Meltdown and Spectre are SERIOUS Threats to your Crypto Stash, Get a Hardware Wallet!
If you're in crypto you should already have a hardware wallet. If you don't, you've likely heard about them. I can't stress enough how important it is that if you don't have one, you need to get one.
We're fortunate with Steem in that we have some built in protections for our funds in the fact that it takes time to power down and we have the ability to recover our accounts.
If you're holding other coins though, there is no reason you should not have them stored on a hardware wallet.
These latest vulnerabilities are massive and show once again that if you're in crypto, you need to understand the risks and responsibilities all lie with you. Be smart. If you don't understand something, ask questions and learn. Cryptos are going to change the world and unfortunately they're also going to be a target. Make sure you're taking the right steps to secure your investments.
Get a Ledger or Trezor Hardware Wallet
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Okay, I’ll stop putting off getting a hardware wallet... this is some scary shit.
I am ready to purchase one. I understand how important it is, but I have no idea where to start or what to look for. Can I ask you a couple questions?
Ledger and Trezor are your recommendations? Why? And are they easy for someone like me with about a 3 on a 1-10 tech scale?
I have a Ledger Nano S and absoluetly love it. It stores a wide variety of coins and it's really pretty easy to setup and use. I've never used a Trezor so I can't give any feedback on it but it's definitely the other big player in the market.
When you're looking for a hardware wallet, really you're looking for one that supports the coins that you want to store. The Ledger has a pretty good list already and keeps adding coins.
It comes with pretty straight forward instructions and I'm pretty confident that even someone low on the tech scale can figure it out.
I'm always happy to answer questions as well if you need me to.
This is very helpful.
Actually, I do have a question. Say something were to happen to your wallet, like it breaks or is lost. What is the best backup to that, or is there backup?
When you first setup the device you create a 24 word passphrase. That phrase essentially becomes your new private key. So you'll want to write it down on a piece of paper (or two) and put them in a fireproof safe or bank deposit box.
The Ledger then uses those 24 words to setup your new private keys on the device itself. If anything were to happen to the device, you can use those same 24 words to restore on a new ledger device and it will be the same as your old one. You can also take those 24 words and use them on web wallets to recover your private keys and funds if for some reason Ledger went out of business.
Once your Ledger is setup you then set a 4 or 8 number pin on the device (I use an 8 number pin) and everytime you plug the device in you just put your pin in and it unlocks the wallet. You don't ever have to use the 24 words unless you need to restore the device.
The device protects against brute force attacks against your pin number by only allowing an incorrect pin to be entered 3 times. If you put the wrong pin in a fourth time, the device will reset itself and delete everything on it. You would then end up having to restore the device using your 24 word phrase.
When you get your wallet I recommend going through that process without any funds on the wallet just so you can see how it works and trust that you can restore if you ever needed to.
This is priceless. Thank you! You have helped me more tonight than the few hours of research I have done on the interwebz!
Indeed this is excellent info, solved many of my doubts. Many thanks sir!
But there is a reason, Ledger Nano S is out of stock for months. Just another reason to put your money into Steem.
You can find them in stock online at different places. You could also go with a Trezor.
Powering up Steem is another good option, but personally, I don't think it's smart to put all my eggs in one basket, so I diversify and for the other coins I hold, I wouldn't use anything but a hardware wallet.
Even when I couldn't get a hardware wallet, I stored them in paper wallets until I could. To each their own though.
Just put everything into steempower, haha!
Joke aside, i really have looked into wallets but i dont understand how they work.. :( Do you also pay fees to send them to the wallet? i should probably invest in one.
Haha, that works too, if you don't need your money right away. It's actually one of the many killer features of this blockchain that many people outside of here haven't figured out yet.
I'm going to do a post today that goes over how they work that hopefully is a little more helpful, but to answer your question, no you don't have to pay any additional fees, only the normal fees you would pay to use the network.
If you have any other cryptos that you're hodling, you definitely should be using a hardware wallet.
This is really good stuff! Very useful! Well done!
so nice post and thanks for sharing knowledge if some invest probbally he will know and also money in wallet