Air gapping

[Dakcrypto]

Hello everyone!
I'm trying to use my old laptop as an air gap devices, how do I know if it's air gapped because I already used it before for internet connection but but it has been a very very long time and I also removed the wifi adapter so it can be er go online again.

Thanks for your help

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[Charles-Tim]

Removed the WiFi card and Bluetooth. Format and reinstall the computer OS. That will let you to be 100% sure that your device is 100% not having malware.

[satscraper]

Format and reinstall the computer OS. That will let you to be 100% sure that your device is 100% not having malware.

I am in doubt in this.

There might be malware sitting in BIOS.

[NeuroticFish]

One way that might work easier (somebody more knowledgeable should confirm) is to boot from a Tails USB and at boot time select (in offline mode settings) to stay without network (now the default is with network on). It's not my blog, I've found it on web search, but one of the last images on this page shows what I want to tell.

Of course that if you want to use it for air gapped wallet you may want o enable persistence and so on, hence still things to learn and check.

[Dakcrypto]

Removed the WiFi card and Bluetooth. Format and reinstall the computer OS. That will let you to be 100% sure that your device is 100% not having malware.

I was thinking to remove the WiFi card and Bluetooth but my laptop Is inbuilt so If I want to remove this things i will have to unculple the laptop which might lead to damage.

One way that might work easier (somebody more knowledgeable should confirm) is to boot from a Tails USB and at boot time select (in offline mode settings) to stay without network (now the default is with network on). It's not my blog, I've found it on web search, but one of the last images on this page shows what I want to tell.

Of course that if you want to use it for air gapped wallet you may want o enable persistence and so on, hence still things to learn and check.

If this could be possible it will be less stressful than the above option but how do I get a tails USB ?
Have anyone tried it before? To share the experience

[Charles-Tim]

I am in doubt in this.

There might be malware sitting in BIOS.

I do not think there is any problem if the flash drive used for the installation is not having malware. Reinstalling the OS has been the method that people are recommending.

One way that might work easier (somebody more knowledgeable should confirm) is to boot from a Tails USB and at boot time select (in offline mode settings) to stay without network (now the default is with network on). It's not my blog, I've found it on web search, but one of the last images on this page shows what I want to tell.

Of course that if you want to use it for air gapped wallet you may want o enable persistence and so on, hence still things to learn and check.

I hearrd that tails OS comes with Electrum installed. It would be a good option for airgapped devices.

I was thinking to remove the WiFi card and Bluetooth but my laptop Is inbuilt so If I want to remove this things i will have to unculple the laptop which might lead to damage.

You can check some YouTube videos for it. Just search it on YouTube and you will get some useful information that would be helpful.

[Synchronice]

Format and reinstall the computer OS. That will let you to be 100% sure that your device is 100% not having malware.

I am in doubt in this.

There might be malware sitting in BIOS.

If you want to use your device as an Airgapped device and don't plan to connect it to internet, then even if your BIOS is infected, your keys won't be shared because attacker needs you to access internet in order to transfer your data from your computer to his server. For further protection, you might buy a faraday cage and make your room soundproof where you store your computer. Is it necessary to take these security measurements? I don't think they are but do as you wish.
If your BIOS is infected, then buy a new motherboard or if you think any part of your computer is infected, buy a new computer. But also keep in mind that doesn't matter whatever device you buy, they might still be backdoored. What do you think about the idea that every computer manufactured recently is actually backdoored? But I think you are overthinking.

[satscraper]

Format and reinstall the computer OS. That will let you to be 100% sure that your device is 100% not having malware.

I am in doubt in this.

There might be malware sitting in BIOS.

If you want to use your device as an Airgapped device and don't plan to connect it to internet, then even if your BIOS is infected, your keys won't be shared because attacker needs you to access internet in order to transfer your data from your computer to his server. For further protection, you might buy a faraday cage and make your room soundproof where you store your computer. Is it necessary to take these security measurements? I don't think they are but do as you wish.
If your BIOS is infected, then buy a new motherboard or if you think any part of your computer is infected, buy a new computer. But also keep in mind that doesn't matter whatever device you buy, they might still be backdoored. What do you think about the idea that every computer manufactured recently is actually backdoored? But I think you are overthinking.

