Any thoughts on encrypting data ( seeds) with mnemonic USB scripts in order encrypt and split up backups? Or do you prefer seeds themselves be stored physically with pen and paper or crypto steel/billfodl? Then things like exchange and email pw , 2fa back ups can be stored in a pw manager, with the master pw and perhaps user account pw stored on encrypted usb ( veracrypt standard or hidden volumes )?
Paper/steel wins for storing your seed. The only exception to this is if you have a secure offline environment and only ever handle the encrypted/decrypted seed there. (So if your hardware wallet let's you do this on device like a Bitbox02 or ColdCard, if you have the discipline to use tails only) The main issue with digital copies is that you then need to have both the file intact and remember the decryption key. I have just heard too many stories of people who overcomplicate their backups and end up losing everything... If you are worried about securing your seed backup just add a BIP39 passphrase. (Though be sure to include this in your backup scheme somehow)
Not really, Tails is fine if you want a cold wallet but if you are regularly doing transactions it will be a lot of work. Your best bet if you don't want a hardware wallet, is to get something that runs on your phone. (This will be more secure than your desktop environment for any modern phone that is still receiving updates from the manufacturer)
Which OS and hardware do you recommend for managing a multi-vendor hardware wallet cold storage multi-sig quorum using Specter desktop or Sparrow? I've been trying to decide how I should setup a dedicated sanitized computer for strictly BTC cold storage related stuff. All seeds would live on hardware wallets (and on paper/steel) so some might say it doesn't matter what computer you use but some of us are ok with going more tin foil hat mode. One issue I'm finding with modern hardware is most of it has wireless connectivity, which, for tin foil hat people is a no-go. Would it make more sense to run a node on a separate computer from the one used for managing the quorum or just do it all on one computer?
@@CryptoGuide Not sure which one to choose for doing that without causing hardware problems, I suppose. And there’s some remote possibilities of hardware having vulnerabilities in unvetted hardware that go un/under reported since the average home user isn’t concerned about edge cases.
So apparently tails should work on with windows 7 and up.. just did factory rest on windows 7.. totally fresh machine, and ive tried putting tails on multiple usbs drives- but the drives are never recognized in windows.. i know the drive is fine since its new and works in another computer... also, the same drive WITHOUT TAILS works perfectly fine on the windows 7 computer.. when i try to load direcrly from bios it says "Operation system no found". I tried wiping tails and reformatting the drive to every file system type ( that should work) and none do... any ideas or is this computer just too old? I wanted to make a poor man's airgapped computer.. so i took out the network card and was going to run tails only... now after watching your vids.. it appears its ok to use tails on my main machine , as long as i dont connect to Tor and do be sure to run any scripts out of a non persistant folder like Docs
This has nothing to do with the operating system you are running and everything to do with your laptop being able to boot from a USB stick. You might need to adjust some settings in your BIOS and this would be an issue for any Live USB Linux on your PC, so googleing instructions for your motherboard or laptop model is your best bet. If you really want to be paranoid, you can disconnect your hard drives too, bit running tails without persistence is a good way to do an air-gapped wallet with a single PC. (Just reloading your seed when you occasionally need to sign transactions)
Yep... Hardware wallets are definitely the best option for the vast majority of users, though there are still some recovery situations where someone might choose to use Tails to extract some individual private keys. (As opposed to just moving everything to a new seed)
Any thoughts on encrypting data ( seeds) with mnemonic USB scripts in order encrypt and split up backups? Or do you prefer seeds themselves be stored physically with pen and paper or crypto steel/billfodl? Then things like exchange and email pw , 2fa back ups can be stored in a pw manager, with the master pw and perhaps user account pw stored on encrypted usb ( veracrypt standard or hidden volumes )?
Paper/steel wins for storing your seed. The only exception to this is if you have a secure offline environment and only ever handle the encrypted/decrypted seed there. (So if your hardware wallet let's you do this on device like a Bitbox02 or ColdCard, if you have the discipline to use tails only) The main issue with digital copies is that you then need to have both the file intact and remember the decryption key. I have just heard too many stories of people who overcomplicate their backups and end up losing everything...
If you are worried about securing your seed backup just add a BIP39 passphrase. (Though be sure to include this in your backup scheme somehow)
Hello, would you recommend it to use a soft wallet? I have lots of cracked programs in my windows and I`m looking for a way to use a soft wallet
Not really, Tails is fine if you want a cold wallet but if you are regularly doing transactions it will be a lot of work.
Your best bet if you don't want a hardware wallet, is to get something that runs on your phone. (This will be more secure than your desktop environment for any modern phone that is still receiving updates from the manufacturer)
Which OS and hardware do you recommend for managing a multi-vendor hardware wallet cold storage multi-sig quorum using Specter desktop or Sparrow? I've been trying to decide how I should setup a dedicated sanitized computer for strictly BTC cold storage related stuff. All seeds would live on hardware wallets (and on paper/steel) so some might say it doesn't matter what computer you use but some of us are ok with going more tin foil hat mode. One issue I'm finding with modern hardware is most of it has wireless connectivity, which, for tin foil hat people is a no-go. Would it make more sense to run a node on a separate computer from the one used for managing the quorum or just do it all on one computer?
What's stopping you from just using a commodity laptop and removing the wifi module?
@@CryptoGuide Not sure which one to choose for doing that without causing hardware problems, I suppose. And there’s some remote possibilities of hardware having vulnerabilities in unvetted hardware that go un/under reported since the average home user isn’t concerned about edge cases.
Any commodity laptop with a removable wifi module will do. You can just run Ubuntu and you are good to go.
How often does it spoof the mac address? On each login?
It will randomise for each login by default. You can read more about it here: tails.boum.org/doc/first_steps/welcome_screen/mac_spoofing/index.en.html
So apparently tails should work on with windows 7 and up.. just did factory rest on windows 7.. totally fresh machine, and ive tried putting tails on multiple usbs drives- but the drives are never recognized in windows.. i know the drive is fine since its new and works in another computer... also, the same drive WITHOUT TAILS works perfectly fine on the windows 7 computer.. when i try to load direcrly from bios it says "Operation system no found". I tried wiping tails and reformatting the drive to every file system type ( that should work) and none do... any ideas or is this computer just too old?
I wanted to make a poor man's airgapped computer.. so i took out the network card and was going to run tails only... now after watching your vids.. it appears its ok to use tails on my main machine , as long as i dont connect to Tor and do be sure to run any scripts out of a non persistant folder like Docs
This has nothing to do with the operating system you are running and everything to do with your laptop being able to boot from a USB stick. You might need to adjust some settings in your BIOS and this would be an issue for any Live USB Linux on your PC, so googleing instructions for your motherboard or laptop model is your best bet.
If you really want to be paranoid, you can disconnect your hard drives too, bit running tails without persistence is a good way to do an air-gapped wallet with a single PC. (Just reloading your seed when you occasionally need to sign transactions)
Or just get a trezor
Yep... Hardware wallets are definitely the best option for the vast majority of users, though there are still some recovery situations where someone might choose to use Tails to extract some individual private keys. (As opposed to just moving everything to a new seed)