This feasible? Linux live USB Ubuntu + External HD for safe wallet storage.

[ABitBack]

I think I've got this right, just want to make sure with you guys who are more experienced with Linux (Ive never used it). So my plan is to have a USB stick with linux (Ubuntu) on, I will then load bitcoin-qt onto it and only that and have the blocks/wallet on the external HD. I would use Duel boot and have it partition my windows HD but my bios is a bit temperamental and occasionally tries to load drives which aren't there, so dont want to mess with it anymore than I need.

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[HeRetiK]

I think I've got this right, just want to make sure with you guys who are more experienced with Linux (Ive never used it). So my plan is to have a USB stick with linux (Ubuntu) on, I will then load bitcoin-qt onto it and only that and have the blocks/wallet on the external HD. I would use Duel boot and have it partition my windows HD but my bios is a bit temperamental and occasionally tries to load drives which aren't there, so dont want to mess with it anymore than I need.

So if I understand you correctly, your plan would be the following:

1) Boot Ubuntu from an USB Stick

2) Install a Bitcoin wallet on Ubuntu

3) Store your wallet files on an external HD that only gets plugged in when you've booted Ubuntu

4) Ubuntu is connected to the internet, allowing you to send transactions directly from your wallet


Assuming you use your Linux installation only for making BTC transactions and nothing else this should be fairly secure. Not as secure as taking your private keys completely offline, but short of zero-day attacks it should be pretty safe. I guess the main risk at this point would be you accidentally plugging in the wallet HD while your Windows is running or some similar kind of user error.

[aleksej996]

Booting from USB for security is a double edged sword. On one hand, the OS is used for fewer things so it has a smaller attack surface. On the other hand the OS image you are booting from is likely outdated and during a initial connection to the Internet you are exposed to more developed exploits compared to updating as soon as the patches get released.

I never bothered with modifying bootable OSes, but if you are able to install Bitcoin Core on it then you might be able to keep it updated as well and do that regularly. Other then that, I see no problems with your setup.

[neurotypical]

I just made a thread asking about a proper Linux distribution to install a safe Bitcoin Core node in there that I would keep updated and would use to transact too. I was wondering how to set this up properly.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2331605.0

I have my doubts. Where should I allocate the blockchain files at? At the same partition as the Linux OS is installed? what happens when I run out of space? I want to buy a 1TB SSD m.2 disk, but I don't want to fill it with the blockchain since I got a Windows partition with video editing programs, games and other things that would profit more from the extra speed of the SSD, yet I still want to take advantage of it's fast speed to install the Linux OS partition there along with my Windows partition.

Should I get a dedicated 1TB 7200rpm HDD only for the blockchain and wallet files since it's cheaper? I don't know how to set it up.

[aleksej996]

I just made a thread asking about a proper Linux distribution to install a safe Bitcoin Core node in there that I would keep updated and would use to transact too. I was wondering how to set this up properly.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2331605.0

I have my doubts. Where should I allocate the blockchain files at? At the same partition as the Linux OS is installed? what happens when I run out of space? I want to buy a 1TB SSD m.2 disk, but I don't want to fill it with the blockchain since I got a Windows partition with video editing programs, games and other things that would profit more from the extra speed of the SSD, yet I still want to take advantage of it's fast speed to install the Linux OS partition there along with my Windows partition.

Should I get a dedicated 1TB 7200rpm HDD only for the blockchain and wallet files since it's cheaper? I don't know how to set it up.

First of all, you linked this topic so anyone clicking on it will have the same effect as refreshing the page.

It is odd that you plan to run out of space on 1TB disk, but I guess you have a lot of programs that you want to use. If you have a bunch of data that you don't want to delete, but still don't plan to use regularly then I would suggest putting those on an normal HDD disk.
It is all your choice depending on what you can afford and how much space you need for other programs. I can just tell you that blockchain would benefit from being on an SSD and that it currently takes less then 150GB. I can also tell you that in Linux you can make something like a shortcut on Windows called links.
A soft link is a file that points to another file and can be created by

Code:

ln -s target nameofshortcut

. Using soft links you should be able to point to blocks on another disk or partition. So you can keep part of the blocks on one disk and the newer blocks on another, but choosing your own setup is up to you and there is no single answer to it.

