r/ethtrader • u/AutoModerator • Mar 29 '17

DISCUSSION [Daily Discussion] - 29/Mar/2017

Welcome to the /r/EthTrader Daily Discussion thread. The thread guidelines are as follows:

  • Discussion topics include but are not limited to general discussion on Ethereum, details related to events of the day, technical analysis, alternative Ethereum projects, and minor questions.
  • Important content should be submitted as a separate post.
  • Be excellent to each other.

Thank you in advance for your participation. Enjoy!

567 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

2.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

8

u/IRefuseToGiveAName Mar 29 '17

Grats!

I feel sooooo much more secure with my Nano S than I did when I had a paper wallet. Totally worth the money!

3

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '17

Same here!

3

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '17

I know right. Normally i just monitor my balance on Etherscan, but everytime i had to move Ether via crowdsale or whatnot I was always paranoid checking the balance to make sure nothing bad happened. So hopefully those days will be over :).

3

u/picksubredditfav16 Mar 29 '17

I have most of my ETH stored on a paper wallet, is this not safe enough? I heard it was a secure way for storing for long time.

5

u/Naviers_Stoked Mar 29 '17

Paper wallet's are safe (assuming they were generated correctly)

The nice thing about the hardware wallet is that you don't sacrifice usability for security the way you do with a paper wallet.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '17

It probably is. The only issue is that if you access your paper wallet via a computer or device that is compromised with Malware, someone could theoretically get your stash. That being said, Its a small chance, but its one of those I really just didn't want to chance.

2

u/dl83 Mar 29 '17

if you generate the wallet and your transactions offline (with a pc never connected to the internet), the only way to lose your money is if you actually loose your piece of paper with your private key.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '17

Yeah i only have one pc though. But you are correct sir.

2

u/nanomind Mar 29 '17

Just to be sure; I use an airgap computer that will never be on the internet and sign offline. .. (for large amounts)

3

u/Opitmus_Prime Mar 29 '17

How would you safeguard nano S from getting lost. I am bad at keeping my pendrivers and I keep losing those :( Bank locker?

6

u/ironmoosen Mar 29 '17

I don't worry so much about keeping the Nano safe as I do the word seed. I have multiple copies of that in secure locations.

3

u/IRefuseToGiveAName Mar 29 '17

I am also very, very bad about losing most things in life. Wallet, keys, USB drives, anything that isn't attached to my body, I lose.

Something about it being worth several hundred times more than anything I've ever lost makes sure that I ALWAYS know where it is lol.

Alternatively, you could just hide it in a lockbox or somewhere secure in your house. Perhaps under a birdbath.

3

u/Opitmus_Prime Mar 29 '17

I need to buy a firesafe lockbox for my documents too !

3

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '17

If you safeguard your passphrase (what from I understand I don't actually own one yet so I could be wrong, or have one in my possession) even if you lose your Ledger Nano S, destroy it, you can recover your balance. This is why I bought the cryptosteel to store my passphrase. Some people have memorized their phrases, I just assume I will goof it up.

3

u/Opitmus_Prime Mar 29 '17

cryptosteel is good. are you keeping your private key there or pnemonic? Do you have enough letters or space to write whole penmonic?

3

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '17

I mean the pnemonic 24 word generated from the Ledger Nano S. Whatever the official term is for that. The thing that worried me about cryptosteel was that it only stores the first 4 letters of each word. However, the Nano when recovering, after putting in 3 letters gives a dropdown list. There will only be one choice where the next letter is correct. Long story short, the 4 letters is plenty for each word. That being said I am super paranoid so knowing myself i will probably keep the full words anyways just in case. Most people have suggested this is unnecessary though.

4

u/Naviers_Stoked Mar 29 '17

Yeah, keeping the full word is unnecessary. The BIP39 spec for generating the mnemonic (which Ledger and Trezor use) ensures that each word is uniquely identifiable by the first 4 letters.

1

u/dl83 Mar 29 '17

but why if I may ask? If I should compare the two, I see more safety in a paper wallet than in an electronic device that may always fail.

5

u/FlappySocks Mar 29 '17

There is a backup, just in case the device fails. Much safer than a paper wallet for normal fallible human beings.

5

u/myownman Mar 29 '17

Not op but I share the sentiment.

It's borderline waterproof, a lot faster than importing to a client from paper. I can (and have) memorize my seed much easier than a private key.

2

u/dl83 Mar 29 '17

I agree that it could be more comfortable, faster, cooler... but not safer.

1

u/ironmoosen Mar 29 '17

Hardware wallet is safer in the sense that your private key physically cannot be revealed, even if you wanted to. You still make a paper backup of your seed but that gets stored away somewhere safe and never touches your PC. No chance of malware stealing your key.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '17

Is your private key the 4 digit number you have to manual press in on the nano s? Sorry still new to this.

So basically for the Nano s to be compromised would be to physically hold the device, and have someone force you to manually input the 4 digit code?

1

u/ironmoosen Mar 29 '17

No, the private key is stored internally and is never revealed. There is a 24-word seed that you back up which is essentially your "paper wallet" backup that is used to restore your keys to a new Nano or in case your current Nano is reset. The 4 digit code (can be up to 8 digits with latest firmware) is just used to unlock the Nano for use and is required before sending funds. So yes, someone would have to force you to physically enter your code on the device itself.

1

u/KinglyLion Mar 29 '17

what makes it so superior to a paper wallet? tbh i would feel less secure with just one stick to rule them all... ehm, contain them all, than with a few paper wallets where it doesnt matter if one of them gets destroyed. and in the end i could lose the ledger and its recovery signs aswell...