Buying Used Computer Equipment For CryptoCurrency Unsafe?

[Jet Cash]

I haven't read all of this thread, but I'd like to make a couple of points.

reformatting the hard drive isn't enough,you need to re-partition the hard drive to ensure that there aren't any hidden partitions. Installing Linux on a former Windows machine would be a good way to do this.

Another safety precaution is to flash the latest BIOS. There are trojans that are able to insert code into the installed bios. I believe this is one of the tricks used by intrusive governments.

[jak3]

Security is very essential especially when talking about cryptocurrencies. But people nowadays take it way too seriously even for those who have like under 0.01 btc. I mean there is no point of securing your wallet if you do not possess a lot of balance at least more than 0.1 btc. btc yes, you can feel insecure about your balance and people can still those if you are not careful enough but aren't you sometimes taking a lot of security when no one is even interested on stealing your balance.

[bhabygrim]

It is better to be safe than sorry,So it is better to spend more than buying cheap if it could secure your investment and other things.
This is better than risking your investment or funds,So we should really be careful on choosing where to buy our stuffs for crypto .

[Jet Cash]

Hopefully we will all have lots more crypto in the future, so it is better to learn about security when you only have a few Satoshi. That way  the million or so that you will make next year will stay safe.

[Apes]

in my opinion if you have wipe and clean installation, and install a trusted antivirus I think there are no more problems. related to hardware I don't think there is anything to worry about because Harwdare has no memory allocation for executable programs except from the installation driver, use installations from trusted sources when installing drivers or using drivers on disks that are received with hardware packages. and you are safe.

[Ryan Dugan]

This is very interesting and I feel I have something to add. I never knew about this but I read and was shocked. Did you know some pro gamers that play counter strike used their mouse to cheat?
They had an aimbot built into it. I don't know how I think it is pretty amazing even though its wrong. Now I would assume if a complex aimbot can be programed then something else can. However people don't go around selling second and mouses with key loggers on them. The counter trike cheat mouses are not like other mouses they have something or another that allows them to hold a program but they look like any other mouse.
Keyboards I guess you can do the same but I am pretty sure you have to mod the keyboard. I mean a keyboard is not a computer is cant process anything.

So dude basically I wouldn't worry about pc hardware it's fine. I buy all my hardware second hand and have never had an issue. I paid 1/3 the price for my gaming pc. I mined with it and everything.
Only people who want to do something and have a plan for it will mod a mouse or keyboard. So for example they will swap their modded keyboard or mouse out with another one in an office and hack like that.

Ram and USB drives have flash memory so no need to worry. RAM clears when it has no power.

The only thing I would never buy second hand would be hardware wallet. It just isn't worth it just to save a few bucks.

[jerry0]

Well you say laptop charger has no issue.


What about say a powerbank for your laptop?  Example those things that you buy where it gives you power to your laptop when you have no outlet?  I seeen some where you connect it to the same power slot on your laptop... but i also believe they have some that connect to a usb-c port if im not mistaken?



So is buying a used powerbank safe in either of those cases?  S

[joshy23]

in my opinion if you have wipe and clean installation, and install a trusted antivirus I think there are no more problems. related to hardware I don't think there is anything to worry about because Harwdare has no memory allocation for executable programs except from the installation driver, use installations from trusted sources when installing drivers or using drivers on disks that are received with hardware packages. and you are safe.

I'm not an expert but this is also what i believe, when you completely did a clean format and installations and provide good anti virus you can be safe
as there's no possible threat in any hardware devices, not with I'm not aware of, but if you are doubting better not to buy and save money to buy brand
new and you'll not be worried about it.

[iMark]

If you want to be 100% safe, even though you used a used computer, then don't ever connect it to the internet. Use your computer offline, and don't forget to re-install anything. Wipe your harddisk, use Linux, etc. Those keylogger from mouse etc won't be able to cause you problem if it ever exist as long as you don't connect your computer to the internet, unless your hacker somehow lives around you and use some kind of WiFi to transmit the data from the mouse/keyboard directly.

In short, hackers needs to get or download the data from your computer (if it's hacked), either via internet, other connection devices such as bluetooth or go to your house directly. So you can protect yourself by disconnecting from the internet, make sure there's no other connectivity devices activated, or keep your computer somewhere safe.

Lol yeah if you want to be 100% safe, never connect to the internet, any data collected from your computer will never be sent to the hacker database.

yeah I know there is a lot of chance for a hacker to steal. but I have never bought a used laptop and cracked it because of that, if you want to be safe, reinstall it, discard all the data on the laptop and all viruses will gone.

[aplistir]

Do not buy used or NEW computer equipment for crypto use  

You all forgot that even new computers can and do come with malware/trojans/viruses.

Eg. My Lenovo laptop came with superfish malware when it was new. And it is still there. I couldn't get rid of it. Lenovo did publish repairs for many models of their laptops, but mine didn't ever get the repair.  

