ZachXBT trusts Apple more than HW wallet dedicated company?

[rat03gopoh]

Through his brief reasons:


I know he's quite skilled at investigating and exposing many security breaches in the crypto industry. However, I found his last post on his tg channel quite controversial. I don't know if he didn't spend enough time explaining things in depth like he does when he reveals something.

Someone tried to analyze the short post in more detail about the iPhone dedicated wallet x.com/i/status/2077518810236830181

[OmegaStarScream]

Did he give any arguments though? aside from Ledger live having shitty updates? Sounds to me like he's talking based on a very bad experience he had with one specific device and software, even when he's saying "all hardware wallets are garbage".

[Charles-Tim]

Buying a hardware wallet can mean lack of privacy.

Using old but airgapped computer is better to me than buying a hardware wallet. Especially for people that do not take privacy as a joke.

Ledger Nano have been the worst hardware wallets, those that backup their seed phrase with those companies means they do not have full control over their coins.

[Cookdata]

I saw the post this morning and what I can say is that, the post lack some logic.

I have an HP folio, it's old but we'll maintain and clean, didn't see the need to dispose it, I installed a Linux OS, and don't connect it to the internet, made it airgaped only for signing. I removed the wifi and the Bluetooth card and so far I have not had any issue but that does not in any ways make other hardware and airgap wallet inferior.

How much does it cost to get an iPhone in the first place? What year? I read it somewhere that IPhone no longer support 11 downward, that means you can't even use the new Ios with the 11 version. So you are getting 12 and above to use a safe wallet worth at least  $300 and above in the market for a neat or clean one. How much is a high end hardware wallet again?

There are some companies that produced a well secured hardware wallet and don't have any issues. I will rather get one than stress with this complications.

I know he's quite skilled at investigating and exposing many security breaches in the crypto industry..

No, he is quite good at selective investigations that's not less than $200k worth and don't accept case from some regions.

[DubemIfedigbo001]

Buying a hardware wallet can mean lack of privacy.

Using old but airgapped computer is better to me than buying a hardware wallet. Especially for people that do not take privacy as a joke.

Personally, I don't fancy a HW that much. I've been using cold storage for my major holdings for more then a year now with a passphrase kept in a different place, so my coins are safe, even if the seed phrase is compromised as I have up to 3 backups in different locations.

Even if I had a HW, I'll still be inclined to using it with my air-gapped cold storage device totally offline to avoid any form of social engineering, so cold storage is enough for my major holdings.

I don't really like the idea of buying a wallet and having it delivered to me, I try to remain as private as I can with my crypto involvement. I don't even trust the delivery channel.

[Karl_3000]

I have an HP folio, it's old but we'll maintain and clean, didn't see the need to dispose it, I installed a Linux OS, and don't connect it to the internet, made it airgaped only for signing. I removed the wifi and the Bluetooth card and so far I have not had any issue but that does not in any ways make other hardware and airgap wallet inferior.

He said hardware wallet, he did not say airgapped wallets. Let me get it clearly or you mean that hardware wallets are airgapped? It is not all hardware wallets that are airgapped.

How much does it cost to get an iPhone in the first place? What year? I read it somewhere that IPhone no longer support 11 downward, that means you can't even use the new Ios with the 11 version. So you are getting 12 and above to use a safe wallet worth at least  $300 and above in the market for a neat or clean one. How much is a high end hardware wallet again?

iPhone still support iPhone 11, you are talking about iPhone X downward. What you can say is that the support may not be up to a year again.

[TryNinja]

Can't you just use Electrum, MetaMask, etc... with your Ledger?

Ledger Live sucks so do not buy their hardware device? That makes no sense to me. Just don't use their software. Ok, you might need it to update your HW from time to time, but that's all.

[Cookdata]

I have an HP folio, it's old but we'll maintain and clean, didn't see the need to dispose it, I installed a Linux OS, and don't connect it to the internet, made it airgaped only for signing. I removed the wifi and the Bluetooth card and so far I have not had any issue but that does not in any ways make other hardware and airgap wallet inferior.

He said hardware wallet, he did not say airgapped wallets. Let me get it clearly or you mean that hardware wallets are airgapped? It is not all hardware wallets that are airgapped.

You should read between the message he passed rather than putting eye balls on what I said. The essence of airgaped and hardware are both cold storage,  so???.

How much does it cost to get an iPhone in the first place? What year? I read it somewhere that IPhone no longer support 11 downward, that means you can't even use the new Ios with the 11 version. So you are getting 12 and above to use a safe wallet worth at least  $300 and above in the market for a neat or clean one. How much is a high end hardware wallet again?

iPhone still support iPhone 11, you are talking about iPhone X downward. What you can say is that the support may not be up to a year again.

11 still support, still doesn't rule out what I said. IPhones aren't dedicated for what he said and they aren't cheap either. Unless he is doing marketing for Apple.

[Karl_3000]

Can't you just use Electrum, MetaMask, etc... with your Ledger?

You said this because you are on this forum and know about Electrum or because you have the technical knowledge. Many Ledger users may not know Electrum and Metamask but just buy Ledger and use their Ledger software with it.

Can't you just use Electrum,
Ledger Live sucks so do not buy their hardware device? That makes no sense to me. Just don't use their software. Ok, you might need it to update your HW from time to time, but that's all.

