Are my coins in Electrum safe with my current set up?

[Jsweezy12]

Hey guys, I know my coins in electrum are safe, however Malware on my system could be a threat. I use the same 5-10 websites and don't really download any programs. I also have Avira Antivirus running and Malware Bytes for Scans.

Do you guys think I am safe from a Malware stealing my coins? Do you guys have any preferred anti virus software that can scan for Malware known to target wallets specifically?

I ordered a ledger early June but it has not shipped.

Any other advice to secure my wallet? I know cold storage is a good option but the set up looked complex.

Thanks for all the help guys

[Muhammed Zakir]

Your wallet is safe as long you don't visit suspicious websites, download files only from trusted/verified sources and don't transfer files from others' computers.

If you are still feeling insecure, wait for Ledger and move your bitcoins to it. Hardware wallets are safe, at least for now.

[Coin-Keeper]

Hey guys, I know my coins in electrum are safe, however Malware on my system could be a threat. I use the same 5-10 websites and don't really download any programs. I also have Avira Antivirus running and Malware Bytes for Scans.

Do you guys think I am safe from a Malware stealing my coins? Do you guys have any preferred anti virus software that can scan for Malware known to target wallets specifically?

I ordered a ledger early June but it has not shipped.

Any other advice to secure my wallet? I know cold storage is a good option but the set up looked complex.

Thanks for all the help guys

I know that the two computer cold storage procedures look complex, but in reality its a simple process.  I see you have a Ledger ordered and it shouldn't be too long for you now.  If you are basically storing a few coins until your Ledger arrives you may be content with letting them sit there.  YOU have to decide if you have too many coins with keys stored on an online computer.  Not trying to be personal but if its a fraction of a coin just waiting it out should be OK for you.  Maybe on the other hand your personality might enjoy the fun learning curve of setting up a two computer cold wallet.  I did that for a few years before going hardware wallet.

One other idea while you wait for your ledger.  You can copy the MPK from your seeded wallet and create a watching only wallet for use on the online computer.  Just save and hide the seeded Electrum wallet and ONLY use the watching only wallet to view your coins.  There is no private key/SEED in a watching only wallet.  Malware cannot steal coins from a wallet without private keys or SEED present.

[Jsweezy12]

"One other idea while you wait for your ledger.  You can copy the MPK from your seeded wallet and create a watching only wallet for use on the online computer.  Just save and hide the seeded Electrum wallet and ONLY use the watching only wallet to view your coins.  There is no private key/SEED in a watching only wallet.  Malware cannot steal coins from a wallet without private keys or SEED present."

This is what I would like to do, but I am so technologically illiterate, I am afraid that I will mess everything up during set up.

I just wanted to move coin off any exchange and into a safe spot.

[Muhammed Zakir]

"One other idea while you wait for your ledger.  You can copy the MPK from your seeded wallet and create a watching only wallet for use on the online computer.  Just save and hide the seeded Electrum wallet and ONLY use the watching only wallet to view your coins.  There is no private key/SEED in a watching only wallet.  Malware cannot steal coins from a wallet without private keys or SEED present."

This is what I would like to do, but I am so technologically illiterate, I am afraid that I will mess everything up during set up.

I just wanted to move coin off any exchange and into a safe spot.

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

You can create a normal wallet in a another secure computer or closed environment such as liveUSB without persistence. Backup your seed and xPub. See above link for steps. You must backup your seed before shutting down if live USB without persistence is used. Otherwise, that wallet will be lost forever and you will have to create a new wallet.

[pooya87]

i am on windows, i have Eset Smart Security v. 10 and i don't download or install anything shady on this pc (i use a sand box for that). i have been running an electrum wallet for over 3 years and never had any issues.

BUT this doesn't mean i am safe! it is still a hot wallet and i keep small amounts (pocket money for spending) in it.

in order to do what Muhammed Zakir said in above post you need to be a little familiar with Linux. otherwise it will be a nightmare (speaking from experience )

[Muhammed Zakir]

  -snip-
in order to do what Muhammed Zakir said in above post you need to be a little familiar with Linux. otherwise it will be a nightmare (speaking from experience )

If you are using command line, then it maybe more difficult than you image to set it up in Linux for those who are unfamiliar with Linux. But, Electrum has a GUI app which you could use. So it is as easy as setting up a normal wallet, just more time consuming.

[pooya87]

  -snip-
in order to do what Muhammed Zakir said in above post you need to be a little familiar with Linux. otherwise it will be a nightmare (speaking from experience )

If you are using command line, then it maybe more difficult than you image to set it up in Linux for those who are unfamiliar with Linux. But, Electrum has a GUI app which you could use. So it is as easy as setting up a normal wallet, just more time consuming.

it's the whole process not just the final step.
for example the process of running the linux live USB, booting up, installing electrum in an environment you have never even seen. specially doing it offline!
the online things is easy just type in sudo apt-get thing and you are done. but installing the tarball was a nightmare for me.

specially since i needed to verify the signature of everything! #ThrowBackSunday