What's the point of a cryptocurrency if your computer is insecure?

[merkelstan]

title says it all - are cryptocurrencies safe for practical purposes - if your device isn't? any crypto-nerds want to comment?

[timosman]

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[kfarnan]

All computers are vulnerable for most part. The security is in holding possession, strong authentication, avoiding newbie mistakes. There is no one looking out for you, no gov. or private bank. With great freedom, comes great responsibility.

[kpitcher]

People use computers to handle their bank accounts all the time without problems. People trade stocks on PC all the time. No different with crypto currencies. Yes there have been issues but typically you should be alright with good antivirus running.

However if you are going to be holding some coins for a long period there are many ways to protect yourself. You can use an air gap computer to make a wallet to send coins to. There is no way the private key could hit the internet. You can then print paper wallets to store in secure locations.

Or you can use a devices made specifically to handle wallets. I don't use one myself so can't speak for the ease of use.

A simple safer way is to use blockchain.info , they have strong 2 factor authentication so some hacker would have to own your PC AND your phone to log in. That's more secure than me logging into my chase bank account.

[Crashland]

People use computers to handle their bank accounts all the time without problems. People trade stocks on PC all the time. No different with crypto currencies. Yes there have been issues but typically you should be alright with good antivirus running.

However if you are going to be holding some coins for a long period there are many ways to protect yourself. You can use an air gap computer to make a wallet to send coins to. There is no way the private key could hit the internet. You can then print paper wallets to store in secure locations.

Or you can use a devices made specifically to handle wallets. I don't use one myself so can't speak for the ease of use.

A simple safer way is to use blockchain.info , they have strong 2 factor authentication so some hacker would have to own your PC AND your phone to log in. That's more secure than me logging into my chase bank account.

Problem is that unlike banks, cryptocurrencies don't have algorithms/monitoring to differentiate between suspicious transactions and normal transactions. If somebody steals your username, password, logs into your bank account from Moscow and tries to empty your entire account, they're probably not going to be able to just do it. But if somebody gets your cryptocurrency private keys then they can dump your entire wallet in a single transaction and there is nothing you can do to stop it and no trail for who did it.

If you have a significant amount of cryptocurrency assets, get a hardware wallet like Trezor. It turns a digital security problem into a physical security problem, which humans are far better at. If you use a Trezor and set it up with a pin and a passphrase, then in order for someone to spend your coins they would need to physically acquire your Trezor (or backup seed), *and* have access to your pin (which cannot be keylogged) and password for it, with exponentially increasing waiting period between failed attempts.

[pao]

Currently use Nano S but will keep an eye on Trezor and how each develop over time to see if a switch is called for... Definitely recommend all crypto holders to use a hardware wallet.

[merkelstan]

Thanks for the comments.

[RonPaulIsGreat]

I have like 90% of my bitcoin on a trezor. About as secure as you can get. If you are going to have enough bitcoin that it would hurt to lose it buy a hardware wallet like the trezor.

[osan]

But if somebody gets your cryptocurrency private keys then they can dump your entire wallet in a single transaction and there is nothing you can do to stop it and no trail for who did it.

With great freedom, comes great responsibility.

...

[RogueWoman]

The UPMA, a silver and gold repository in Utah, offers accounts in gold and silver dollars. The legal tender coins (Constitutional currency) are vaulted with Brinks, and then you can either save or use the value via a debit card, or redeem via the metals or redemption through a check. I've looked into it and it seems amazing. Has anyone else had experience with them?

[oyarde]

I have not used it and am unfamiliar with it .

[wizardwatson]

What's the point of currency at all other than what the government gives you?

If crypto has security issues, it isn't any different than security issues with the current system.

People, even people who run off at the mouth about sound money, are poorly educated in general about money and what the problem is with it.