Risk only what you can afford to lose

[Outhue]

Let's talk about the king solution of keeping your Bitcoin safe, which to me is the airgapped hardware wallets but is it safe to say that they are 100% safe? I think the answer is no..

What and what is likely to go wrong with airgapped hardware wallets?

1. Cord connection: data can still be transmitted when connecting the hardware wallet to your PC.

2. SD Card: some comes with Sd card option for updating the hardware wallet, but I am not sure that using Sd card can always be safe either, I remember those days where I use to buy lots of Sd card because they have issues easily and also they get viruses easily. Old Symbian and Android users here?

3. QR Codes: honesty, QR codes are not readable by the eye, they comes with blocks like figures, there is no way to know what's written in that QR code anyway, there is no way to read it and know what kind of data is inside it.

4. You still have to rely on the company for future safetiness of the hardware wallet in terms of software updates, if someone hackers find a way to alter the upcoming update file you know what could happen.

The only healthy solution is to understand that there is no guarantee in crypto, risk only what you can afford to lose, even after every thing, something can still always go wrong.

You can limit the risk by choosing to not connect your hardware wallet to your PC or any PC for updates, use sdcards instead, but make sure you use a brand new Sdcard for your updates, once you use one for update today, store in a safe place simply for your hardware wallet updates only, do not use for saving files or downloading.

Do not scan QR code you find online, only scan when paying to another crypto wallet or you want to sell your BTC on an exchange, QR codes can come with malicious things too.

As for the software update from the companies, pray that nothing bad comes up from their side, I still strongly believe that they are the only thing that can easily messed up hardware wallet security.

Stay safe out there kings and happy holiday 🎅

[1714709158]

1714709158

[mk4]

There is no such thing as "100% safe" with hardware wallets or literally anything anyway. Everything has risk tradeoffs. All we can do is to make our coins as secure as possible, to the point that it's not 100% safe, but virtually almost impossible to break.

[jeraldskie11]

Let's talk about the king solution of keeping your Bitcoin safe, which to me is the airgapped hardware wallets but is it safe to say that they are 100% safe? I think the answer is no..

According to the majority, hardware wallets are the safest place to keep your assets, as well as air-gapped wallets. Since you are exchanging data in the computer even if you didn't use internet connection there's still a risk.

3. QR Codes: honesty, QR codes are not readable by the eye, they comes with blocks like figures, there is no way to know what's written in that QR code anyway, there is no way to read it and know what kind of data is inside it.

We can't read the QR Codes by the eye but it can easily be converted to text, so we have to avoid exposing our QR Codes anywhere in social medias.

[CryptopreneurBrainboss]

The only healthy solution is to understand that there is no guarantee in crypto, risk only what you can afford to lose, even after every thing, something can still always go wrong.

Apart from investing only what you can risk to lose, this is why you don't put all your eggs in one basket, hardware wallets should be use for storing our Bitcoin definitely but you shouldn't use the same wallet that you use for hodling for your daily transaction if you're very active in the market and not just a hodler. When you do this you don't risk losing all your Bitcoin if the wallet get compromised with the scenarios you have given. I still fully recommend using a wallets like electrum for your daily transaction irrespective of it been an online wallet while we keep our Bitcoin we allocated for hodling in a hardware wallet to be touch once in a while.

MK4 has hit the nail on the head, no matter what we do we can't be 100% safe so we should always take extra precautions to keep our Bitcoin safe as the constodial of our Bitcoin is in our hands and not that of any centralized body when we use non constodial wallets.

[angrybirdy]

There is no such thing as "100% safe" with hardware wallets or literally anything anyway. Everything has risk tradeoffs. All we can do is to make our coins as secure as possible, to the point that it's not 100% safe, but virtually almost impossible to break.

You're right, even if you already secured your coins in a trusted hardware wallet, it will not guarantee you a 100% safe because there's a pros and cons of securing your assets on it. The best thing you can do is to check and monitor your holding daily so you can see if there's any changes like lossing some of it. But hardware wallet is the safest way rather than software wallet which is exposed by using internet and prone to hacking incident.

[Zaguru12]

You're right, even if you already secured your coins in a trusted hardware wallet, it will not guarantee you a 100% safe because there's a pros and cons of securing your assets on it. The best thing you can do is to check and monitor your holding daily so you can see if there's any changes like lossing some of it. But hardware wallet is the safest way rather than software wallet which is exposed by using internet and prone to hacking incident.

I think it’s actually a bad idea of just checking the funds on your address from the airgapped device it is stored on either hardware wallet or a PC/mobile device, you can actually do this by setting up a watch only wallet on another device to track transactions on an address.

We can continuously be warning of a clipboard malware or others like QR code or SD card/USB but is not hard to use just some seconds to check to the address on the transaction details before progressing to send. As for the drives like SD card/USB use it only for the purpose of transferring transaction data only and not for storage, Also be cautious of the device holding the watch only wallet it can also have malware that can affect the USB and that’s why the use of QR code is actually much better although it doesn’t eliminate the problem of malware fully.

