DELETE

[Nestade]

DELETE

[ankurguta87]

The best way currently, that is still easy to access are hardware wallets. The two most famous retailers are:

Trezor: https://buytrezor.com/

Ledger: https://www.ledgerwallet.com/

A hardware wallet is dedicated hardware with a defined interface that makes it impossible to extract the private key from the hardware. The interface does, however, allow signing of transactions. This means that the hardware wallet can safely be plugged into hardware infected with malware.

[sangkler11]

a very helpful topic
thanks for sharing this guide, i will try it
I've also read your topic created earlier about myetherwallet security guide. good job

[jezus]

I am store my coins in two hdd,3 pendrives.

[damberg]

     Store this files on an USB flash drive - DO NOT store it in any cloud! Also always write down your private keys on a paper and store it safely!

Very helpful guide, every crypto newbie should read this through. And I would emphasize the point with not storing private keys in cloud - clouds are simply not safe for this, use good old USB's 

[vincentong17]

Thanks this is useful, I use USB to store my private keys and i wrote down all in a piece of sheet. Though i wanted to buy trezor in the long run to keep a bunch of altcoins soon. However do you use coinomi and jaxx? Would you recommend us if it's safe? TIA!

[Yuuto]

Thanks for the guide.

As an IOTA investor, I find it hard to keep track of my IOTA all the time if I had to enter in the private key every single time I wanted to check my balance or send some IOTA. Which is why I'll admit, I keep my private key string on my laptop, unencrypted.

Obviously, the best thing to do would be to encrypt it or handwrite it offline. But if you just have a few hundred bucks worth of cryptos, it's unlikely that it's going to get hacked, and even if it does get hacked you shouldn't be out of too much money. Backing up your private keys are probably even more important than securing it, in these scenarios.

[RACallanta]

very helpful topic men. thanks for this i hope a lot of user will be use this topic for their own security. because a lot of user dont know how to upgrade their security system to their own wallet.. actually me also dont know to do that and this thread could be help for me hehehe nice one

[thinkme1st]

Very helpful and informative. thanks for this nice informative guide/turtorial. You are doing a nice job and i guess everyone using online wallets should really read and understand this that they are vulnerable and avoid downloading stuff. if they don't have hardware wallet then Encrypting your private key is a must thing to do.

[modtakels]

Good read,this is a great knowledge to have,also you can protect your browsers from the phishing sites using the metamask extension it is being recommended by myetherwallet.com to use,because it will protect your private keys from being stolen when you are using dex or decentralized exchanges,it can also be used together with the hardware wallets like ledger and trezor.

[cryptocue]

Great guide you can add metamask extension to your guide so these phising sites will be prevent especially when we are using DEX or Decentralized Exchange like etherdelta and forkedelta,there is another extension which is called cryptonite it is also recommended by myetherwallet.com so you will be warned whenever you enter a potential phishing sites.

[GlennChristopher]

Hi,

I'd just like to share some suggestions to improve the security of your cold-wallets and private keys.
In general for cold storage wallets only malware could be a real problem and of course losing your wallet data.

1.: Always create a backup of your wallet data - for most wallets there is an option to create a backup.
     If there isn't, you will most likely find the data folder in the appdata directory (type %appdata% into the windows search).
     Store this files on an USB flash drive - DO NOT store it in any cloud! Also always write down your private keys on a paper and store it safely!

2.: If you're using your computer which contains your wallet for everyday activities you may also visit some unknown websites or download things.
     It's always possible to download malware and your antivirus won't detect properly encrypted malicious software. These would be some suggestions on how to bypass this possibility:
     - If you've got an old computer just reformat it and only use it for cryptocurrency-storage and transactions - don't do anything else on this machine
     - Create a new partition on your existing system, install an OS and don't assign it to your main OS - only use it for cryptocurrency-storage and transactions - don't do anything else on this partition.
     - Create a virtual machine, encrypt it (there are many guides on how to encrypt a whole system) and only use it for cryptocurrency-storage and transactions - don't do anything else on this VM.

3.: Usually you should never store your private-keys on your computer. For example IOTA only requires your private-key (seed) to log in to your wallet. However some people may do it anyway and it's really annoying
     always typing your private-key by hand. If you're storing it on your computer you should at least encrypt it. There are tons of ways of doing this (DO NOT use any online-platforms!!!) - however for me the following is
     most preferred.
     Notepad++ (my default editor anyway) offers the possibility of installing plugins. On of those already pre-listed is an encryption plugin. I'll include a short guide on how to do this at the end.

