Need Advice Securing Bitcoin Core Wallet Any Tips?

[Synchronice]

...don't visit malicious website, i.e. stick with FAANG websites (Amazon, Netflix, Facebook, etc), then you'll be safe (but for maximum security you need an air-gapped computer).

This will give Op the impression that popular means safe. Those top websites track us and have far more data on their user than all the other loew reputable websites, we just trust them not to do anything with it (publicly) that will harm their reputation.

- Jay -

You are right, I should have clarified it better but I'll try it now. When I speak about popular websites, I mean the fact that those websites won't inject malware and trojan on your website, so you won't become a victim of computer virus. I think we should take the security of hot wallet as well as we do on cold wallet (but cold should be another level). So, if I have a hot wallet on my computer, I would stick with FAANG websites because they won't inject my pc with malware. But I completely agree with you that these websites track us and trade with our data but if you want to communicate with people and have some fun online, you are almost forced to use them.

But this doesn't mean either that you'll become hacked. If your computer is clean, you don't download pirated content, don't visit malicious website, i.e. stick with FAANG websites (Amazon, Netflix, Facebook, etc), then you'll be safe (but for maximum security you need an air-gapped computer).

Those popular website (especially Facebook) sometimes shows malicious ads and may be mistaken as regular content though. Some goods on Amazon (and other online shop) may be fake or malicious. Here's an example, Another crap Amazon wallet find: Material Bitcoin.

Don't click on ads, never click on ads when you have Bitcoin wallet in your computer. I prefer to have different computer for cold wallet, different for hot wallet and different for exploring the world wide web without restrictions.
By the way, no one should buy wallet from Amazon. To be honest, amazon sucks, I have heard that they put all the staff together and ship from them, so, even the shipped and sold by amazon doesn't guarantee you that you'll receive a genuine product.

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[satscraper]

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Can anyone share some practical security tips or precautions they've taken while using Bitcoin Core? I want to make sure my wallet and funds are as safe as possible. Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

Update your Bitcoin Core to the newest v.27.0 that was released 12 hours ago. Among various improvements effecting RPC, P2P network and wallet itself  it has the noticeable  striking point which should positively influence the security - the issue which bothers your most.

[Pmalek]

You are using your Bitcoin Core software where your private keys are on an internet-connected computer, so you are already much less secure than you could be if you took advantage of its airgapped capabilities.
Since it's a hot wallet, you can at least try to control what you do with that computer. If I were you, I would stop using it for any everyday activities online. Get a different laptop for that. For instance, I have a separate laptop I only use for my financials. I have never done anything else with it. It has never even had a USB connected to it that I use with my other computers. 

[MicroScript]

You don't get the point. Anything online is prone to hacking, so the funds in your wallet is never safe if it is online, the most important step to ensure the security of your funds is to ensure that your keys are offline, and to do that you either have to use a hardware wallet or set up your own airgapped wallet. However, you can use an online wallet if it does not store a large amount of coins.

Everyone trusts hardware wallets to secure cryptocurrencies, but how can the authenticity of a hardware wallet be verified so that it has not been tampered with or compromised during production or distribution?
Which one do you recommend hardware wallet or air gapped wallet?

[LoyceV]

Everyone trusts hardware wallets to secure cryptocurrencies, but how can the authenticity of a hardware wallet be verified so that it has not been tampered with or compromised during production or distribution?

That's a tough one It's recommended to only buy hardware wallets directly from the manufacturer (and never from third parties). After that, you can follow the authentication process on their website. But indeed, it's one of the things I never feel 100.0000000% sure about. It's too much of a black box.

Which one do you recommend hardware wallet or air gapped wallet?

It depends on your usage, and skills. You could go extreme and setup an air gapped hardware wallet, with a seed created from dice rolls. But for the average user, usually a hardware wallet is the safest compromise. Unless they enter their seed words on a recovery phishing website, there's no protection against that.
A hardware wallet is a lot more convenient to use than an air gapped system. You don't have to limit yourself to just one wallet.

[ABCbits]

Everyone trusts hardware wallets to secure cryptocurrencies, but how can the authenticity of a hardware wallet be verified so that it has not been tampered with or compromised during production or distribution?

That's a tough one It's recommended to only buy hardware wallets directly from the manufacturer (and never from third parties). After that, you can follow the authentication process on their website. But indeed, it's one of the things I never feel 100.0000000% sure about. It's too much of a black box.

FWIW, some hardware wallet company create list of authorized reseller/distributor. Although i don't expect they're being monitored closely by HW company. And few hardware wallet is completely open (both hardware and software), where theoretically you could verify everything assuming you have time and skill to do that.

[LoyceV]

FWIW, some hardware wallet company create list of authorized reseller/distributor.

It still comes down to trusting someone.

few hardware wallet is completely open (both hardware and software), where theoretically you could verify everything assuming you have time and skill to do that.

Just like with Open Source software, most people will rely on other people to do that. There's always some trust involved, and that's the part I dislike (but I can't avoid it either).

[Pmalek]

And few hardware wallet is completely open (both hardware and software), where theoretically you could verify everything assuming you have time and skill to do that.

Any hardware wallet that has a secure element chip, and most of them do, can't be called open-source hardware-wise. The proper term would be as open-source as possible, something that Trezor used in one of its public communications a long time ago when the info about them creating their own secure element was fresh. I think even Foundation describes their products as having fully open-source hardware and software.

[MicroScript]

Any hardware wallet that has a secure element chip, and most of them do, can't be called open-source hardware-wise. The proper term would be as open-source as possible, something that Trezor used in one of its public communications a long time ago when the info about them creating their own secure element was fresh. I think even Foundation describes their products as having fully open-source hardware and software.

I want to know details about the secure element chip. Can you please elaborate on the cryptographic protocols employed by the secure element chip within the hardware wallet to protect users' private keys and sensitive data?

[Pmalek]

I want to know details about the secure element chip. Can you please elaborate on the cryptographic protocols employed by the secure element chip within the hardware wallet to protect users' private keys and sensitive data?

This isn't really the place to discuss hardware wallets or secure elements, but since you brought it up... A secure element is a safe enclosure for your private keys. They stay safely on the chip to prevent outside access. The data is encrypted and only decrypted when needed. Random number generators create the private keys in a fair and unbiased manner.

I am not sure if that answers your question. You can read Secure Elements in Hardware Wallets for more information.