See these:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5370521.msg58413730#msg58413730
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5515747.msg64674132#msg64674132
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5561912.msg65903321#msg65903321

Ledger wallets are close source.
Will you be happy to see someone call you and said we are coming for your bitcoin just because you bought Ledger?
There were also letters sent to Ledger users home addresses.
There are more bad things about these wallets that I have read about on the forum.

[Meuserna]

Statements like this are just dumb (from the original image):

Investigations by ZachXBT Hot take: All hardware wallets are complete garbage and I do not advise using them for important tasks

Some hardware wallets shouldn't be trusted. For example, any hardware wallet containing closed source code, or any hardware wallet containing any form of key-extraction over the internet. That's poison.

But saying all hardware wallets are trash is childish rage-bait.

I'm a huge fan of Krux and ShieldSigner, but I always recommend Trezor for newcomers. Blockstream Jade and ColdCard are solid too.

As a community, the worst thing we can do is encourage people to secure their Bitcoin in ways they don't understand or expose them to dangers they don't understand. That's why I recommend Trezor for newcomers. It's simple and secure. For people with lots of experience, ShieldSigner is a great choice.

Is using an old iPhone as a wallet secure if the device is dedicated to Bitcoin only? Probably... until the owner screws up and uses the iPhone for other things, because it's an iPhone.

[promise444c5]

The image is broken  @ rat03gopoh ..

He’s specific though and his main point is against Ledger in which he’s right anyway.. although I’m not sure why he added “all Hardware wallet” & how “iPhone”  really got into the whole conversation.

You can literally get a PC  for a cheaper price and setup a cold storage  which is much more better than a device that connects to the internet.

Yes.. Apple has good security, and it has its flaws..but could it be Apple, behind the post?
That’s a question only he can answer.. Or it could be based on experience as mentioned by OmegaStarScream

[TryNinja]

Can't you just use Electrum, MetaMask, etc... with your Ledger?

You said this because you are on this forum and know about Electrum or because you have the technical knowledge. Many Ledger users may not know Electrum and Metamask but just buy Ledger and use their Ledger software with it.

Then he should use his platform to educate the users on using Electrum, MetaMask, not exactly about using another device which probably has a bunch of 0day vulnerabilities.

Will you be happy to see someone call you and said we are coming for your bitcoin just because you bought Ledger?
There were also letters sent to Ledger users home addresses.
There are more bad things about these wallets that I have read about on the forum.

That's a different situation. Leaking a third party database has nothing to do with how good or bad is their hardware and software.

[Meuserna]

The image is broken  @ rat03gopoh ..

He’s specific though and his main point is against Ledger in which he’s right anyway.. although I’m not sure why he added “all Hardware wallet” & how “iPhone”  really got into the whole conversation.

Oh, absolutely. He is 100% right about Ledger. I'm a former Ledger user. I stopped using my Ledger devices the day Ledger announced they added key-extraction over the internet into their firmware.

I know some people would say I overreacted. I don't understand that mindset. Self Custody means self-responsibility. I don't understand people who do self custody but don't take that responsibility seriously. Key-extraction? Over the internet? Baked into closed-source firmware? That's poison. Why risk it?

I wouldn't want to be a Ledger user the day that firmware gets reverse engineered.

I will say one great thing about Ledger's key-extraction API: It taught me a lesson that too many people only learn by losing coins, and it was a lesson I should have already known: Don't Trust. Verify. Closed source code can't be trusted, because closed source code can't be verified.

[Meuserna]

Will you be happy to see someone call you and said we are coming for your bitcoin just because you bought Ledger?
There were also letters sent to Ledger users home addresses.
There are more bad things about these wallets that I have read about on the forum.

That's a different situation. Leaking a third party database has nothing to do with how good or bad is their hardware and software.

Ledger has also been phished.

A Ledger employee just got phished. DeFi users lost over $600k

Ledger confirmed the attack was the result of a hacker compromising one of its employees via a phishing attack. After gaining access to Ledger’s internal systems, the hacker planted malicious software within the Ledger Connect Kit.

SOURCE: DLnews

Ledger said an employee was phished, but under scrutiny, they changed their story, admitting it was a *former employee* who got phished.

Why did an ex-employee still have access to the codebase? Ledger won't say:

How a Single Phishing Link Unleashed Chaos on Crypto: "Ledger has confirmed the attack began because “a former Ledger employee fell victim to a phishing attack.”

SOURCE: Decrypt

How many former Ledger employees still have access to their codebase? Ledger won't say, not that we could trust any answer they'd give. Do they even know?

"The bombshell here is the explicit confirmation that Ledger themselves hold the master decryption key for all Ledger Recover users."

SOURCE: @sethforprivacy

What could possibly go wrong.

[rat03gopoh]

The image is broken  @ rat03gopoh ..

He’s specific though and his main point is against Ledger in which he’s right anyway.. although I’m not sure why he added “all Hardware wallet” & how “iPhone”  really got into the whole conversation.

You can literally get a PC  for a cheaper price and setup a cold storage  which is much more better than a device that connects to the internet.

Yes.. Apple has good security, and it has its flaws..but could it be Apple, behind the post?
That’s a question only he can answer.. Or it could be based on experience as mentioned by OmegaStarScream

His post (first and last sentences) contains a universal implication that he must deal with all vendors, even if he were only commenting on a specific vendor and not recommending others because there's no sponsorship(?). Clearly, the average Joe wouldn't want an iPhone just for a hardware wallet, or there's no specific guide to setting it up correctly that could prevent them from making mistakes. Furthermore, not all criminals around recognize HW wallets, but they might think Apple devices are expensive.

The image loads properly on my end