4.: I think it's not really necessary to say, but NEVER tell anyone your private-key and don't send any data files.

5.: You could store your important stuff in an encrypted container. Just inform yourself about recent encryption-software similar to TrueCrypt.

6.: Always keep your operating system up2date - some updates contain security updates or fixes for (critical) exploits

7.: Use a sandbox for running downloaded stuff if the source isn't 100% trustworthy

8.: Well, doesn't really fit here, but if you're using MyEtherWallet you may want to check this:
     https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2822325.msg28909433#msg28909433


Now let's come to the promised (short) guide about encrypting your private-key or any other text.

Installing the plugin:
- Download Notepad++ (https://notepad-plus-plus.org/) and install it
- Open Notepad++ go to Plugins > Plugin Manager > Show Plugin Manager
- Select NppCrypt from the list, hit the 'Install' button and allow Notepad++ to restart after installation

Encrypting:
- Now you can enter your text (in this case your private-key or whatever you want to encrypt)
- Select (mark) the text you want to encrypt
- Go to Plugins > NppCrypt > Encrypt
- Optional: Select your preferred cipher and mode
- Enter a password, hit 'OK', confirm your password and hit 'OK' again.
- Your text is now encrypted - now you can safe it.

Decrypting:
- Go to Plugins > NppCrypt > Decrypt
- If you changed cipher and mode you'll have to change it accordingly
- Enter your password and click 'OK'
- Your text is now decrypted
> Make sure to close the tab or re-encrypt before closing Notepad++
> It's always a risk having your private-key in the chache when C&P it; you can erase it from your chache by running the command

Code:

cmd /c “echo off | clip

  in CMD (https://www.howtogeek.com/235101/10-ways-to-open-the-command-prompt-in-windows-10/)

Like I said there are more methods of encryption but at least for me this one is most convenient.
I'm not an expert and this are just some suggestions - you'll most likely have to do some Google-research on some of them.

(Small advise: Antivirus programms may not really help against professional malware but it can provide at least some security against crappy malicious stuff - there's no best antivirus but I'd suggest Malwarebytes: Anti-Malware in combination with the Windows integrated antivirus. However using antivirus software may mislead some people to believe they're completely safe - you should always pay attention to your surf behaviour and be careful about any downloads or fishy stuff)

Hope there's something useful for you
Any advice and suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Regards,
Nestade alias xuNsh1ne


Just a small warning for IOTA-owners... If you created your seed using any online-seed-generator you should immediately generate a new seed offline and transfer your balance to this new seed!!!
Guide on how to generate your own seed for Windows and Linux (MacOS not tested, but should also work): https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3002939.msg30877844#msg30877844

very helpful topic i believe other will benefit from it thumbs up from me

[hieu81]

I think! Best way: generate wallet in ofline pc or used hardware to security private key!
Carefull when sent atlcoin and token to other wallet!

[Agaton]

Thanks for the total concern, we are proud to the people who share their talents and knowledge on how to protect ourselves from any criminals like hackers, being a new crypto fan, I have no enough knowledge about the security and safety to avoid hackers, and I'm very thankful you guys for sharing us, it is good for all who accessed and used crypto currencies. We really knows that hackers are rampant here in crypto business, they really take advantage to the weak people.

[jdeanne92]

thanks for making this thread bro. im sure this will help those newbies that are still wondering on how to secure their infornations

[haidangtp]

Thank you for sharing. I appreciate your guidance in this topic. I will do right now to protect my coin.

[Ulan01]

You have asked the question how to file it. and I think the security of the wallet site that we have all of it will depend on how we keep the key from the wallet site that we have. so I think our private key should be kept secret.

[Koobtcgal]

I have learnt and practiced from what you've taught most of us in the community. I appreciate that. Keep looking for vital information like this for us. You taught me how to encrypt my data and that's what made me happier. thanks again.

[green547]

I wouldn't trust  hardware wallets, too many points of failure. You have to trust the manufacturer, the post office, the workers etc.  Hardware wallets would be the first thing to be targeted as well.

[vetrovppp]

Hi,

I'd just like to share some suggestions to improve the security of your cold-wallets and private keys.
In general for cold storage wallets only malware could be a real problem and of course losing your wallet data.

