My mind is unrest

[FirmWars]

I have read about an OS where one can install it in a USB flash and it's a good way of storing Bitcoin if one can't afford a hardware wallet sooner, can you give me a name and also where to read the installation tutorial?

Why do I want to do this?

I can't afford a hardware wallet right away and I just got a job where we are always asked to drop our phones every morning, all workers only have access to their phones after we closed at work, and that's in the evening, so many hours away.

My phone has a fingerprint lock and others but those security men I don't trust them, there is also a company PC in the office at the checkpoint, I feel they might try something with my phone and as a hot wallet user I feel unsafe.

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[Poker Player]

If you don't have money to buy a hardware wallet I guess you must not have much money invested in Bitcoin, right? To me you are worrying too much, they are not going to be able to unlock your phone having it as you have it with fingerprint lock. I don't know what you're asking about, but you could also make yourself a paper wallet and transfer the Bitcoin there. The bad thing is that I think in both cases, to do it with 100% guarantee that no one has spied on you online is going to take a lot of work.

If you have a small amount in your mobile, let's say less than $1k, I wouldn't even worry about it.

[pooya87]

I have read about an OS where one can install it in a USB flash and it's a good way of storing Bitcoin if one can't afford a hardware wallet sooner, can you give me a name and also where to read the installation tutorial?

Any Linux operating system works, I personally always suggest Ubuntu since it is a popular distribution and a general purpose OS so you can always find any answer you seek on the internet very easily.
Here is an old guide: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=853288.0
There is a learning curve before you can get it right.

If you have a small amount in your mobile, let's say less than $1k, I wouldn't even worry about it.

I wouldn't call $1k a "small amount" considering that hardware wallet prices are 1/10 to 1/20 of that, not to mention the rising bitcoin price where $1k worth of bitcoin today will be worth a lot more tomorrow. Phone wallets are not the best option for storage either.

[Despairo]

If I'm not mistaken, if you want to create a safe cold storage using USB stick, you're need to have a computer or PC which never connected with internet to prevent from virus or malware. Since you're can't afford to buy a hardware wallet, how you can find a computer or PC which never connected with internet? a company PC is obviously not safe and the owner might installing something in order to track your phone.

There's a guide about this How to Install Tails OS on USB flash drive for Wallet Purpose

[kotajikikox]

If you don't trust the people that taking your phone while in the job then better not to carry your mobile in work or better to use other mobile for contacting because like me? i always use separate mobile from my crypto using and for my personal use, even those cheap coin since you will only need for browsing and some social media apps.
and one thing , if you managed to invest and hold up to now , then maybe you can still hold while gathering the enough money to buy a hardware wallet?
good luck to you mate , hope your coin will stay safe till that time comes.

[MusaMohamed]

I have read about an OS where one can install it in a USB flash and it's a good way of storing Bitcoin if one can't afford a hardware wallet sooner, can you give me a name and also where to read the installation tutorial?

An old guide: How to Install Tails OS on USB flash drive for Wallet Purpose

If you can not buy a hardware wallet, you can use open source non custodial wallet and set up multi signature wallet or cold wallet with this software.

Multisign wallets with Electrum
Creating a multisign wallet
Creating a cold storage wallet in Electrum

To prevent hackers accessing your keys, Use a strong password

Check your password creation style, weak or strong with Are your passwords in the green?

[Zaguru12]

If I'm not mistaken, if you want to create a safe cold storage using USB stick, you're need to have a computer or PC which never connected with internet to prevent from virus or malware. Since you're can't afford to buy a hardware wallet, how you can find a computer or PC which never connected with internet? a company PC is obviously not safe and the owner might installing something in order to track your phone.

There's a guide about this How to Install Tails OS on USB flash drive for Wallet Purpose

It is not that the PC should never connect to the internet because it needs internet connectivity to install the crypto wallet but rather when the USB drive is plugged into the computer it shouldn’t be connected to internet. Also it is also a bad idea to to use a public computer because the computer use for the wallet installed will be use to sign transactions that would move your funds in and out of the wallet.