I have responded to Charles-Tim's   statement  which is not entirely correct. Infected BIOS  is capable to deliver malicious payload to OS after boot no matter in what way the system was installed.

Thus "formatting  and reinstalling"  the computer OS doesn't grantee "that your device is 100% not having malware".

The question of "whether it can influence the sensitive wallets  parts" is a matter of research rather than believe. IMO.

  

[Synchronice]

Format and reinstall the computer OS. That will let you to be 100% sure that your device is 100% not having malware.

I am in doubt in this.

There might be malware sitting in BIOS.

If you want to use your device as an Airgapped device and don't plan to connect it to internet, then even if your BIOS is infected, your keys won't be shared because attacker needs you to access internet in order to transfer your data from your computer to his server. For further protection, you might buy a faraday cage and make your room soundproof where you store your computer. Is it necessary to take these security measurements? I don't think they are but do as you wish.
If your BIOS is infected, then buy a new motherboard or if you think any part of your computer is infected, buy a new computer. But also keep in mind that doesn't matter whatever device you buy, they might still be backdoored. What do you think about the idea that every computer manufactured recently is actually backdoored? But I think you are overthinking.

I have responded to Charles-Tim's the  statement  which is not entirely correct. Infected BIOS  is capable to deliver malicious payload to OS after boot no matter in what way the system was installed.

Thus "formatting  and reinstalling"  the computer OS doesn't grantee "that your device is 100% not having malware".

 

Oops, sorry, I thought you were the OP and that's why I said You. Sorry again

[NeuroticFish]

If this could be possible it will be less stressful than the above option but how do I get a tails USB ?
Have anyone tried it before? To share the experience

Yes, I've tried it, actually even a couple of times. I had difficulties in installing other software, but Electrum is there already, so you have a good start. You have to boot from the USB, you need to enable persistent storage at every start, you have to disable network at every start and I think that you have to add electrum to persistent storage.

As documentation, tails os website has a lot of useful doc/tutorial, also the blog I've linked in my previous post covers a lot, including what to do to create the bootable stick (which is imho the easiest step).

[Stalker22]

Removed the WiFi card and Bluetooth. Format and reinstall the computer OS. That will let you to be 100% sure that your device is 100% not having malware.

I was thinking to remove the WiFi card and Bluetooth but my laptop Is inbuilt so If I want to remove this things i will have to unculple the laptop which might lead to damage.

A lot of older laptop models have WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity through modules that plug into the motherboard.  These things are usually pretty easy to get to if you pop off the access panel on the bottom.  If you can tell me the exact make and model of your laptop, I might be able to give you more specifics on how to remove that particular module.  Though if you're unsure about tackling this yourself, it wouldn't hurt to have an experienced technician help you out.  They'd know the best way to safely detach those parts without damaging anything. 

If this could be possible it will be less stressful than the above option but how do I get a tails USB ?
Have anyone tried it before? To share the experience

You can download Tails OS and installation instructions for USB from their official website: https://tails.net/install/download/
Be sure to verify your download before using it.

I gotta say though, no software in the world can truly guarantee that your device is 100% air-gapped.  Your best bet is to just manually disable/remove the hardware if you really wanna go that route.

[ABCbits]

Removed the WiFi card and Bluetooth. Format and reinstall the computer OS. That will let you to be 100% sure that your device is 100% not having malware.

I was thinking to remove the WiFi card and Bluetooth but my laptop Is inbuilt so If I want to remove this things i will have to unculple the laptop which might lead to damage.

In this case, you could try remove driver which used for networking.

One way that might work easier (somebody more knowledgeable should confirm) is to boot from a Tails USB and at boot time select (in offline mode settings) to stay without network (now the default is with network on). It's not my blog, I've found it on web search, but one of the last images on this page shows what I want to tell.

Of course that if you want to use it for air gapped wallet you may want o enable persistence and so on, hence still things to learn and check.

If this could be possible it will be less stressful than the above option but how do I get a tails USB ?
Have anyone tried it before? To share the experience

Basically you put Tails OS on your USB storage drive. Just check their website if you need guidance, https://tails.net/install/index.en.html.

[o_e_l_e_o]

In terms of hardware: You will be able to find instructions or a YouTube video online for your make and model of laptop showing how to safely disassemble it. Removing hardware is the only way to ensure your laptop is truly airgapped.

