ezofox on Nostr: I agree with everything that your husband has explained. Software wallets themselves ...
I agree with everything that your husband has explained.
Software wallets themselves may not be the actual problem. It is the environment in which you enter your private keys.
In simple terms, if you use only a software wallet and you enter your private key on your computer into that software, your main risks could be vulnerability in your Operating System, other software's that you run in the background, network security (if you are doing this on an online computer) or even the software wallet having a vulnerability that could expose your private key to a malicious actor.
However, if your keys are generated on a hardware wallet and you use that to sign your transactions (a hardware wallet is actually a signing device or a signer), then you can pair it with a software wallet to perform those transactions on even a malicious computer or network as long as you are aware that any automated transactions that occur on that computer or network requires your personal authorization on the hardware wallet.
The usual setup that I recommend is as follows:
1. Get a hardware wallet (Colcard MK3 or MK4 or the new Q1 if you like a larger screen) and update it to the latest firmware.
2. Generate your seed phrase (Watch the coldcard 5 minute guide here youtu.be/qNjgs1WJfK0?list=PLZKkuPrgFw0axLoDDzxAIYzpZeC_T1i7W)
It explains everything from setting up your coldcard PIN and writing down your seed phrase in a safe location.
3. Connect it with a software wallet and perform transactions using a MicroSD card (It's how I like to do it instead of using a USB cable). How this works is you never have to ever connect your coldcard to your computer or any other place. You just need to power it over a wall charger. You can then export your watch-only wallet file which you can open with Sparrow wallet. This wallet will only let you view the transactions and receive Bitcoin, but not send. To complete sending Bitcoin you will need to export a file to your microsd card and load it up on your software wallet to sign the transaction and broadcast it.
Software wallets themselves may not be the actual problem. It is the environment in which you enter your private keys.
In simple terms, if you use only a software wallet and you enter your private key on your computer into that software, your main risks could be vulnerability in your Operating System, other software's that you run in the background, network security (if you are doing this on an online computer) or even the software wallet having a vulnerability that could expose your private key to a malicious actor.
However, if your keys are generated on a hardware wallet and you use that to sign your transactions (a hardware wallet is actually a signing device or a signer), then you can pair it with a software wallet to perform those transactions on even a malicious computer or network as long as you are aware that any automated transactions that occur on that computer or network requires your personal authorization on the hardware wallet.
The usual setup that I recommend is as follows:
1. Get a hardware wallet (Colcard MK3 or MK4 or the new Q1 if you like a larger screen) and update it to the latest firmware.
2. Generate your seed phrase (Watch the coldcard 5 minute guide here youtu.be/qNjgs1WJfK0?list=PLZKkuPrgFw0axLoDDzxAIYzpZeC_T1i7W)
It explains everything from setting up your coldcard PIN and writing down your seed phrase in a safe location.
3. Connect it with a software wallet and perform transactions using a MicroSD card (It's how I like to do it instead of using a USB cable). How this works is you never have to ever connect your coldcard to your computer or any other place. You just need to power it over a wall charger. You can then export your watch-only wallet file which you can open with Sparrow wallet. This wallet will only let you view the transactions and receive Bitcoin, but not send. To complete sending Bitcoin you will need to export a file to your microsd card and load it up on your software wallet to sign the transaction and broadcast it.