Theirs is also possibility of the USB drive getting damaged, so it is not the best cold storage solution for long term storage

[StarKay]

My phone has a fingerprint lock and others but those security men I don't trust them, there is also a company PC in the office at the checkpoint, I feel they might try something with my phone and as a hot wallet user I feel unsafe.

If you can afford a phone with a fingerprint lock that shouldn't cost less than $100, you should be able to buy a hardware wallet because there are those that are within your price range.
Example: SafePal S1 Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallet and Ledger Nano S Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallet. You can use Google search for affordable Hardware wallet list, it is much easier and safer than the USB option.

[Kakmakr]

I see a lot of the guys have already mentioned the bootable OS "Tails" with the Electrum wallet, but you have to make sure that you run a persistent volume with the latest version of Electrum, because the Tails OS does not neccesarilly come with the latest version of Electrum.

So, will you be allowed to have a persistent volume on a hard drive at work....? Remember, if you cannot boot with the latest version... you might have some exploits in the older versions. 

[Bananington]

My phone has a fingerprint lock and others but those security men I don't trust them, there is also a company PC in the office at the checkpoint, I feel they might try something with my phone and as a hot wallet user I feel unsafe.

Buy another phone to store your bitcoins if you cannot afford a hardware wallet yet. If you cannot buy another phone but have an old phone, you can use it as an alternative to a hardware wallet for the time you can get a hardware wallet. The second phone should be used strictly for storing your bitcoins and you should also limit the the usage of that phone on the internet to reduce security risk.

How to use an old smartphone as Cold Storage.

STEP 1
(a) Remove the SIM card if your phone has one. You don’t want any cellular communications, only WiFi.

(b)Perform a factory reset. This is typically found under Settings/Backup & Reset. This procedure wipes all personal data from the device and returns it to a factory state. Obviously back up anything you need before hand.

(c)After resetting the device and connecting to your WiFi (make sure your WiFi is password protected), you will have to log in to a Google account during the setup process. Do not use an existing account. Instead, create a new account with a fake name. Save the details of the account for later. This new account is to be used for absolutely nothing but tasks related to interacting with this device. Also during setup, don’t back up your phone to Google’s servers, don’t select to stay up to date, and don’t add any billing information. When it asks you to secure your phone, choose PIN and make sure it’s at least 6 digits long; I use 10. Remember, this isn’t about convenience, it’s about security. When prompted, choose to not show notifications when the device is locked. Lastly, don’t enable any of the offered services like backups, location, bug reporting, etc.
Once the phone is done setting up your profile, turn off data communications. On most Android phones, swipe down twice from the top of your screen to bring down your quick menu. Click on the icon for your data or cellular connection and then disable mobile data.

(d)Go into Settings/Apps, swipe over to All, and uninstall or disable every app that isn’t explicitly needed for using the device for offline storage. If in doubt, leave enabled all of the apps with the green android avatar. Also leave enabled Google Play, Google Play Services, and Google Keyboard. Don’t worry, if you accidentally disable something you need, it can always be re-enabled; just make sure you’ve tested everything before you start moving the bulk of your coins to the device. It’s also a good idea to reboot your phone before moving on to the next step.

(e)Go to Settings/Security. Set it to automatically lock after sleep. Enable the “Power button instantly locks” option, disable “make passwords visible”, and disallow installation of unknown sources

(f) Finally, encrypt your phone. There should be an option on the Security page. It will warn you that encryption will take a long time but since there’s hardly anything installed or stored on the phone at this time, it will only take a few minutes. If the option to encrypt isn’t available, don’t use this device. If you can’t encrypt your device, your security is highly compromised and isn’t worth the risk and you’ll be better off using something else.

After that step;

(a) Install a VPN client. A VPN (virtual private network) encrypts and routes all data coming and going to and from your device through a proxy server masking your IP address. If your VPN allows for it, set it up so that if the VPN loses connection, it will kill your network connection and prevent any unencrypted data from leaving your phone.

(b) Install a password manager like Last pass or any other one with good rating and review.

