad happen to you (Of course which i don't pray) what about your crypto then..? I mean no one knows about you that you have some crypto right..? Then it's totally useless but if you tell some trust able person that you work with crypto then might be it'll help your family don't you think..?

I know that you are doing this because of satisfy, i also do that (Copying my secret kye to pen drive or hard drive). All i'm trying to saying that tell someone that you are a crypto worker who know those stuff (crypto related) don't tell how keep safe your crypto. Because who knows one day it'll help your family when you are not here.

This is also my second most concern, don't talk to anyone about cryptocurrencies. They might be interested in stealing your funds or force you to give it to them voluntarily through force.

The reliable people to tell is the family but if he has a wife better tell her then next would be his parents. Just don't trust other people out of your bloodline.

I do too. I think it's a great way. But I also have a hardware wallet. Many write that this is the best option, but I wonder what people will do if something happens to him? How will they restore access to funds on wallets?

I also want to add to your security, install anti-phishing on your computer, and do not activate the free VPN together when you access your private key, my friend has a bad experience about it

As much as possible I organize important files related to cryptocurrency in one folder. Then duplicate it on several devices and applications, this makes it easy for me to access and monitor it from my device that allows it. In addition to maintaining security, we must also wisely use the internet so that there are no loopholes for hackers to hack our devices. May we always be safe.

Pretty goog advice. I just have two copy of my private keys. One on the notepad here on my phone and one another device or usb drive that is kept safe somewhere. You should have segregate copy of the file  aside from the phone cause you dont know the phone might got stolen or lost somewhere. If this happened you dont have choice and lost permanently youre account.

A secure file will help the attacker to take more time trying to get a wallet. That is a nice thing to have.

For me, the safest and most secured way of storing your private keys and password is through printing it, what about make you password in a format like QR codes? then scan and take picture when you need it. In that case, you can just store your cryptos very safe to your physical folders and even delete your data in your computer or cellphones. That can be considered as anti hack, safe, and most secured.

Using linux or something safer would be a nice idea or you can keep your private keys in a usb dirve and lock it with a key that you will always remember. Of course do not write that key anywhere, only you have to know it or someone you trust. This is what i am doing to keep my funds safe. I did not wirte my private key anywhere because it can be stolen.

Totally agree, you can also write it in a paper so you can have now a 3 copy of private key that secured backup.
Private key is very important to us crypto users injust one simple mistake  your stored coins might be lost if you will not carefull.

I store my entire altcoin in binance. have not had any problems in the last few years and I think it is safe enough

1. I have hard disk never used, When I try to use and connect to PC, my hard disk warn me to format it, I can't open my harddisk and lost my data.

you have to read this https://superuser.com/questions/284427/how-much-time-until-an-unused-hard-drive-loses-its-data

3. I think the same as a hard disk, be careful.

Recording book/Paper was good but when the water dries it or fire, so you lost it.

I have a reference for you, Are you heard about the steel/metal wallet?, I think it's good for you.
You can write your seed and private key on steel, fire and waterproof for sure.
here for reference
- https://cryptosteel.com/product/cryptosteel/?attribute_letter-set=mnemonic
- https://medium.com/hackernoon/cryptosteel-is-out-of-beta-and-into-the-fire-7f5bf6368654

On 1 be sure that it is really well hidden a vault will do provided you have a big amount of coins that have a good potential in the market
On number 2 That's ok if you don't have a little brother or sister who will not mess up with those books
On number 3 be sure to make it really hidden people might be curious about what on it it's probably not the safest of the three because everyone can readily see what's on it.

We have a different way on how we keep our private key. But, it's better to have hardware wallet especially if you have a lot of cryptocurrencies. My way to keep my private key safe and secure is through storing in a flash drive then I will put it in my safety cabinet which also has a lock. It's better to have another copy of the private key and do not ever share it to anybody because you do not know if that guy will open your wallet and might use your cryptocurrencies. Lastly, I highly suggest if you have a lot of cryptocurrencies especially bitcoin you should use a hardware wallet.

At first you need to generate the private key in offline mode. Secondly you need to write it manually because there is a chance that hackers will see private key when you try to copy it or print it. Then cut the paper into 3 parts and put them in 3 different places. Paranoid level 100  :D.

