Computer/Electrum Security

[viking02]

Hey all.  What security precautions do you all use with your computers but especially with your computer with your bitcoin or altcoin wallets?


For example, i use keepass to create and store passwords etc.  Thus these passwords are randomly generated by keepass etc.  Back then i would put simple passwords until i heard of keepass etc.


But for your computer, say if it gets stolen or someone has access to it, what must be done before it where they cannot hack your computer or check your programs or put a virus to hack your bitcoin or altcoin wallets?


For example, does everyone here put a password to at least up their computer?  I use windows 10 but when i start up computer, well i never put a password.  So if thats the case, wouldn't it mean someone with access to this laptop could just go to a site and click on a dangerous link and then your computer is hacked?


However i heard doing this doesn't really do much.  Is that true or not?  I heard that the startup password does not do anything at all and can easily be reset.  Is that true?


I read something about you need to encrypt your hard drive and if you do that, then if your computer gets stolen or someone has access to it, then they cannot check whats there etc.  Is that true or false?


And if so, can someone tell me what steps one needs to take to do this?  Thus even if someone has your computer, they cannot access anything on it?


And if you don't have any security on it, does that mean someone can hack your bitcoin wallet or any wallet if they have your computer?  However, could they do this if you have a password for your bitcoin wallet when sending bitcoin?  Or could they not do this?


I use electrum and many people seem to agree its a pretty good wallet.

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[ranochigo]

Hey all.  What security precautions do you all use with your computers but especially with your computer with your bitcoin or altcoin wallets?

Honestly, I don't do much (bad idea lol). I never click on any suspicious link or programs and that's the minimum that anyone should do. Having an anti-virus is recommended though not an absolute.

But for your computer, say if it gets stolen or someone has access to it, what must be done before it where they cannot hack your computer or check your programs or put a virus to hack your bitcoin or altcoin wallets?


For example, does everyone here put a password to at least up their computer?  I use windows 10 but when i start up computer, well i never put a password.  So if thats the case, wouldn't it mean someone with access to this laptop could just go to a site and click on a dangerous link and then your computer is hacked?


However i heard doing this doesn't really do much.  Is that true or not?  I heard that the startup password does not do anything at all and can easily be reset.  Is that true?

Yes. It's very easy for someone to reset the Windows password. To do this, you have to setup a BIOS password and make sure the boot priority has HDD as the first boot. If you forget your password for the BIOS, it can be hard to reset it.

I read something about you need to encrypt your hard drive and if you do that, then if your computer gets stolen or someone has access to it, then they cannot check whats there etc.  Is that true or false?


And if so, can someone tell me what steps one needs to take to do this?  Thus even if someone has your computer, they cannot access anything on it?


And if you don't have any security on it, does that mean someone can hack your bitcoin wallet or any wallet if they have your computer?  However, could they do this if you have a password for your bitcoin wallet when sending bitcoin?  Or could they not do this?

When someone has access to your computer, they likely still have the ability to install a malware and capture your passwords to unlock your data. If someone steals your computer, the encryption should be pretty sufficient. They cannot crack your wallet without your password if they stole it.

[viking02]

Hey there yes an antivirus is good but that isn't that absolute


Isn't the password setup for windows 10 done in user accounts somewhere?  Im confused why you mention bios.


Im confused with the last part.  If someone has access to your computer, they can install malware.  But if someone steal your computer, they can still install malware right?  Or not because they dont have the password?  However you say the password is very easy to reset so im confused what you mean here.  So if someone does not have your passwords but say you use a program like keepass for your passwords, does that mean they cannot crack your password to your bitcoin wallet and other things etc?  Can others confirm this?  But i like to know what step by step can be taken to assure even if your computer is lost or stolen, then the other person cannot access any of your files.  But of course the bitcoin wallet and any altcoin wallet is most important etc.

[Thekool1s]

What i would recommend is to enable 2FA, electrum allows this and is quite easy to setup. even if you get compromised on your pc, the hacker won't be able to transfer your coins due to 2FA, also just make sure to never store your seed on your pc. 2FA is the best solution in my opinion, even if your pc isn't password protected and gets stolen, you will always receive the 2FA message before someone can cashout your earnings

Also Any sound person who has basic knowledge of the web can quite easily differentiate between a fake link and a real one, so that shouldn't be a problem, if you are good with computers. i have never used a single anti-virus in my life, never got infected because i know my stuff, so it's up to you how you want to go about it and how you want to protect your bitcoins.

[viking02]

anyone else?