In terms of the BIOS: You can always flash the BIOS with a clean version at the same time you will be installing your new OS.

In terms of Tails: It works well, but there are a few things to keep in mind. There is no persistent storage unless you configure it, meaning that when you shutdown your computer everything (including your bitcoin wallet) will be wiped, and you will have to recover from your seed phrase back up next time you want to use your wallet. Also, the version of Electrum pre-bundled with Tails is 4.0.2. If you want to use any of the features released in newer versions since then, you'll need to download and verify the standalone appimage on a different computer and transfer it to your Tails computer (and then store it in the persistent storage so you don't have to do that every single time).

[Medusah]

I gotta say though, no software in the world can truly guarantee that your device is 100% air-gapped.

Software does not guarantee you anything.  You do.  If you do not know how to do proper device air gapping, then better buy yourself a reputable airgapped hardware wallet like Passport or build yourself a signing device from scratch for ultimate transparency.

[satscraper]

In terms of the BIOS: You can always flash the BIOS with a clean version at the same time you will be installing your new OS.

Good advice, but it seems there are some flavors of malware that can survive BIOS re-flashing.  

Besides,  sometimes it is hard to find  the relevant firmware that match BIOS on the old laptops.

BTW. Why did  you strip off the mixer signature, precautionary measure or what?

[o_e_l_e_o]

BTW. Why did  you strip off the mixer signature, precautionary measure or what?

I dropped my signature ages ago, a long time before any announcements from theymos. Because reasons.

[DaveF]

Side note with this, but important. If you can find old rugged laptops, be it Panasonic Toughbooks or Dell rugged laptops they have 2 ways of shutting off ALL wireless communications 1 is in the bios and the other is a physical switch. Either one will 100% shut down all external signaling.

Done for both security AND if you are in an environment where having anything putting out a powered RF signal would be bad.

Tend to be more expensive and a total pain to work on at times (50 screws to replace a broken screen) but they are an option.

-Dave

[af_newbie]

Hello everyone!
I'm trying to use my old laptop as an air gap devices, how do I know if it's air gapped because I already used it before for internet connection but but it has been a very very long time and I also removed the wifi adapter so it can be er go online again.

Thanks for your help

You should also plan on how are you going to transfer the unsigned/signed transaction to/from your offline laptop.

After you install the new OS, and configure the way you want it, you should physically disable all
ports, USB, HDMI, Ethernet, SD card reader, Wifi/WWAN, etc.
(Unless you carry it around 24/7 and you sleep with it, LOL).

Use QR codes and laptop cameras to transfer the data between your air gapped computers.

[takuma sato]

Hello everyone!
I'm trying to use my old laptop as an air gap devices, how do I know if it's air gapped because I already used it before for internet connection but but it has been a very very long time and I also removed the wifi adapter so it can be er go online again.

Thanks for your help

You should also plan on how are you going to transfer the unsigned/signed transaction to/from your offline laptop.

After you install the new OS, and configure the way you want it, you should physically disable all
ports, USB, HDMI, Ethernet, SD card reader, Wifi/WWAN, etc.
(Unless you carry it around 24/7 and you sleep with it, LOL).

Use QR codes and laptop cameras to transfer the data between your air gapped computers.

You could buy one of these QR readers that do nothing but read QR codes, this way you minimize a lot of variables. I think you can find them for cheap on Amazon, just make sure they don't have any internal memory or wireless smart crap on them and you are good. Use these to read the raw transaction that you have converted into a QR code from the air gapped laptop in order to sign in in the hot wallet laptop. This way you don't need to move the laptops awkwardly in front of each other to read the codes. Also you don't want the screen of your cold wallet laptop to be visible at any moment to the camera of a computer that is connect into the itnernet.

[dkbit98]

Side note with this, but important. If you can find old rugged laptops, be it Panasonic Toughbooks or Dell rugged laptops they have 2 ways of shutting off ALL wireless communications 1 is in the bios and the other is a physical switch. Either one will 100% shut down all external signaling.

Some older Thinkpad T series models also have this physical switch, but I am not sure you can disable everything in any proprietary bios with any switch.
Only way is to totally remove bios and install open source alternative bios like coreboot or libreboot, but that is available only for limited laptop models.