It's true that using a hardware wallet is the safest way to store your private keys, but my ways to store my private keys is keeping it in my laptop and my phone, so i could easily check it and i am the only one who can access to it. I know it is a risky to store my private keys in my gadgets because when i started to repair my gadgets they could steal my private keys, but good thing i don't need any repair because i can repair my laptop and my phone if that happens.

1. I usually store a blank sheet of paper
2. 2 layer extra security like 2FA, code phone ...
3. Use another hard drive to store the locked file

I always recommend hardware wallet. But if you don't have the money to buy one. I would suggest you to to use a separate USB device to store all your key. Better if you use more than 2 and keep it in safe place.

USB devices don't always live long, i have 2 dead usb devices i bought at high price, the three can die on you before several years pass, the reason why i include paper wallet is because of this, only fire or water can destroy them but if keep in safe nothing will happen to them, i still have a book from 2012 with me which consist of some login details

Each kind of storage has its own pros and cons,if you choose paper as the way to store keys then maintaining it be an issue,atleast you have to change the storage place every five years to ensure you are not losing your keys,but the flash drive depends on how quality it is,if you buy a metal like drive then it will last longer than plastic ones.

All of them that you mentioned on the above post is good way but, everybody has own strategy to do it. l prefer flash disk or mobile, pc wallet. In my view, it is better way instead of using web wallet. When you are using web wallet, someone can steal your coins. There are a lot of ways to do it, but we must be careful if the security vulnerabilities are not solved yet. If you hold your private case on your phone, it can be stolen, it would happen in one day, you can lose everything.

Good point though. :D :D So we can say that no matter which way we choose it's pretty difficult to safe our secret keys.  ;D ;D



Wow.. It's really cool. I never seen like this before. Idea is really good and seems like it's a solution of those problem which you pointed above. I don't know how much costly it is or how much easy to use but i love to try once.  ;)

Very important topic about how to keep safe private key. Although i don't think without hardware wallet you will 100% protected. If you stored keys in your book it’s too much risky because book can be damage or it will possibility to public. Even Hard Disk stored isn’t enough safe i think. Suddenly it also may be lost or most possibility to be destroyed. Offline wallet is huge security to protect your wallet from hacking,pishing sites. No alternative effective ways to keep safe private key without hardware wallet.        

Flash drives and sd cards should never be used as a primary backup. They get corrupt very easy. Like I had a flash drive that I had music on and had it in my car for a year. After a year in different weather, hot and cold but it wasn't damaged and had no contact with water, it started acting strange. Would skip tracks, jitter a lot. You could see it needs formatting.

If you have to use something don't use SSD too because it can't be recovered. Use a normal hard drive and best if it's a new one because it won't have any old data mixed.

if there is no money to buy a wallet for $ 60 then why do you need a wallet if there is nothing to store on it? very strange. when there is nothing to store - the wallet is not needed

Great and thanks for sharing a brilliant ideas to keep safe your private key, but everyone have an own style and strategy how to keep safe their private safe storing.
I share how I keep safe my private without any hassle buy expensive gadget, I sent my key at my email draft msgs and the back up at the my own messenger messages.

Safety is expensive but accidentally your seed and the private key were broken are more expensive, right?
I was watching the video on how to use cryptosteel and write your secret there.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyJjd46ADnM&feature=youtu.be

I keeping some of my altcoins and bitcoins in online wallets. I still not experiencing some bad service because the wallet that I am using is trusted and have high security. There is still a risks but it is only low so I know that my funds are secured.

Using wallet software on an offline computer, not sharing information with anyone, the best security right now is like that! Good luck!

Only one way how to keep your private key of myetherwallet keep save without have hard ware wallet just use one browser in your laptop or your phone only access to myetherwallet, never use your browser for access to other website, you have two browser in your computer to keep your private key is save.

Saving the utc files in google cloud or google drive is quite safe since you can add multiple factors authentication to secure your account

I don't copy and use my private keys because it is very delicate and if not handled with much care can lead to the breach in security of wallet. I prefer to use the Json file and password to login because it is very difficult for a third party to come into contacts with these two login details. Keeping them as backup on separate flashdrive is a good one.