1.: Always create a backup of your wallet data - for most wallets there is an option to create a backup.
     If there isn't, you will most likely find the data folder in the appdata directory (type %appdata% into the windows search).
     Store this files on an USB flash drive - DO NOT store it in any cloud! Also always write down your private keys on a paper and store it safely!

2.: If you're using your computer which contains your wallet for everyday activities you may also visit some unknown websites or download things.
     It's always possible to download malware and your antivirus won't detect properly encrypted malicious software. These would be some suggestions on how to bypass this possibility:
     - If you've got an old computer just reformat it and only use it for cryptocurrency-storage and transactions - don't do anything else on this machine
     - Create a new partition on your existing system, install an OS and don't assign it to your main OS - only use it for cryptocurrency-storage and transactions - don't do anything else on this partition.
     - Create a virtual machine, encrypt it (there are many guides on how to encrypt a whole system) and only use it for cryptocurrency-storage and transactions - don't do anything else on this VM.

3.: Usually you should never store your private-keys on your computer. For example IOTA only requires your private-key (seed) to log in to your wallet. However some people may do it anyway and it's really annoying
     always typing your private-key by hand. If you're storing it on your computer you should at least encrypt it. There are tons of ways of doing this (DO NOT use any online-platforms!!!) - however for me the following is
     most preferred.
     Notepad++ (my default editor anyway) offers the possibility of installing plugins. On of those already pre-listed is an encryption plugin. I'll include a short guide on how to do this at the end.

4.: I think it's not really necessary to say, but NEVER tell anyone your private-key and don't send any data files.

5.: You could store your important stuff in an encrypted container. Just inform yourself about recent encryption-software similar to TrueCrypt.

6.: Always keep your operating system up2date - some updates contain security updates or fixes for (critical) exploits

7.: Use a sandbox for running downloaded stuff if the source isn't 100% trustworthy

8.: Well, doesn't really fit here, but if you're using MyEtherWallet you may want to check this:
     https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=2822325.msg28909433#msg28909433


Now let's come to the promised (short) guide about encrypting your private-key or any other text.

Installing the plugin:
- Download Notepad++ (https://notepad-plus-plus.org/) and install it
- Open Notepad++ go to Plugins > Plugin Manager > Show Plugin Manager
- Select NppCrypt from the list, hit the 'Install' button and allow Notepad++ to restart after installation

Encrypting:
- Now you can enter your text (in this case your private-key or whatever you want to encrypt)
- Select (mark) the text you want to encrypt
- Go to Plugins > NppCrypt > Encrypt
- Optional: Select your preferred cipher and mode
- Enter a password, hit 'OK', confirm your password and hit 'OK' again.
- Your text is now encrypted - now you can safe it.

Decrypting:
- Go to Plugins > NppCrypt > Decrypt
- If you changed cipher and mode you'll have to change it accordingly
- Enter your password and click 'OK'
- Your text is now decrypted
> Make sure to close the tab or re-encrypt before closing Notepad++
> It's always a risk having your private-key in the chache when C&P it; you can erase it from your chache by running the command

Code:

cmd /c “echo off | clip

  in CMD (https://www.howtogeek.com/235101/10-ways-to-open-the-command-prompt-in-windows-10/)

Like I said there are more methods of encryption but at least for me this one is most convenient.
I'm not an expert and this are just some suggestions - you'll most likely have to do some Google-research on some of them.

(Small advise: Antivirus programms may not really help against professional malware but it can provide at least some security against crappy malicious stuff - there's no best antivirus but I'd suggest Malwarebytes: Anti-Malware in combination with the Windows integrated antivirus. However using antivirus software may mislead some people to believe they're completely safe - you should always pay attention to your surf behaviour and be careful about any downloads or fishy stuff)

Hope there's something useful for you
Any advice and suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Regards,
Nestade alias xuNsh1ne


Just a small warning for IOTA-owners... If you created your seed using any online-seed-generator you should immediately generate a new seed offline and transfer your balance to this new seed!!!
Guide on how to generate your own seed for Windows and Linux (MacOS not tested, but should also work): https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=3002939.msg30877844#msg30877844

A very useful article that will help protect your money for many people. I've been using the Ledger  wallet for a while. my money is safe and I am very pleased. I think this is the best way to keep your assets safe