1-Should I consider buying a hardware wallet?
It depends.
1) Is the amount you want to store big enough to 'absorb' the purchase easily?
2) Are you not dedicated or technically adepted enough to create a full air-gapped offline storage with offline TX signing?
3) Do you want to be able to access your cryptos frequently without running any risk of getting compromised (mobility)?
I'd say if you can answer at least 2 out of these question with a
yes you might consider buying one.
2-I'm currently using Windows for wallet,should I switch to Linux?
While 95%+ of the malware is written for windows, a (standard) linux system is not much more secured in an attack which is targeted at you.
Generally, you are
a bit more secured when using unix compared to a windows system.
If you are familiar with linux, why not. You also might try a dual setup.
You can use (or start getting used to) a linux system while still being able to boot into windows for every-days usage.
This combines a more secured environment for your cryptos with the usability of a windows system for browsing/working.
3-What additional measures should I take?
I think the most important is to keep the
common sense.
- Never share any private details
Neither private keys/seeds nor name/address/etc.. or how much you hold - Nothing is for free.
Fishy emails which promise you high returns or free money are always scam.
If it sounds too good to be true, it most probably is.
Noone is ever going to give you money for free.
- Dont chase any shitcoins forked from BTC
A huge amount of people got scammed in the BTG scam and the BCH pump 'n dumps
Replay-attacks might be a danger (depending on the individual fork)
An additional tip would be to use an browser extensions which standardly blocks any scripts run on a website (e.g. NoScript for firefox [
https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/addon/noscript/]).
This, for example, would have blocked the possible exploitation of the last electrum vulnerability.
Thats the first what shot through my head when reading your questions.
Full (100%) security can
never be achieved.
Your goal should be to come as close as possible to the 100%.
For any further thoughts/answers regarding staying safe and secured.. feel free to ask as much as you want.
I think this is a vital topic for cryptocurrencies. Since BTC gives us the
power to be the (only) owner of our money, we are also the only ones responsible to secure our money.
P.s. Don't use exchanges or web wallets to store amounts which you don't want to lose. Its only your money if you control the private keys.