We wallet doesn't safety your private key that's think you need use hardware wallet for fully safety your wallet. Before two years ago i was saving my private key in my phone book but i read many topics this not good safety, so now i only use hardware wallet for safety my private key.

in this sense it is very useful for new users, usually they do things in an unstructured way and therefore a lot of hacking occurs. and I have a suggestion for data storage to always check every week and do backups when needed, in the case of data backup people may very rarely do it and therefore should be reminded of this important matter

Using a wallet can be a good choice for people who cannot buy a hardware wallet. But I still prefer to use a hardware wallet because the hardware wallet can save so many types of coins.

But if you only want to save private keys, I think that will not difficult as you only need to save in a safe place which only you will know. Don't tell other people if you already save the coin in the wallet, so they don't try to ask you to check all of the coins you have.

Desktop wallets are also susceptible to attacks because hackers can send malware through email and may get into the desktop wallet. Not all the desktop wallets have strong security and can be trusted. Getting a hard ware wallet is best but in the instance when it cannot be afforded, it is good to use the keystore/Json file and password as login details instead of the private keys. Using the two login combinations makes it very difficult to breach the security of ones wallet.

If you don't have a hardware wallet and you still want to secure your wallet by keeping your private key safe then you should store it online. How? By just simply writing your private keys or a back up phrase in a piece of paper and if you want to add some protection to the paper then you can just laminate it and store it in a place where you know, no one can steal it.

Why so much complexity. If you can't buy a hardware wallet, then you don't have a lot of money.You can just install a good antivirus and not crawl on bad sites.But you bought a new hard drive.It is not much cheaper than a hardware wallet.

in fact there are so many ways to secure it and security always depends on the user of the wallet. so I think more about security depending on the user and how he can access it very carefully when he wants to open his wallet and backup data elsewhere

Just make sure that the place where your keys store is safe, and the only one can access this file is yourself
at the same time , don't entrust the password of your computer, to other people because it will be a risk
because anyone can access your computer if the password is known to others,
encrypt your computer hard disk , if you really want to be safe, so that if your computer is stolen only you can open the files

How can you say if that was a bad idea because if you can manage it properly and then USB can be used to create our own cold storage use paper wallet as the main wallet and then store it in the USB?
It doesn't make sense if you are saying if that was a very bad idea because that depends on how we can manage it.
Just try to look at some people have used it since long time ago and they never got a problem.

This is one way you can do when you want to safely hide your private keys from the hackers. Remember that hackers do have many ways to hack your computer, They might be spying your computer and just waiting to put your private key into your wallet and secretly recording every keystroke that you do on your computer.

It is better to buy a hard wallet if you are afraid to be hacked especially if you are holding a large value of crypto tokens. A hard wallet is somehow cheap now like ledger nano s, It's nice that you have an assurance that your crypto assets would not disappear without your approval.

Hardwell it is the owner of the option to store your Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency. If you fine to keep your friends in your desktop also that would be great.
It is completely based upon your privacy and security systems you are using to to keep your funds safe.
I have all my privately in my computer hard disk only since I started I didn't face any issues.

While the other methods are OK, I don't agree with this. Imho a new HDD is already a purchase and the price difference to some 60-70$ of a hardware wallet doesn't justify the hassle. (You know that magnetic disks need a refresh every couple of years, right? (https://blog.macsales.com/43702-we-bet-you-didnt-know-that-your-hdds-or-ssds-may-need-exercise-too/))
If one goes for cheap methods, paper is the easiest to store and hide. And if one, instead of saving there a private key, will save the seed of a wallet, most people will not even know what strange haiku he has there.

There are many ways to store your private keys

1. Store it in your removable devices like flash drives, memory cards
2. Store in offline computer or in computer that is protected by antivirus
3. Write the private key on paper and store where you can easily find it but hidden to the other people.  (you can do this if you want to give to your family after death)

There is still a lot of ways to store your private keys you just have to do it in secure and creative way.

You have a good setup there where you hide/keep your crypto stuff. I guess you should also had some copies of it somewhere not in your house because what if accidentally your house get burned, for sure it is the end for you. Keeping it on your cousin or relatives that doesn't know about cryptocurrency is also good.
I guess you can also put it on the vault if you have.

