Wallet choice/safety guide!

[maxim000]

Different wallets to safeguard your cryptocurrency.
Among hardware wallets, TREZOR provides top notch security. Wallets like MyEtherWallet can be generated online and the information stored or the transcations are not shared anywhere. Software wallet like JAXX is the world's first mobile wallet, you carry no stress with it.

[Ereun]

So much information to add to my knowledge of wallet safety and today, I got it. Many bad guys break into altcoin wallets or botcoin owners and the disadvantages often happen to people who are indifferent in keeping their wallets. thanks for sharing friends.

[Moiyah]

I am using MEW for a month now. Yet, because of that issues wherein hackers got a lot of ethereum in MEW, I didn't know if it is still safe to use MEW. Regardless of the issue, I'm just using my private key to make sure no one will gonna touch my wallet. Though we cannot sure how secure it is, we should not leave a huge amount in there to orevent unexpected hacks or loss.

[kriticko29]

There are a lot of questions, and while I am not an expert, I thought I'd try and put the information I know in a place to help people.
if you find any flaws/wrongs please write and I will edit!

MyEtherWallet is a popular wallet.
However, it's an interface, they don't save your keys, they can't help you if you lose your keys/funds.
They are just a bridge to communicate with the blockchain.
Many people use this, and due to this DNS issue today(and in the past) it seems like it's rerouting to some phishing site.
Therefore, I suggest that if you want to keep using MyEtherWallet, do it offline!
Here's a guide on how to use MEW offline: https://myetherwallet.github.io/knowledge-base/offline/running-myetherwallet-locally.html
Always make sure the lock icon next to the url bar is Green!

MyEtherWallet also allows you to generate a wallet. The safest choice would be to download an encrypted keyfile and use that to login.
This means that even if someone were to access your keyfile, they'd require your password.
However, if you submit this data to a phishing site, you'd still lose your funds!
Entering your private key in plain text is unwise as a keylogger/middleman could read this data.

Another popular choice is MetaMask.
https://metamask.io/
MetaMask is a browser plugin which basically lets you do all your transactions in a little browser window, instead of going to for example MyEtherWallet.
MetaMask is great because it also allows you to easily interact with any type of dApps with ease(basically your MetaMask would work as an account in a way).
MetaMask also protects you versus phishing sites.
As I understand it, MetaMask stores a file locally encrypted with a password.
The public key is seen in MetaMask, however you can also export the private key.


Hardware wallets
I personally advocate for Trezor as it is open source(therefore all code can be verified to be safe).
The most popular wallet however, I believe is Ledger Nano.

Basically how a hardware wallet works is, keys are generated inside it.
Whenever you want to do a transaction, all that happens is that the transaction is signed inside your hardware wallet,
and this signed transaction data is broadcasted. The private key never leaves your wallet.
The recipient address could still be changed by a virus!
Hardware wallets generally have a screen and buttons to confirm transactions and you can confirm the address.

In my personal opinion, hardware wallets are the best choice for most people - they are foolproof and safe.
You get a recovery phrase you write down in case you lose your wallet.
To access it, you need to enter a PIN that you choose on first time setup.
Trezor/Ledger supports many different cryptos, not only bitcoin/eth.

However, of course a physical device comes with a cost - ~$50-100 depending on which one you go for.
If you believe your crypto will one day be worth a lot, or already is - it's definately a sound investment!

sites:
www.ledgerwallet.com
www.trezor.io


Keeping funds on an exchange
This is quite popular, and I guess there is nothing wrong with it.
But, people need to be aware of the risks involved.
Any funds kept on an exchange, is not truly your funds!
All it is, is their database saying that your account holds [these cryptos].
It doesn't mean they actually have coverage to cover everyone incase a mass cashout(probably a small risk tho).

What is more important, is to consider what this means - they're in control of your funds,
and theoretically, they can very easily prevent you from ever receiving your funds.
Of course, this is not something that one has to worry about in general - however, just keep in mind that it's not actually yours.
It's like a bank.

This also means that if your account is hacked, or if the exchange itself is hacked, you might end up lose part of/all your funds.
Hot wallet: this is the wallet(s) the exchange uses to payout/receive to, and usually holds a small percentage(<10%) of all funds.
So if an exchange were hacked, they shouldn't be able to lose more than what is in their hot wallets.

