Electrum on a Linux Live system

[joe1234]

Hello forum,

I am wondering if for a once-in-a-month Bitcoin user it would make sense to install and use Elecrum on a Linux Live system….
(to me this seems more secure than to use a Bitcoin wallet-software on my rooted (but well maintained :-) mobile)


2.
Does it make a difference in such a scenario, if my private keys are stored in the wallet-app or in hardware wallet?


Thank's in Advance for every feedback!

Joe

[BitMaxz]

Well, using Electrum on Linux OS is fine but if you still using it online it's not 100% safe,
and don't use a rooted phone for storing Bitcoin is not safe. It can easily be infected with malware and viruses.

About your question two. Yes, there is a huge difference since you mention it was a rooted phone it's not safe compared to a hardware wallet.

If you are planning to store a big amount of BTC hardware wallet is the best option but there are some alternatives like cold storage which is safe compared to the rooted phone.

[20kevin20]

If you're willing to create a Live CD for Electrum, I would use a HW in combination with it. It's much easier than having to restore the seed every time you have to use your wallet. You just plug it into the PC, open up Electrum and create a wallet using the HW.

If you want the safest storage, create an airgapped PC for storing your coins. You could use an old PC for that purpose.

[Coin-Keeper]

I would like to offer you a much easier method.  Tails has Electrum in it.  If you download Tails and verify the download via GPG you are safe and good to go.  By using Tails your actual hard drive/SSD is not being mounted so any activity remains OFF your machine making it amnesiac!   Electrum works fine on Tails.  I use this method to investigate SEED and wallets without connecting the machine to the internet.  i.e. its becomes a great Air-Gap machine to experiment with things.  Just offering another use and solution if you care.  Be safe either way!

If I plug in the ethernet cable its online, if I unplug it I am "gapped".

[bob123]

I am wondering if for a once-in-a-month Bitcoin user it would make sense to install and use Elecrum on a Linux Live system….
(to me this seems more secure than to use a Bitcoin wallet-software on my rooted (but well maintained :-) mobile)

You'll have to decide this for yourself.

It definitely would protect against some attack vectors.
Whether the decrease of usability is fine for you, is up to you.

Does it make a difference in such a scenario, if my private keys are stored in the wallet-app or in hardware wallet?

Yes, definitely.

From a usability point of view, a hardware wallet is preferrable.
And from a security pov it really depends on how you manage your linux system (i.e. is it completely offline and air-gapped?)

A completely air-gapped cold wallet system is considered to be more secure than a hardware wallet due to the decreased attack surface.
However a simple live-booted linux distro is not as secure as a hardware wallet.

[NotATether]

Part of me really wants me to make a Linux live OS based off of Gentoo (because custom kernel compile is necessary) where you have the option to turn off USB, network hardware at the boot menu so that stuff can't ever get used while the OS is running.

And then have popular wallet software & tools preloaded on it to facilitate its use as cold storage. I don't think anything like this exists yet.