[ABitBack]

Booting from USB for security is a double edged sword. On one hand, the OS is used for fewer things so it has a smaller attack surface. On the other hand the OS image you are booting from is likely outdated and during a initial connection to the Internet you are exposed to more developed exploits compared to updating as soon as the patches get released.

I never bothered with modifying bootable OSes, but if you are able to install Bitcoin Core on it then you might be able to keep it updated as well and do that regularly. Other then that, I see no problems with your setup.

Not 100% sure I understand all of this. I've just created the bootable usb using unetbootin so I assume its the latest and for now it will be ok. What I dont understand is the initial 'connecting to the internet' risk. Are you saying I can get infected purely from simply connecting to the internet? I wont be using the OS for anything but running qt, not even browsing the web.

Cheers guys for your help!

[aleksej996]

Booting from USB for security is a double edged sword. On one hand, the OS is used for fewer things so it has a smaller attack surface. On the other hand the OS image you are booting from is likely outdated and during a initial connection to the Internet you are exposed to more developed exploits compared to updating as soon as the patches get released.

I never bothered with modifying bootable OSes, but if you are able to install Bitcoin Core on it then you might be able to keep it updated as well and do that regularly. Other then that, I see no problems with your setup.

Not 100% sure I understand all of this. I've just created the bootable usb using unetbootin so I assume its the latest and for now it will be ok. What I dont understand is the initial 'connecting to the internet' risk. Are you saying I can get infected purely from simply connecting to the internet? I wont be using the OS for anything but running qt, not even browsing the web.

Cheers guys for your help!

Updates to the OS happen almost on the daily basis, sometimes multiple times a day. It is unlikely that you downloaded a fully updated OS, let along that it will stay that way for very long. I am unsure how do you plan to install Bitcoin Coreon it, as I never installed software on a bootable OS. In my experience the changes to OS, like updates or installing a program when you run it, are not persistent and disappear on the next reboot. This could be different in your case, I don't know, so you might be able to update it and keep it that way for the next time you boot of it. As for the getting infected part, you can always get infected, hackers are smart, you are never 100% safe. You could not even connect to the Internet and a hacker might be able to get to you if he is close to you or hacked a device near you, you never know.

[zokizuan]

trezor would really be handy

[1inside1]

I think I've got this right, just want to make sure with you guys who are more experienced with Linux (Ive never used it). So my plan is to have a USB stick with linux (Ubuntu) on, I will then load bitcoin-qt onto it and only that and have the blocks/wallet on the external HD. I would use Duel boot and have it partition my windows HD but my bios is a bit temperamental and occasionally tries to load drives which aren't there, so dont want to mess with it anymore than I need.

In my opinion this setup would be secure against most every *online* attack.  However,  if someone were to actually go to where such a contraption would be stored and steal it (which probably wouldn't happen,  but still xD) then you should make sure to be using a secure password or two factor and all to protect it.  Also,  you should store a backup on another device such as a usb stick or sd card to prevent hardware failure.

[ABitBack]

I think I've got this right, just want to make sure with you guys who are more experienced with Linux (Ive never used it). So my plan is to have a USB stick with linux (Ubuntu) on, I will then load bitcoin-qt onto it and only that and have the blocks/wallet on the external HD. I would use Duel boot and have it partition my windows HD but my bios is a bit temperamental and occasionally tries to load drives which aren't there, so dont want to mess with it anymore than I need.

In my opinion this setup would be secure against most every *online* attack.  However,  if someone were to actually go to where such a contraption would be stored and steal it (which probably wouldn't happen,  but still xD) then you should make sure to be using a secure password or two factor and all to protect it.  Also,  you should store a backup on another device such as a usb stick or sd card to prevent hardware failure.

Excellent thank you. I'm not worried about physical theft so much. Do wish QT would integrate two factor though!