Cold wallet: These are wallets that are not exposed to the internet (in terms of private key access by software etc).
An exchange should keep the majority of their funds here.

Summary
This is my personal opinion
Ordering by safety
1. Hardware Wallet
2. MetaMask
3. MyEtherWallet
4. Exchange

I would like to expand on one topic regarding safety:
a more 'technical savvy' person, could be perfectly fine with his private key in plaintext.
however, in general, one should be cautious of exposing your private key(in any form - plaintext, encoded), to any sort of software.
If you have a virus, an encrypted file isn't enough, because the moment you decrypt it you'd expose your password to the virus.
If you are using many different plugins in your browser, they might be reading your data(check permissions).

There are too many risks, and way too many people are being scammed.
Don't do it too late, ensure that you're safe today, because in the end - noone can help you.
Part of what's great about crypto is this aspect; isn't it? You and only you are in control of your funds, in all aspects - including safekeeping.'

Here are a few tips I think could be useful:

• Scan your computer for viruses on a regular basis(Malwarebytes AntiMalware is a good choice)
• If possible, use a second computer with a factory state OS
• use a different browser without any plugins(apart from MetaMask if that's your choice)
• always ensure that any site you access and intend to put your crypto information in, has a valid certificate.
• (valid certificate: click the green lock next to the URL bar, check the info, confirm it's always the same).
• no company handling money would let their certificate expire.
• if you only want to check your funds, use etherscan.io and search your public address

if you are using Windows, you can also install a second OS - for example Linux Mint.
It's free, and only requires a CD/USB. You can have dualboot setup, so when you want to access your crypto,
just restart your computer, enter Linux Mint, do your business, and restart back into Windows!

A useful browser plugin is NoScript which prevents any site from running javascript without your manual approval.
Other useful plugins in my opinion(somewhat unrelated): uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, Cookie AutoDelete, Disconnect  

Finally, if you are not at all a technical person, it might be better to leave your crypto at an exchange.
Surely the exchange is not the safest place, but a virus riddled computer or general risk behaviour is definately not safer!

Well i still trust MYETHERWALLET since it was my very first wallet and i have witnessed many things happened and my tokens are still safe. There is always a precaution in the website telling the user that it's his full responsibility if ever they have lost something or the wallet file in order to access your account.

[Xioma]

There are a lot of coins out there depending on the coin and your requirements but for safety purposes, I'd recommend getting a hardware wallet anyway

[andthereyou]

OP, When I first read the title I thought I could read about all wallet in cryptocurrency but it's mostly all about ERC20 tokens wallet. I can't blame you because I don't where you have read or copy that hehe anyway it would be better if you include all wallets available in cryptospace. 

[BQ]

OP, When I first read the title I thought I could read about all wallet in cryptocurrency but it's mostly all about ERC20 tokens wallet. I can't blame you because I don't where you have read or copy that hehe anyway it would be better if you include all wallets available in cryptospace. 

hmm, but the same general safety applies to everything! Sure MEW doesn't work for other coins but hardware wallets, storing private keys and such works the same! 

[dollarneed]

I personally store my coins in several wallets, for a spendable amount i use blockchain.info either for storing btc or ethereum. I'm currently holding a lot of amount of tokens in myetherwallet it may be dangerous since there are so many phishing sites out there and people recommending to move my balance from there. I think I'm gonna go with the hardware wallet, it's pretty safe than those I've just mentioned above.

[BQ]

I personally store my coins in several wallets, for a spendable amount i use blockchain.info either for storing btc or ethereum. I'm currently holding a lot of amount of tokens in myetherwallet it may be dangerous since there are so many phishing sites out there and people recommending to move my balance from there. I think I'm gonna go with the hardware wallet, it's pretty safe than those I've just mentioned above.

With atleast Trezor, probably with any hardware wallet, you can keep as many addresses as you want!
so with this one little device you can have 10 bitcoin wallets, 10 ethereum wallets, etc it's great, definitely worth it! 

[UsernameBitcoin]

This is a very helpful write up and would be mostly helpful to newbies who do not know which wallets are the better fit for them and their coins. I personally favor hardware wallets and use Trezor especially for long term holding and  only keep the coins which I use for trading and similar online because it is more safe and if I get hacked then only a small portion of my coins is lost.