Safest Alternative to Hardware Wallet?

[geekcryptogal]

Wouldn't a fresh install of WIndows 10 on a removable SSD which I only put in the computer to access wallets be secure enough?  I could keep copies of all seeds in safety deposit box at bank.

Any other ideas? How about my old android/apple phone I am not using?  I could do a fresh install on it and only use it for wallet then power it off when not using.

[dado7]

Make a paper wallet. Just make sure that the link for creation you are accessing is secure, for that check out this useful article: https://www.thesslstore.com/blog/5-ways-to-determine-if-a-website-is-fake-fraudulent-or-a-scam/.

If you want some extra safety, use Armory or Electrum or similar wallet that allows creation of private keys offline. Keep this wallet on the computer that is never connected to the internet. Sign transactions on this computer, and transfer the data to the internet through another, online computer. This way you will be broadcasting only your wallet number and there will be no chance for anyone to steal your key (he/she would need to access that particular computer locally).

[sirkings0003]

Wouldn't a fresh install of WIndows 10 on a removable SSD which I only put in the computer to access wallets be secure enough?  I could keep copies of all seeds in safety deposit box at bank.

Any other ideas? How about my old android/apple phone I am not using?  I could do a fresh install on it and only use it for wallet then power it off when not using.

Safest? I am not sure but i have been using paper wallet and i have not heard any one complain about paper wallet being hacked. Maybe you try that too. It safe and cheap at same time.

[zhekinsp]

Make a paper wallet. Just make sure that the link for creation you are accessing is secure, for that check out this useful article: https://www.thesslstore.com/blog/5-ways-to-determine-if-a-website-is-fake-fraudulent-or-a-scam/.

If you want some extra safety, use Armory or Electrum or similar wallet that allows creation of private keys offline. Keep this wallet on the computer that is never connected to the internet. Sign transactions on this computer, and transfer the data to the internet through another, online computer. This way you will be broadcasting only your wallet number and there will be no chance for anyone to steal your key (he/she would need to access that particular computer locally).

Electrum is called as one of the safest wallet but it faced big issue of people stealing their funds we can get those info on the top of our forum too.So I can't say electrum is safest to store our bitcoins.The best ever wallet is hardware wallets and it can store multiple crypto currencies and uses segwit addresses too.But still people don't want to use hardware wallets.
Any way your bitcoin will be safe untill you keep your private keys in offline drive and never store private keys electronically it is best to write on a paper.

[Alpha0One1]

Wouldn't a fresh install of WIndows 10 on a removable SSD which I only put in the computer to access wallets be secure enough?  I could keep copies of all seeds in safety deposit box at bank.

Any other ideas? How about my old android/apple phone I am not using?  I could do a fresh install on it and only use it for wallet then power it off when not using.

An encrypted USB drive (e.g. Kingston DataTraveler Vault) that has the excel encrypted file containing your private keys, seed keys, wallet info, etc.
Make 3 copies,  2 are offline wherein, 1 is updated weekly, the other 1 updated monthly.
Last 1 is your active copy being used daily.

Note: all are encrypted USB thumbdrives + encrypted excel files
 

[Timeme]

Make a paper wallet. Just make sure that the link for creation you are accessing is secure, for that check out this useful article: https://www.thesslstore.com/blog/5-ways-to-determine-if-a-website-is-fake-fraudulent-or-a-scam/.

If you want some extra safety, use Armory or Electrum or similar wallet that allows creation of private keys offline. Keep this wallet on the computer that is never connected to the internet. Sign transactions on this computer, and transfer the data to the internet through another, online computer. This way you will be broadcasting only your wallet number and there will be no chance for anyone to steal your key (he/she would need to access that particular computer locally).

Electrum is called as one of the safest wallet but it faced big issue of people stealing their funds we can get those info on the top of our forum too.So I can't say electrum is safest to store our bitcoins.The best ever wallet is hardware wallets and it can store multiple crypto currencies and uses segwit addresses too.But still people don't want to use hardware wallets.
Any way your bitcoin will be safe untill you keep your private keys in offline drive and never store private keys electronically it is best to write on a paper.

That's not necessarily because Electrum just broke a hole a few days ago to steal your password, so it could be dangerous.

[bamboylee]

Wouldn't a fresh install of WIndows 10 on a removable SSD which I only put in the computer to access wallets be secure enough?  I could keep copies of all seeds in safety deposit box at bank.

Any other ideas? How about my old android/apple phone I am not using?  I could do a fresh install on it and only use it for wallet then power it off when not using.

I think those are safe enough as long as you keep them offline and you use it for crypto only and no other things. I use a dedicated unit for my wallet and keep them offline. I only put it online to make transactions or updates, otherwise it is safely kept inside my room.

[geekcryptogal]

Would it make sense to create a new gmail account for every exchange, pool, etc you join?  along with unique extremely strong passwords for each?  I guess I could keep all that info in the encrypted excel file.

Trying to understand how you save your private key to paper?  Do you mean the 20-24 seed words?   or print out qrcode?  If you use qrcode, how do you scan it into your computer to use it?

[totwotoo2]

Wouldn't a fresh install of WIndows 10 on a removable SSD which I only put in the computer to access wallets be secure enough?  I could keep copies of all seeds in safety deposit box at bank.

Any other ideas? How about my old android/apple phone I am not using?  I could do a fresh install on it and only use it for wallet then power it off when not using.

An encrypted USB drive (e.g. Kingston DataTraveler Vault) that has the excel encrypted file containing your private keys, seed keys, wallet info, etc.
Make 3 copies,  2 are offline wherein, 1 is updated weekly, the other 1 updated monthly.
Last 1 is your active copy being used daily.

Note: all are encrypted USB thumbdrives + encrypted excel files
 

spot on advice!  Listen to this person^^^^

[renes]

offline computers and paper wallets are good alternatives but hardware wallets are different in that they keep your seed safe when you connect it to a computer, even your computer is full of viruses, your seed is still safe.

[CryptoNews1]

Offline wallet or paper wallet

[sourish]

If security is your primary concern, choose a hardware wallet for large amounts. If convenience is most important to you, choose an online or mobile wallet for smaller amounts and daily use. Always make backup provisions, keeping them in a safe place. If your wallet has ‘seed’ words, then make sure you never lose them.

[ELOCIN]

safest alternate to any wallet is offline wallet , you could go back and forth , sign the tx and send the coins .

If the safest wallet is the offline wallet then that would be great to all wallet users, but can i ask you some offline wallet so we can apply for it also?

[JoyofCrypto]

If you want to use a new computer for all your wallets then remember not to let it connect to the internet EVER. Don't even let it download the blockchain.

[geekcryptogal]

If you want to use a new computer for all your wallets then remember not to let it connect to the internet EVER. Don't even let it download the blockchain.

AT some point the wallet needs to connect to the internet to do the transfer of funds right?