It is always safe to use a hardware wallet but if you don't have one then I will suggest you that  buy more than one flash drive and keep it in safe place. You can use anything which has no direct internet connection.

My private keys are stored in a cloud storage, zip file and has a password on it, and on my phone safe storages. It is good to save your keys from a different places for your security and protecting your information from hackers.

One thing that i don't have yet is ledger nano since i have a doubt using it and thinking i may get hack anytime. Is there anyone here using it?

I do not agree with you if the USB wallet is Ledger (http://ledger.com). Hardware wallets are almost the most reliable ones, and if it was not already there would not be much demand.
The best wallet is the most reliable, also the Ledger is easy to use. It is not as hard as you think: https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000613793-Set-up-as-new-device

The best way is to write every private key down on a piece of paper or in your notebook and to store it in your desk. This is much safer than using external drives, usb sticks or word document on your computer.

Good practice but you should consider storing your private keys in the cloud for easy access and backup as well. I usually keep my private key on the flash drive and also create a backup on the cloud using my MEGA account. I use MEGA cloud to store all my documents and so on, including my private keys.

Flash Drive is my best way, it far from the computer and use it only when you need it, this my way.

Keeping  backups of your private keys is always the best especially when it is done  offline. Personal diaries are always cool that is when you don't have people around   who are likely invade your privacy. One important thing is to be careful with the people you share your personal information with it.

Frankly, I don’t like your methods. Writing private keys to a notebook in which you keep a lot of crypto records is already fraught with problems.
A virus program can download a USB flash drive immediately when it is connected to the system, therefore it is better to use an encryptor similar to a bitlocker, both for a USB flash drive and for your Windows 7.

You can just use some kind of folder with password and keep your keys there.
Furthermore you can use some kind of encryption program if you are afraid that simple folder with key is not enough.

Either on hardisk, flash drive, or any devices wherever you want to put your backup, i recommend that you make a copy of your backup at least 1 of it.
We will never know if something bad happening to our devices like broken, lost, or stolen.
Copy the private key and save it on the disk, and copy on other place as well.

Firstly I need to let you understand what private key is. Private key is a cryptographic key that can be obtained and utilized by anyone to encrypt messages intended for a particular recipient, such that the encrypted messages can be deciphered only by using a second key that is known only to the recipient (the private key). Private key are part of the essential things needed to be kept safe when it comes to cryptocurrency.

So I will suggest you keep your private key safe by writing them and printing them out or putting them down on your Flash drive and make sure you don't share your flash drive with anyone so as not to be compromise.

Thanks for your advice, its well noted and the fact is i don't have people around me, i leave far away from home and love ones so every thing about my life now is enough privacy, no one knows that i am into crypto and i don't intend to tell any one either

Very Good I have also used and applied the same procedure for my coins/wallet private keys and i am sure this is safe way if you can not afford or you don't take interest in the hardware wallet like ledger etc.

This is the best method on what you listed this two will really help a lot if you can't afford to buy a hardware wallet like trezor and many more plus this is the method that I'm also using to keep my passwords and different private keys for my accounts. I can't totally recommend the hard drive method because a hard drive can easily be corrupted (base on my experience).

Personal diaries regardless if you live alone in the forest or something like that it's still prone to people stealing the information away, it's like a book that you keep telling to people not to look but your word will only make people more interested and curious.
It's always better to keep your privkey encrypted rather than saving it on an unprotected book like diaries, maybe you think it will be fine but there will eventually comes a time where people just  secretly look into your diaries. However if you encrypt it it will be fine I guess, still I would prefer saving it on an offline desktop.

thanks for the advice yes, I also do not do to open a strange site, I keep my private keys in email and so far safe because I installed a second security like2fa.
sometimes I get emails about you getting airdrops but the amount doesn't make sense, so I ignore it.
try all your accounts, be it exchange or other accounts using double security, if the feature is available on the site.

Many ways.
steel wallet for private keys:
many choices,like cryptosteel:https://cryptosteel.com bithd:https://bithd.com

This is the most secure way to store your keys unless you lost it.

Another way:
use offline phone to store:
Many wallet support offline signature,so you can use online phone for submit transactions,and offline phone for sign transaction.

bither.net  token.im  both support offline sign.

3rd way:
use solid USB storage for private keys,this is also workable.

