Following offline protocals, how safe are paper wallets vs Trezor?

[MeSoCorny]

When people use paper wallets like MyEtherWallet, and follow all the protocals like using a completely separate offline computer when sending transactions, then use the signature hash to verify back on the online computer for verification, how would you rate the safety of a paper wallet vs a hardware wallet like a Trezor?

Please include these protocals in your assessment as well:

• Private key is not openly displayed on offline computer or online computer, and is hidden/ protected where it is
• Private key is never utilized at all on online computer

Thank you.

[LtMotioN]

Basically they would be equally secure if you generated the private key on an offline computer and the private key never touches the internet. Unless you generated something like an IOTA wallet ( I think they fixed that now?) where the private keys generated were not truly random. People were able to generate other's private keys again due to a bad algorithm in the address generator.

 This is pretty much the same thing as what the Trezor does internally, the hardware wallet just adds convenience.

If you are short of a hardware wallet and offline computer, do what I do and store funds in about 10 different places.

P.S. you mean to say protocols

[MeSoCorny]

Basically they would be equally secure if you generated the private key on an offline computer and the private key never touches the internet. Unless you generated something like an IOTA wallet ( I think they fixed that now?) where the private keys generated were not truly random. People were able to generate other's private keys again due to a bad algorithm in the address generator.

 This is pretty much the same thing as what the Trezor does internally, the hardware wallet just adds convenience.

If you are short of a hardware wallet and offline computer, do what I do and store funds in about 10 different places.

Ha, ya I have mine in like 5 different spots as well.

P.S. you mean to say protocols Smiley

You're right. Amazingly I just typed the finished version your mobile provides as your typing out to get that spelling.

Thanks again.

[jseverson]

I'd say paper wallets (or air-gapped wallets) are a bit safer simply because they're almost completely fool-proof when done correctly. Hardware wallets on the other hand are notoriously vulnerable to supply chain attacks, and who knows, they're so popular that remote attacks may be possible in the future.

They basically offer the same level of protection besides those differences though, and you really can't go wrong with either if you're careful.