QR code malware are mostly gotten from the software where it is created or the device use yo scan it, so a proper QR code generated not from maybe a websites can be considered safe.

[iBaba]

There is no such thing as "100% safe" with hardware wallets or literally anything anyway. Everything has risk tradeoffs. All we can do is to make our coins as secure as possible, to the point that it's not 100% safe, but virtually almost impossible to break.

This is the most realistic assertions herein, the truth is, whether hardware wallets or airgapped wallets, in as much as it has a mode of transfering files or documents, being in online or offline, it can not be hundred percent safe. And the truth is, there's nothing like having something that is 100% safe. Not in real life, not in human inventories. There can always be breach to information when you try to transfer something out or into the device, the only truth about it is that, the more you try to stay away from unnecessary exposure of the secret files from online connection, the better it is safe and secure.

For instance, even your paper can not be safe. Mind you, you got the private key somewhere and from that moment which you acquired your private key, it becomes more exposed and vulnerable to attacks or hacks. However, being extremely careful and learning to improve on your security system will help a lot into security your private wallets. As for risking only what you can afford, I don't think it's always the case because as a human being, the nature is that we need to store our assets for so many reasons a few which includes theft, spending and others. It is because of this reason that we all store our assets. So you can not run away from storing your assets, but always work towards Ha mb protecting them.

[coiningz]

I guess that software wallet in linux VM without internet (only when sending) is still and option. If you use it as cold wallet you may not send anytinhg in years

[Faisal2202]

Let's talk about the king solution of keeping your Bitcoin safe, which to me is the airgapped hardware wallets but is it safe to say that they are 100% safe? I think the answer is no..

What and what is likely to go wrong with airgapped hardware wallets?
-cut-

I liked your suggestions but are they not obvious like in airgapped wallets you dedicate the device to either its wallet or a computer for wallet purposes and do not use it for personal uses. While in your suggestions you said, we should avoid SD cards to connect them to another device and should not scan QR codes from the hardware wallet (which are air-gapped). Don't you think using an SD card for other purposes while it should be dedicated to your air-gapped device will make your device not an air-gapped one?

This means your air-gapped device is not air-gapped if connected with the outside world, directly or indirectly. Never connect it to the outside world using an SD card, QR codes, or data cables, dedicate the whole setup for wallet activities and never open or update this wallet frequently, and talk about the updated files that you receive from the company, only prefer that company that has open source software like electrum or any other. Then you can also verify the authenticity of that update released by the company.

[Upgrade00]

Do not scan QR code you find online, only scan when paying to another crypto wallet or you want to sell your BTC on an exchange, QR codes can come with malicious things too.

In a proper airgapped wallet you should not be scanning any QR codes not related to a transaction detail, when switching from a watch only to the wallet for signing the transaction. You should not even be sending out from the wallet cause it should be a cold wallet.

100% security exists technically, but is difficult to attain, but we should try to get as close as possible.

[tabas]

As they say, there's no perfect system but a continuous development is a must to maintain its safety and security. In fairness to these updates that we're getting with the hardware wallet companies, not all of them are bad at all. The obvious is there with a certain brand but still, if we're going to survey what type of wallet is the trusted one, many are still saying about hardware wallets.

3. QR Codes: honesty, QR codes are not readable by the eye, they comes with blocks like figures, there is no way to know what's written in that QR code anyway, there is no way to read it and know what kind of data is inside it.

The curious ones should just stop scanning all of the QR codes that they see. 
I still prefer to send and receive Bitcoins through giving the address than giving and asking for an address' QR code.

[umbara ardian]

There is no such thing as "100% safe" with hardware wallets or literally anything anyway. Everything has risk tradeoffs. All we can do is to make our coins as secure as possible, to the point that it's not 100% safe, but virtually almost impossible to break.

Yeah, you got it! Nothing in this life is a guaranteed slam dunk, not even those fancy hardware wallets. Every option out there has its own set of risks and things to think about. The best we can do is try our best to keep our money safe, even if it's never gonna be 100% secure. It's kinda like building a fortress - you can make it super tough, but there's always the possibility of someone finding a way in.

It's not just crypto either, the same goes for everything we own. Even stuff like cash, gold, or even that house you just bought - they all come with their own risks. Cash can get lost or snatched, gold can get swiped or lose its value, and that house? Well, it could get hit by a hurricane or just plummet in price.

So, really, "safe" is just a way of saying "not totally screwed." What's safe in one situation might not be safe in another. It's all about understanding the risks and doing what you can to protect yourself.

[BIT-BENDER]

This may be a good way of saving your Bitcoin to you but personally I think it's complicated and hectic and in my own opinion complications has its own risk.
But you must understand it's best to do what you understand and what works for you. I am using electrum and I have an online and offline wallet. My online wallet is for view only and transactions are done by broadcasting the offline transaction on the online wallet. It's safe, easy and very effective because it's hard to penetrate a wallet that is offline.