Don't trust too much of storing it online specially if it's very sensitive. Second security like 2fa can still be acessed by hackers in a lot of ways. Although it seems impossible, yes they can. That's why storing all of your information offline is the best way since hackers have no acess on it, only robbers.

I agree, I once experience to save my wallet in my hard drive and it was corrupted where I cant recover it anymore. Buying a hardware wallet is better, its not that pricey to even spend a little for the security of our investment. It is for our own good and it wont let you down once you store funds in it.
You can also use google drive to store private keys, and the list of the projects you become part with, it is safe because you can enable 2FA to secure your drive.

Where ever you keep your private keys, it is fine, just don't keep it on online storage like email or cloud or something.
Keep your private keys stored offline, and encrypt it with password. With this way, even if there is someone steal your files contains private keys,
they will need time to brute force the encrypted files.

I believe that the safest way to store your savings is with a hardware wallet. To save your coins, do not store your passwords and keys on your desktop, back up your keys on a USB device, don’t follow suspicious links and don’t believe in instant money.

Just to see it that nobody knows about where you've stored your wallet keys. Not also advisable to keep it your PC/laptop but rather to save it into USB. But, we all know that using online services still prone to hacking and might to say that all our transactions can be traced. Therefore, though how much we care about our key but not a guarantee nor to get 100% assurance that we are totally safe.

Careful is all that we need. Think first before we proceed into the next step.

1. give to your girlfriend tell her,if u give that Private key to someone, we will be finished. ( never do that btw.)
2. create a secondary email with no linked with anything, both exchanges account or airdrop/bounty. and put your PK on that email.(always works for me)
3. just saveit in your PC and make it clear, no one can touch it.

I always keep on many devices. such as PC, handphone or virtual device. If one of the device error I still have such backups and do not need to worry.
Additionally, I normally create a private key folder file and I save it in a virtual drive whose link is only I know. And until now remains safe and unproblematic

Without hard ware wallet you can safe your private key with access correct myetherwallet website, you have check the myetherwallet social media and looking which one theircorrect website, bookmark in your browser and always use your bookmark browser when you acces to myetherwallet, it will make your data and your private key always safe if you running based on what have I give you way how to access to your wallet.

The best way to keep private keys safe without hardware wallet is to store them on a flash drive and keep it safe somewhere else outside the house. Perhaps, storing the private keys on different Flash drives and keeping them at different locations will help to retrieve the private keys in case one gets spoiled. Also, the Flash drive must be purposely used for just the private keys and not be used as a routine Flash drive for storage of data.

What I have been doing is keeping my private keys to a safe place like google drive and an extra copy to my flash drive. Saving bookmarks for wallets and websites can also give more security to avoid phishing. Avoiding to download any unnecessary applications can also help to secure and avoid from affecting your computer to malware and viruses.

We have a different ways on how to keep our private keys to be secure because we all know they have so many hackers can get our private keys easily.
So for me ill put it on my Flashdrive or any of my flash drive that i have for in case i lost one of them so that i have some extra. Must better to separate of it try to save it into a safety device that we have.

Yes, saving it in multiple copies is highly recommended. In addition, hackers are very vulnerable to phishing site attacks, if someone accesses using a WEB wallet like MEW, they must always be vigilant when using it, including bookmarking the site is also important. but it's much safer to use a hardware wallet like Trezor or Ledger Nano S

Yes, it is manual and costly or labor intensive. Why don't you think about buying an old laptop to do transactions and just focus on working? That's the only way hackers can't hacked your wallet.
I am using my own computer to work and never use it to access any unfamiliar websites or use any technology that requests server information.
I think that's the best way to secure and save a lot of money.

She's still your girlfriend and not yet your wife so better not to give details like this unless you really trust her. I don't have trust issues with girlfriends or what but as long as you haven't tied the knot, you should keep it on your own.

It's the same way of your explanation about giving your PK to someone.

There's a possibility that your gf will leave you after taking the funds on your PK.

After doing that make sure not to use this storage online keep it as offline storage from that point it will be more safer. You need to learn that hackers
are waiting for any opportunities so you need to think the same way. Preventing anyone to access your offline storage and make sure to have a paper copy
of your private keys in case something wrong happen to your machine you still have other way to access it.

