I want to take a little of the bitcoin and use some software called BITKEY to make an airgap type store of it on a usb stick (I think that is
what you are meant to do using an old PC I have that I don't need to use for any serious purpose. I can keep it disconnected from the
internet when using it.
I will run the BITKEY OS from a DVD and follow the instructions on the useful youtube videos to move the bitcoin from coinbase to the usb stick.
Any suggestions or comments you have about doing this or any other alternative suggestions you have would be appreciated.
Once I have done this I am interested to buy a bit more bitcoin and then try buying some altcoins (suggestions on good ones would be
appreciated).
I don't want to buy any altcoins until I have got the hard wallet/BITKEY solution working with ordinary bitcoin.
People say that electrum can be used to buy and store altcoins but it seems that might not be as secure as BITKEY could be if I use it correctly.
I may be wrong here but people on the site can set me straight on this - I would appreciate this.
I don't know what that BITKEY is, but Electrum and a piece of paper and pen is the safest when done right. Is this Bitkey
Free and Open Source software? Else don't bring the word secure here, as the Electrum method only involves FOSS.
You download a secure OS like
Tails, and boot that from DVD in your computer (which doesn't even need a hard drive), then you make a wallet with Electrum there, write with your own hands the seed words in a piece of paper, secure this paper. Print/email whatever your public addresses and turn off the PC. Its done, a cold wallet as best as it can be. You should do a copy with your own hands of that paper into yet another one, and secure both in different physical places. Remember to keep those papers safe, and be creative finding better ways to hide those words in plain sight (Mark words in a book, etc).
I don't know if there are Youtube videos of the Electrum method (there probably are), but it has been written in this forum plenty of times.
So start getting Tails and boot that in the old pc. Disconnect the Hard Drive if it has one. You can also do it all in that pc disconnected from the network, but it involves one extra step done in a connected pc.
Why Tails and not other secure alternatives? If you are good with Linux/BSD, you can also use your favorite distro. Tails is simply Debian configured to use Tor by default. Of course you can do that on your favorite distro, live or not. Live would be preferred for the most paranoid, as turning the PC off erases all traces.
Cold storage only makes sense if you are planning to hold an exorbitant amount of bitcoin. Otherwise, you can simply use Electrum wallet. There are other options like trezor or ledger nano S also available in the market with proven track record.
No, it is important to practice with insignificant amounts, especially the creation, and later handling of cold wallets, BEFORE you actually need them. In fact, there is nothing wrong with creating a safe cold wallet and never depositing anything significant to it, but you already tested it and know the ropes...
A cold wallet does not need hardware beyond the creation phase, and later when you actually need to move the funds. Your "hardware" is that piece of paper with 12 words written into it...