(c)Install wallets. There are a number of wallets available on the Android platform, all with different features. Do NOT use a hosted wallet app such as Coinbase. Using a hosted wallet completely defeats the purpose of using your device for offline storage. When choosing your wallet, always try to choose wallets that offer a 12 word recovery phrase.

After all this, it is still recommended that you turn off the phone, and remove the battery to keep safely when not needed.
(the guide is for android device)

https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@anarcrypt/how-to-set-up-a-smartphone-for-cold-storage

[Rikafip]

I can't afford a hardware wallet right away and I just got a job where we are always asked to drop our phones every morning, all workers only have access to their phones after we closed at work, and that's in the evening, so many hours away.

Why don't you use Electrum (or whichever wallet your prefer) for your PC instead? It should be safer than using mobile phone wallet anyway (if you are careful what you install on your PC).  By the way, hardware wallets are not as expensive as you might think and it will increase safety of your bitcoin immensely so you should really cosnider sorting that out asap if you can.

If you don't have money to buy a hardware wallet I guess you must not have much money invested in Bitcoin, right?

I might be wrong about this case and guy might really struggle financially at the moment, but I think that in many cases people who say that they can't afford hardware wallet actually have issues with priorities, thinking that unless they have huge amount of money in crypto they don't really need hardware wallet and that is just a waste of money, or that chances of them getting hacked are very low. I thought the same before I lost almost everything ~5 years ago, and first thing I did after that was buying hardware wallet even though at the time I had maybe $100-$200 crypto left.

[cafter]

I have read about an OS where one can install it in a USB flash and it's a good way of storing Bitcoin if one can't afford a hardware wallet sooner, can you give me a name and also where to read the installation tutorial?

nice idea to store crypto in usd flash drive, you can store if you want to,        here the tutorial : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPzbUIZrPn0
                                                                                                                                        : https://bitcourier.co.uk/blog/flash-drive-storage
                

Why do I want to do this?

For security, hehe! it's not recommended if you can't afford a hardware wallet then surely you may don't have enough money invested in crypto, and the question about hacking, no one hacker is going to take this much effort to hack your wallet to steal this small amount of coins.

I can't afford a hardware wallet right away and I just got a job where we are always asked to drop our phones every morning, all workers only have access to their phones after we closed at work, and that's in the evening, so many hours away.
My phone has a fingerprint lock and others but those security men I don't trust them, there is also a company PC in the office at the checkpoint, I feel they might try something with my phone and as a hot wallet user I feel unsafe.

Don't worry about that, if you have fingerprint lock in your phone, it's very hard to unlock it, and who knows that you own crypto if you are new at that job, and no one is going to unlock all workers phones to steal.
if your amount is small then you can use digital wallet like electrum or trust wallet, and keep backups of your seed phrases ,private key, like writing on a paper and for more : 1       2
and if you are trading and all your crypto are on exchange, then exchange also comes with security to protect fund from third person, security like 2FA, Allow withdrawals only to addresses you trust, check your whitelist regularly, transfer on a digital wallet,
and if you have another phone at your home, then you can install a digital wallet on that phone, and transfer all crypto on that phone if your home is secure like your family members are always on that house.

[Charles-Tim]

Know that using Flash drive directly as a bitcoin wallet is risky, hardware wallet would be recommended instead. Consider the wallet like online wallet if you are using it to make transaction often and be careful of malware.

Suggestions:

If you have 2 mobile devices, you can go for Electrum 2FA wallet. You can read more about Electrum 2FA wallet from here:

https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/2fa.html
https://trustedcoin.com/#/faq
https://trustedcoin.com/#/faq#fees

[woez]

I think It's understandable that you feel concerned about the security of your Bitcoin, especially given your work situation. Storing your Bitcoin on an operating system (OS) installed on a USB flash drive can be a good option for those who can't afford a hardware wallet. One popular OS for this purpose is Tails , which is designed to provide privacy and anonymity online.