Hard ware wallets are very good when it comes to wallet security although they do not grant a 100% security. Private keys are very vulnerable because it is a one way login. I prefer not to save my private keys but rather use the Kstore or JSon file with a combination of a password to access my wallet. This two-way login is very difficult to hack because one needs to hack both Json file and the password before gaining access to my wallet.

Yes, because once the hackers get any information even a little, they can easily hacked the wallet anytime. They are just waiting for any crypto users to make a mistake and leaked any information from their wallet, and they will attack as fast as they can.

That is a very good idea, maybe I will do such a thing for now, because there is too much work besides crypto that makes me forget what I have done and forget to put recovery because it happens randomly. thank you boss for your knowledge.

To be safe is to avoid any form of exposure. Even hardware wallets can be compromised when it's details gets exposed. If you stay around people, your goal should be a maintain a very high personal safety not necessarily using offline mode of safe keeping.

And even better to store these encrypted files on removable media, then hackers will not be able to get to it if they break into your computer. Another storage option is an old computer or laptop that does not have a physical Internet connection.

flash drives are very susceptible to lose, we can't say that flash drives will last forever with me.. my personal experience, I accidentally lost my flash drive, so I don't really agree with flash drives.

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my advice, it would be safer if you saved it in your other email which you never used to register on any site, then connect the email with your smartphone connection.

NO, It wouldn't safe to keeps your private key on email. It's very high risk to be hacked than keep it on a flash disk.
https://www.shoutmeloud.com/how-do-hackers-hack-your-passwords.html
https://www.avg.com/en/signal/6-ways-your-email-account-can-be-hacked

Write your private key offline on steel I thing good idea

To make sure that all my copies of my private keys are safe I print and keep them with my important documents. And I delete all my copy on the pc so that even if it gets infected by a hacker virus they do not have access to important information.

Hackers are good at these methods so we should be careful and secure our wallet private keys.

Carve your private keys or recovery phrases on a wood and flip the wood upside down in your wardrobe, this is what i do with mine and i put my shoes on the wood in form a shoe rack, i have been using three wallets since 2016 now and i have not lost a coin or token

totally agreee, why not giving it to your sisters or brother instead of girlfriend.
But for me its better to print the private key add frame  and put it in your room  that way it will not look like a private key . those people who can only notice this one is the one who has background in crypto.

hi, may i visit your room ?

all jokes aside, i have my backup seed written down on my bible

How about you passing on and no o knows about your private keys?, what happens to your funds in exchanges, it means everything you laboured for is gone, I personally write down all my private keys in a book that I always keep at a safe place.

No sorry, only trusted persons can enter my room since there are many important things  here  ;D .

Safe your private key on flash drive is better than you safe in your computer, but never give to any one else or you family using flash disk with other computer, most important if access to myetherwallet with correct site, always check double on myetehrwallet social media about what the correct link of myetherwallet before you access and log in your account.

I think you should rather go for a hardware wallet because it is more safe and secured. Well if you are using a web wallet or other means to store your token, I think you can save the keys on a flash drive or save them Written on a paper offline. For web wallet, be very careful of the link you click to avoid painful memory. 

I think you should go for number two recording book because it must safer there than hard disk and flash drive.
Recording book you save all your secret password email and anything else.
So choose wisely so that in the end you do not regret.

There are also online wallets that can secure our tokens like mew. I'm using mew in 2 years and I still not experiencing any bad situations. My funds are still there and for me it is safe to store our coins.

it’s best for you not to click on any links from unknown websites, and then it will be easier for you to live in this market.

The best way i keep my private key is writing it down somewhere on a notebook and keeping it safely in my wardrobe at home. i have also abstain from getting to search or click any form of Ads online. Though Hardware is the best method but i personally have been able to keep my private keys safe by making sure i safe them in my flashdrive and keeping it from friends.

Well, I think keeping them in a flash drive I mean the private key is cool and safe, also you could save them ofline in a paper. Remember that when using a web wallet, you really need to be mindful of the links you click on, this is to avoid pains in the future. Like everyone would say ,hardware wallet is still the safest

no need to bother if your family are all honest people. just save it on 3 different flashdisks and place it in a place that you think is safe. check every third month of the flashdisk, is it still functioning / not. to minimize undesirable events, my private key is carved into steel that is strong and resistant to any weather. after that I store it in a safe / planted in the soil with a strong layer.

