Quote:
Originally Posted by lucy Thanks!! I think I’ll get a hardware wallet instead as it’s more secure, quick question if I get a hardware wallet is my receiving address or sending address generated by software that comes with the hardware wallet or is it just a matter of plugging the hardware wallet into the pc and it’ll load up preinstalled software to generate the sending/receiving addresses for me, should anyone want to send me anything or should I want to send something across. |
Hi
I really loved your question and your interest in this. And I'm sure the answer to this will help also other members of the forum to take advantage of it.
First of all, if you are going to get a hardware wallet for better cold storage, I will definitely recommend you TREZOR, which is so far the most secure hardware wallet, (while the Ledger NANO S looks just like a USB and support more cryptos, it has less advanced security features).
These small devices are basically small computers which protect your private keys from possible offline as well as online attacks. Your keys are saved on these devices in an encrypted form.
So now to control the device and the keys and money inside, you will need an UI (User Interface). By default, you will have to plugin the device via USB on your computer, then visit the website of the manufacturer (e.g. trezor.io) and from there take control of the device. From there you can create wallets, generate addresses, send and receive, sign and verify messages etc.
These devices can be also used with other softwares which have been integrated with.
For example, if you have ETH, you can access them using MyEtherWallet website, having connected your hardware wallet to your machine.
Best is to get the device and start playing with :-)
Now you would ask: what will happen if I loose my hardware wallet? Generally before starting using such devices, a kind of master password called "seed" is generated and you are required to save it. In the event that you for example loose your device, you can always recover all your bitcoins when you have your seed(s), by entering them again into another wallet (hardware or software).
Finally, I love TREZOR because it has a very unique feature:
Plausible Deniability.
Meaning you can create hidden wallets on it and no one can prove that you have any other wallet than the one you will show (wherever you are asked to show the wallet you have saved on the device).
You can't say "I dont have any bitcoin" but you can say with no doubt "These are the bitcoins I have".
You can read more details here :
https://blog.trezor.io/hide-your-tre...s-f2e0834026eb EDIT: I forgot to mention, I'm not in any way affiliated with Trezor or any other company. I'm just giving advice based on my experience with these devices.