[kolloh]

Hard drive encryption would be the beat method to prevent unauthorized access to your computer should it be stolen. A windows user password is easily reset-able. Using keepass witb unique passwords is definitely good practice. Just be sure your master password is pretty secure.

If you are storing a large amount of coins, a hardware wallet like the Trezor or Ledger Nano S is recommended for the beat level of security. These devices can be used with Electrum as well.

[viking02]

What happens if someone has access to your computer and your trezor or ledger nano s then?


Also isn't trezor and ledger nano s only for bitcoin?  What if you have other altcoins?


Is hard drive encryption easy to do or hard for the average computer user?  And which program would be best?

[HCP]

Have you considered using Google at all?

"Hard drive encryption windows"

or

"Hard drive encryption Linux"

or

"Trezor altcoins"

or

"Ledger nano s altcoins"

[timerland]

Honestly if you are storing small amounts i wouldn't bother spending the time to set up your computer in a more secure way than it already is (of course get some sort of antivirus, enable firewall and regular updates of your OS, but nothing fancy).

Keeping your electrum safe is really not different to keeping anything else safe. Your wallet file is encrypted, so as long as you have a strong password hackers shuold have a minimal chance of getting in even if your wallet file was compromised.

The biggest thing is actually backing up the seed securely in an accessible place, imo. I've seen more people forget their seed on electrum and lost their coins than people who got their wallet hacked and coins taken out.

[ChainSmoker]

I wouldn't use windows if i am storing bitcoins.I use linux much secure and free.No slow downs like windows.Tails+Electrum+Common Sense is the best combination for storing bitcoin securely.

[conspirosphere.tk]

if you are serious about security of your puter:
1) Do NOT use windows, use linux only. If you absolutely need windows set up a dual boot and never do anything confidential on windows
2) Learn to use partition encryption and use it to store anything confidential on all of your devices.
3) Never install any dubious software on your puter (including browser extensions)
4) Never access confidential info on an unsecure device (like any smartphone)

ah, and:

[A1exander]

if you are serious about security of your puter:
1) Do NOT use windows, use linux only. If you absolutely need windows set up a dual boot and never do anything confidential on windows
2) Learn to use partition encryption and use it to store anything confidential on all of your devices.
3) Never install any dubious software on your puter (including browser extensions)
4) Never access confidential info on an unsecure device (like any smartphone)

Excellent advice. I do not encrypt partition where the wallets are stored since the Electrum wallets are themselves encrypted, but 1, 3, and 4 are a must for me. I can add:
5) Learn to setup virtual machines (VirtualBox is free) and use them for experimenting with dubious software, including any new altcoin wallets.

[starpro]

if you are serious about security of your puter:
1) Do NOT use windows, use linux only. If you absolutely need windows set up a dual boot and never do anything confidential on windows
2) Learn to use partition encryption and use it to store anything confidential on all of your devices.
3) Never install any dubious software on your puter (including browser extensions)
4) Never access confidential info on an unsecure device (like any smartphone)

Nice advice so windows isn't advisable for those people who want to have a better security. So I've got a lot of things to learn first thanks for this.

[kolloh]

if you are serious about security of your puter:
1) Do NOT use windows, use linux only. If you absolutely need windows set up a dual boot and never do anything confidential on windows
2) Learn to use partition encryption and use it to store anything confidential on all of your devices.
3) Never install any dubious software on your puter (including browser extensions)
4) Never access confidential info on an unsecure device (like any smartphone)

Nice advice so windows isn't advisable for those people who want to have a better security. So I've got a lot of things to learn first thanks for this.

Windows can be secure if you do it right, but can be more difficult to properly secure. It is also a bigger target for attackers as many more people are using it so more malware is written to be compatible with Windows.

[starpro]

if you are serious about security of your puter:
1) Do NOT use windows, use linux only. If you absolutely need windows set up a dual boot and never do anything confidential on windows
2) Learn to use partition encryption and use it to store anything confidential on all of your devices.
3) Never install any dubious software on your puter (including browser extensions)
4) Never access confidential info on an unsecure device (like any smartphone)

Nice advice so windows isn't advisable for those people who want to have a better security. So I've got a lot of things to learn first thanks for this.

Windows can be secure if you do it right, but can be more difficult to properly secure. It is also a bigger target for attackers as many more people are using it so more malware is written to be compatible with Windows.

Yes, I understand that the demand of Windows is high and that's why attackers are staying more with windows too. But if there is no phishing link or malware that I'll click I'm going to be fine, right?

[khufuking]

Your best security option would be 2FA + very strong random password that you have a backup of it somewhere offline this 2 combination should be enough to make you secure .