_____________
but it's easier to store in a hardware wallet.. only around $50 :P

I find two ways as a very secured ones (but I am not sure if they really are).

1) By using virtualization software like Virtual Box or VMware, one can easily install a fresh OS and install wallet and keep up coins there.

2) Other thing that I use a lot is that I keep my private keys inside a notepad and change the file format and mix up with some other files (not much). But you have to be careful with the name since you have to keep that in mind to open it back again.

I think 1st one many guys have done that.

I am hoolding bitcoin and Eth. And i don't use that wallet for regular trade . I just printed my private key in a paper and locked in my locker. I Don’t keep my wallet in external hard disk or pendrive ( for holding long time) because if it crash i will lost my private key.now i am not afraid because there is no way to hack or crash my disk or pendrive :)      

Your solution isn't the best way when still connect on a hard disk or flash disk,
When you scrolling up this post, I wrote something about harddisk/flash disk

That's also my concern if I'll save mine with hard drive or a flash drive. But having both written and saved on a hard drive that isn't being used for the meanwhile and you will access it when you will sell, I think it's a good backup. That would be the risk of being crash or broken if you misplaced it but you have a back up in a written form which everyone does.

It's contradicting, does this means that you're also using it?

from all your reason above, the point is keep your private keys outside from your computer or leptop mate
maybe thats the only way to keep our private keys safe

Yes, a hardware wallet will provide you with better security, but if you cant buy it, it is quite possible to do without it. You do everything right, we need to take care of safety as much as possible.

Yes, Flash drive is one of the old ways of saving your private key and yet still effective. You need to have a separate flash drive for storing your private key never use the flash drive you use every day because it may likely get infected with a computer virus. After you save the private key on a flash drive you can make backups on either a hard drive or cloud backup. make backups in case you lose your flash drive.

The most secure and the most brutal way to store your passwords and private keys is a notebook for sure. No electronic stuff or anything potentially hackable, just paper and a good pen :)

I prefer to store private key online wallet on my PC, what you are doing is too complicated, especially to save it in three places. I save it on a PC and no one can turn on my PC because I gave a password. My PC is also connected to the cloud drive, I can control my data from the personal network. I think all the things done can be damaged, I mean there must be a weakness in storage, for example if you save in a book it could be lost, including the network that I created could be attacked.

Are you don't know how hacker access your PC?
How to avoiding Hacker trying to infect your computer (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2985767.0)
You should read this: https://www.bullguard.com/blog/2015/04/how-hackers-access-your-computer.html

Yes, same when you keep it on your PC it could be hacked.
On this case, Book never online and never hijacked by the hacker on the internet. It will be very safe when you care to keep it

I am not using this for my long term holding.I keep my private key in pendrive for my daily trading not for long time holding. Because sometimes need to use coin thats why I stored my private key in pendrive.But I have different wallet one for holding and one for regular use.Holding one is stored in a paper.

My own version of keeping my private keys, simply I would create a back up of them through excel file protected with password encryption. This file should be equipped of all the details I had for crypto assets spect the private keys of my wallet, as well as the google password and emails. For now I still have no proper filing, and hopefully I can work it out as soon as possible including hard copies compilation.

Even if you will write your key you could forget it so use wallet that always reminds you the private key and don't share your private key with anyone it can help them to hack your account and all your coins could get lost I use to keep my private key in my phone and I don’t share about it with unknowns ever.

Okay, I've understood it now. Because I've got confused with what you've said that's why I've asked if you're also using it. As you have said about pendrive and there's no way to hack it. Be careful with malware because they can make your file there corrupt although you have a back up but still just mount it to the PC that you are using. Don't mount it almost everywhere and I do think that you are aware of it.

Well that's great idea that you use different wallet for trade and holding. But why do you think that your disk or pendrive will not be hack or crash..? Cause it's possible that somehow your PC/Laptop attack by virus and then your pendrive..!! How can you be so sure that it won't happen to your pendrive..??