And for the paranoid:
There has been some talk about some hard-drive manufacturers hiding a wireless chip in the HDD, that could be used in stealing data from machines that are not connected to the internet. Apparently the potential thief would have to get within a few hundred meters of the device. Scary. How could you check against that kind of threats?

[unusualfacts30]

that should be fine as long as you keep it just for storage and don't connect it to the internet. Just wipe it clean before using it. As mentioned earlier just because it's new doesn't mean it's safe from a virus.

[bhabygrim]

Do not buy used or NEW computer equipment for crypto use  

You all forgot that even new computers can and do come with malware/trojans/viruses.

Eg. My Lenovo laptop came with superfish malware when it was new. And it is still there. I couldn't get rid of it. Lenovo did publish repairs for many models of their laptops, but mine didn't ever get the repair.  

And for the paranoid:
There has been some talk about some hard-drive manufacturers hiding a wireless chip in the HDD, that could be used in stealing data from machines that are not connected to the internet. Apparently the potential thief would have to get within a few hundred meters of the device. Scary. How could you check against that kind of threats?

Used and new computer?
Then what should we buy then?
It all depends on the merchant you should only buy from the right one.
If you are having trust issue then go directly to factory to buy.

[btc78]

I know many people store their crypto in their hardware wallets.  Some store it on their computers.  Some have a computer solely for crypto to be safe.



First off, is buying anything that used for the computer unsafe

I believe that someone who’s disposing he’s gadget has to not intentionally get a victim from the said computer equipments.but you maybe right for some reason though it’s a once I a million chances that you may choose those items that has keylog

So the bottom line is always become a security people,before buying make sure that on those legit sellers only,and if you can do buy from people that near your place

[BrewMaster]

I know many people store their crypto in their hardware wallets.  Some store it on their computers.  Some have a computer solely for crypto to be safe.



First off, is buying anything that used for the computer unsafe

I believe that someone who’s disposing he’s gadget has to not intentionally get a victim from the said computer equipments.but you maybe right for some reason though it’s a once I a million chances that you may choose those items that has keylog

So the bottom line is always become a security people,before buying make sure that on those legit sellers only,and if you can do buy from people that near your place

hardware can be reset and cleaned rather easily to prevent any kind of malware remaining on it. for example if you buy a second hard SSD storage device you can simply format the hell out of it before using it.

[rdbase]

You can purchase brand new or factory refurbished computer equipment from new egg using cryptocurrency. The last time I checked near christmas time.
The only thing I would be concerned about is purchasing things which have files and programs on them and storing anything of value like a hardware wallet for your cryptocurrency.
There was a story on one of these news shows and they conducted a study which they went on ebay and got 10 usb sticks all of them had been deleted by the original owners. But they hired one of those data recovery companies to see if they could get files from them after doing their processing the data so to be viewable.
They uncovered 8 out of the 10 had some sort of personal photos and videos. One even had hundreds of pics containing kiddie porn on it and they traced that guy who sold it on ebay and arrested him.
One of the usb sticks had a document of a person which contained all his financial records and scans of his passport and drivers license. The news show printed the 800 page document and tracked the ebay seller down and showed him what they uncovered on this sold usb device. He said this could of ruined his life if it ended up in the wrong hands.

[maldini]

OP, you know the answer to this yourself, you seem like a smart guy. If you have even the slightest doubt about a device being clean of malware then don’t store crypto on it. It simply is not worth the risk.

I think it's the best, or don't use internet access on that device because hackers won't be able to enter without internet access.
And I think the OP is too protective, even he worries about the mouse, keyboard, ram, monitor etc. I think it's better to buy new flash drives, hdd, mouse or keyboard, because this device can be infiltrated by malware but I don't think the seller will be like that. Monitor, RAM, processor, modem in my opinion is not necessary.
Or reset again after buying this used equipment.

[Eraldo Coil]

I think you shouldn't have any problems with any of these if you were able to reformat that old computer. And I think even though it is going on the same router, hacking on you will still become difficult. But if you want to make sure, there are still available brand new laptops out there where you can use for cryptocurrency related things and you can also invest in hardware wallets.

[kissme09]

No need to worry because with used devices, you need to replace storage devices and everything will be safe. Are you worried about using a used computer? Don't worry about restoring the operating system settings, and you will remove all the storage on your computer. If possible, replace your computer's storage device to make it safer.

[Successmaniac4]

I don't think there is a problem with using a second hand phone for crypto. I believe so far as you format the computer before using it, everything becomes new. The only problem is with when you use a network that is also shared with other people.

[electronicash]

even if i buy something new, i'd completely wipe out all that is stored and installed in a laptop and do a fresh linux system on it.
i doubt there is someone out there that will put something on the firmware just to hack a machine. hacking shouldn't be that hard for them to really go into the hardware when they can do it with wifi. you'd worry more if you install lots of app related to cryptocurrency because its where they are not trying to gain access.