To install Tails on a USB flash drive, you can follow the installation tutorial on the Tails website. It's important to note that using an OS on a USB drive is not foolproof, and there is still a risk of losing your Bitcoin if the USB drive is lost, stolen, or damaged. It's always important to keep backups of your Bitcoin and to use secure methods for storage and transfer.

[Rikafip]

Don't worry about that, if you have fingerprint lock in your phone, it's very hard to unlock it

Hah, it would be good if that's true, but reality is diametrically opposite and fingerpint authentification is way less safe and much easier to crack than a quality password protection. Here is the article that explains more about how easy is to actually do it. Another problem with fingerprint authentification is when it gets leaked once, it will be valid (most likely) forever because you can't just change your fingerpint like you can change leaked password.

and no one is going to unlock all workers phones to steal.

Buddy, people are stealing left and right and phones today are much more than just a means of communication.

[mendace]

 Yes, there is a Linux-based operating system called Tails, it is highly recommended because it fits on a USB and when it is removed from the PC it leaves no trace of its passage.  Furthermore, all outgoing and incoming traffic is encrypted by the tor network.  When Tails is turned on for the first time you have to check "persistance" so that your data is saved on the USB otherwise the next boot is as if you booted a live of any distro.  Inside you will find electrum already installed, which is an excellent bitcoin wallet.  But I suggest you also take a look at this beautiful operating system called QubesOs.

https://www.qubes-os.org/

This OS is linux based and works with Docker which isolates any programs.

[IIrik11]

believe me for a long period of time i did not purchase any hardware wallet.

and i use to just keep a watch-only version of electrum on my windows pc.

to keep the wallet synced and broadcast transactions.

and another version with the keys on a xubuntu usb-stick.

i kept more than $2000 worth of bitcoins on it for couple of years and nothing happened.

it was just a bit of work going back and forth to get the transaction signed but other than that.

i faced no problems at all.

[jossiel]

I have read about an OS where one can install it in a USB flash and it's a good way of storing Bitcoin if one can't afford a hardware wallet sooner, can you give me a name and also where to read the installation tutorial?

Why do I want to do this?

I can't afford a hardware wallet right away and I just got a job where we are always asked to drop our phones every morning, all workers only have access to their phones after we closed at work, and that's in the evening, so many hours away.

My phone has a fingerprint lock and others but those security men I don't trust them, there is also a company PC in the office at the checkpoint, I feel they might try something with my phone and as a hot wallet user I feel unsafe.

Why do you need to change the OS that can be flashed through a flash drive when you can just simply have a 2nd hand laptop where you can install a desktop wallet and keep your bitcoins there?

You're making it too complicated by having some flashable OS through your flash drive.

That's even riskier because what if it goes corrupted since flash drives aren't really durable at all to be honest. Just go with an old laptop, connect to the web, install electrum and keep it.

[KiaKia]

If I'm not mistaken, if you want to create a safe cold storage using USB stick, you're need to have a computer or PC which never connected with internet to prevent from virus or malware. Since you're can't afford to buy a hardware wallet, how you can find a computer or PC which never connected with internet? a company PC is obviously not safe and the owner might installing something in order to track your phone.

There's a guide about this How to Install Tails OS on USB flash drive for Wallet Purpose

The fact that I still run an old core 2duo CPU in my house makes me the living proof that some people still have old PCs with core 2 duo CPUs in their homes.

I also have another powerful PC with the latest Intel CPU in my house, but I use the old core 2 PC for testing networks for airdrops, while the higher end PC is used for video editing, content, and gaming.

Just because the OP cannot afford a hardware wallet doesn't mean he or she has no PC at home.

If I were OP I will uninstall the wallet from my smartphone for ease of mind, since I wrote down my recovery seed offline at home I don't have to worry when I uninstall the app clean from the phone.

I understand that one needs to be careful because there are so many tools in the world today, just because your smartphone has pin lock and fingerprint security doesn't mean there can't be a way around those.

[Alisha-k]

Instead of the so much sorry, why not you just drop the phone at home afterall, it's not like you make use of it....

It's the same thing, when you're done with it in the morning, you drop it at home and go back to it in the evening