If you can not afford a hardware wallet then buy cheap pc and install the new window and anti-virus then store all your private keys, passwords, and other precious data there and never try to connect this pc to the internet and one more important point never permit anyone to use this private pc.

any cold wallet will cost less than any computer. I don’t understand people who say that they don’t have money for a cold wallet. If you do not have $ 100 for a wallet, then you do not need to worry that your funds will be lost. you don’t have so much money

The cheapest way is to keep your keys on paper. Just write them down and keep them somewhere safe. Extra funds required: $0 (Since you probably have a pen and paper lying around somewhere) Just make sure you don't keep it somewhere it could get damaged or stolen easily. For example your physical wallet would be a poor option. You can keep it in a small safe box if you want. Also consider encrypting your keys so you don't lose it all even if it gets stolen.

Personally the keys I keep on my PC have lower amounts of balance but I use cold storage for my HODLing coins. And I have several copies in case it gets damaged or lost.

Perhaps I will say something very strange, but for a more secure preservation of my secret keys, you can use the old and proven method using a printer and paper.  Or manually rewrite the keys on paper and store them in a safe, away from fire.  I believe that at home a fire is much less common than hacking and data theft by hackers.  If everyone is worried about the security of their computers and their cold wallet, then it is better to follow this example, which I am talking about.

Fire is pretty common if you check the statistics of disasters occurring in the world. Secondly it is not just fire but also water and animals which chew on paper to end up in their stomach and then in their poop. ;D

Nah, it not which is why security experts do no recommend it. But nice of you to put it in thought.

The better way is to go for a hardware wallet or an airgapped linux distro which has been prepared for this purpose and never made online. Though this is not very difficult to set up, it needs expertise and knowledge on part of the owner of the wallet.

The second Computer he means with Pentium III or IV prices will be less than a hardware wallet.

He doesn't have money to buy a hardware wallet

You are right enough. It looks like the process is complicated.

I also stored my private keys in a flash drive and kept it in a very secure location, several flash drives actually because something might happen to one and I would lose everything, additionally I wrote them down and stored in a safe location too, security is paramount when dealing with Cryptocurrencies and I take the security of my funds very seriously because scammers are everywhere searching for a wallet to hack and steal someone's hard earned funds.

You can also write in a piece of paper and keep in a closet or in a place that you can hide. Treat Bitcoin as your valuable stuff because this is just like money or a bar of gold. When someone will see that you have Bitcoin stored they will be tempted to steal it from you. Just take care of our private key safe that nobody knows, our responsibility to keep our valuable stuff. If that is a big amount you can make a metal vault that no one will open it and all your valuable things are in there.

Storing private keys on your hard drive can be fraught with certain risks. Such as damage or failure of the optical drive of the disk, or some other type of damage.
In other words, you will have to have several such disks so that you have several backups at your disposal. I think you yourself understand that storing private keys in only one place is too dangerous.

The more copies you store the key in, the more chances of getting it stolen. Keep it in one disc and replace it every 2-3 years. If you have a place to store documents physically like a bank vault, keep it there.

Or if you are paranoid enough, keep then in the form of a puzzle in one vault, another piece in another vault. Like a small treasure hunt game. ;D

Unless you are a huge-cap trader you should not have to go beyond hardware wallets. But I doubt any whales actually visits this forum anymore.

good advice. but at least we are not careless enough to protect our private key. usually those who are hacked are those who are careless, of course, after we follow the hacker instructions, then all our data can be known. for example they spread it via email

Although OP method of keeping private keys may look good but, those methods are odds because they aren't safe at all. How do you keep your flash drive from viruses? I would not encourage any to get into that. An old laptop or computer can be perfect in this haven the network remove from the system completely.

Do not connect to the internet, if you do your pc might get compromised, staying offline is safer that is why paper wallets will always be my favourite

I'm keeping my private key in a piece of small notebook alongside with all my password seeds and phrases of all the platforms exchange that i have interact with, No more rituals just a plain written piece of paper, with a waterproof cover its just small that even fit in my wallet.

Their are many ways how to keep your private keys safe, And their are some site that can save our important files. I do not know what it is but I saw that on when one of my friend saving all of here files. And you can write that also into a paper if you want to be safe always, or anythings that you have at your house can be useful that can put it for your private keys. Using USB its is good but need to careful cause of some virus entering in your USB so it have time erase them.