You can guide yourself and understand more about electrum cold storage by checking out this
https://electrum.readthedocs.io/en/latest/coldstorage.html

[Negotiation]

Do not scan QR code you find online, only scan when paying to another crypto wallet or you want to sell your BTC on an exchange, QR codes can come with malicious things too.

As for the software update from the companies, pray that nothing bad comes up from their side, I still strongly believe that they are the only thing that can easily messed up hardware wallet security.

Any time possible to phishing or malicious attacks on any wallet on your using device, I see many people face the problem.

1. download the app.
2. create the wallet.
3. save your wallet address.
4. save private key/seed. (on your dairy or print it.)
5. possible to convert QR on key/seed. (then print)
6. When you run out of needs. Then uninstall the wallet app.

*In this case, even if your device is damaged/phishing/malicious attacks, your money will remain intact.

These are my personal opinions, I have read some such blogs and watched some videos, which now I can't remember properly.

[JamesBay]

The only healthy solution is to understand that there is no guarantee in crypto, risk only what you can afford to lose, even after every thing, something can still always go wrong.

Apart from investing only what you can risk to lose, this is why you don't put all your eggs in one basket, hardware wallets should be use for storing our Bitcoin definitely but you shouldn't use the same wallet that you use for hodling for your daily transaction if you're very active in the market and not just a hodler. When you do this you don't risk losing all your Bitcoin if the wallet get compromised with the scenarios you have given. I still fully recommend using a wallets like electrum for your daily transaction irrespective of it been an online wallet while we keep our Bitcoin we allocated for hodling in a hardware wallet to be touch once in a while.

MK4 has hit the nail on the head, no matter what we do we can't be 100% safe so we should always take extra precautions to keep our Bitcoin safe as the constodial of our Bitcoin is in our hands and not that of any centralized body when we use non constodial wallets.

100% agree

[South Park]

There is no such thing as "100% safe" with hardware wallets or literally anything anyway. Everything has risk tradeoffs. All we can do is to make our coins as secure as possible, to the point that it's not 100% safe, but virtually almost impossible to break.

Yeah, you got it! Nothing in this life is a guaranteed slam dunk, not even those fancy hardware wallets. Every option out there has its own set of risks and things to think about. The best we can do is try our best to keep our money safe, even if it's never gonna be 100% secure. It's kinda like building a fortress - you can make it super tough, but there's always the possibility of someone finding a way in.

It's not just crypto either, the same goes for everything we own. Even stuff like cash, gold, or even that house you just bought - they all come with their own risks. Cash can get lost or snatched, gold can get swiped or lose its value, and that house? Well, it could get hit by a hurricane or just plummet in price.

So, really, "safe" is just a way of saying "not totally screwed." What's safe in one situation might not be safe in another. It's all about understanding the risks and doing what you can to protect yourself.

That is how it works, because if there was a way to make your coins 100% secure then that would mean that not even you, their owner, will be able to access them, but since this is undesirable for obvious reasons then we need to have a way to be able to get to our coins, a method that could be used by an adversary to get to your coins as well, so this idea that we can somehow protect our coins from any eventuality is mistaken, and we have to get by with imperfect methods that secure our coins to a level we can be satisfied with.

[2girls]

Those traders who have money but can't have some knowledge about the risk management, as it is also the part of risk management in trading. Knowledge about the risk management is also important. I have seen those users who are not going to manage well but they have their own strategies through well in their last some month which they made from the previous losses they have ever made.

And now they are doing  really well by investing and earning from the same coins in which they made loss.

[nakamura12]

There is no such thing as "100% safe" with hardware wallets or literally anything anyway. Everything has risk tradeoffs. All we can do is to make our coins as secure as possible, to the point that it's not 100% safe, but virtually almost impossible to break.

It is certainly true but atleast using something like hardware wallets or anything that will increase the security even though it isn't 100% safe we want it to. I guess that the advice that is given is quite incomplete since many people did say that if you have money to spend or can afford to buy then it is recommended to do so since it is secured (you know I won't say it is 100% safe) but they didn't include that it isn't 100% safe. Honestly, I also did tell post about it when someone created a thread about wanting a wallet that is safe, legit and secured.

[mvdheuvel1983]

According to the majority, hardware wallets are the safest place to keep your assets, as well as air-gapped wallets. Since you are exchanging data in the computer even if you didn't use internet connection there's still a risk.

Hardware wallets are not as safe as the manufacturers would like for use to think and one of the issues is that I think manufacturers of these devices have a hand in  over complicating this issue. I have to repeat this that all we want is a device that stores our keys cryptographically and that no 3rd party apps or the manufacturer themselves can have access to our keys. If the manufacturer goes beyond these basic specs then, in my opinion they are not providing the secure service we demand.

[sheenshane]

100% security exists technically, but is difficult to attain, but we should try to get as close as possible.

I tend to agree with this, through knowledge and skills, this will be attained.
Technically, I often hear people who have been scammed as their cold wallets, most of them successfully store their coins safely because they know how to minimize the risk of keeping their assets in the virtual world.

But yes, there's no 100% safe in crypto space.
Everything valuable can be hackable even online or offline, the best thing you can do is minimize the risk.