Crowdsourcing Clarity, Ep. 06: I am thinking of buying a Trezor, but I have a few questions (SBD tips for the most helpful answers!)
Well, here we are, yet again. My lazy ass is asking all you beautiful, smart bastards for some advice. The last #crowdsourcing-clarity post was a big success and the Steem Backed Dollar tips are all paid out.
Things often work kind of serendipitously, and, as "luck" (or whatever force determines these things) would have it, serendipity took the form of Steemit.com tonight.
I have been thinking about buying a Trezor hard wallet for some crypto holdings for a while now, and was just talking about this with one of my friends a day or two ago, in a much more focused and intentional mindset. Now, just tonight as I am cruising the Steemit trending page, I come across this stellar post about how to build your own Trezor wallet. Now, I am not nearly knowledgeable enough to go there at the moment, but the section about the regular Trezor wallet really piqued my interest.
So what do you want to know, KafkA??
Basically I am looking for a very technical LAYMAN'S explanation of how the device can be connected to one's computer and make transactions, but still not be hacked. I know that "technical layman's explanation" may sound like a bit of an oxy moron on the surface, but I hope some of you will know what I mean.
I also want to know one more thing. The stellar post I referenced above says that any number of addresses can be generated within the Trezor. Is there any way for an outside party to be able to tell how many addresses are held inside the Trezor?
Looking forward to your answers, Steem-Os! Peace!
~KafkA
Graham Smith is a Voluntaryist activist, creator, and peaceful parent residing in Niigata City, Japan. Graham runs the "Voluntary Japan" online initiative with a presence here on Steem, as well as Facebook and Twitter. (Hit me up so I can stop talking about myself in the third person!)
The Trezor is safe from a potentially infected computer because the computer never sees the private keys when you sign and send a transaction. Here is how sending a transaction works:
You try to send the transaction from your computer, but the computer doesn't have the private keys, so you will be prompted to plug your Trezor into the computer. Once you have done this, the Trezor will ask if you want to send the transaction, and if you select yes, it will sign the transaction on the Trezor and then "hand" the signed transaction back to the computer, ready to be sent. The computer never has your private keys, and they are only stored on the Trezor itself.
Thanks for that explanation. I use a trezor and this gives more insight.
Thanks for this. 1 SBD on the way.
I will have to check out that stellar post. Thanks
Sometimes I lose my phone, owning one of these wallets may not be the best solution. lol
thats what backup seed phrases are for! just don't lose those or set up contingency plans to have fail safes in place in case anything would happen to you or the geophysical locations you have your backups stashed at.
happy hodling!
Ok thank you.
I thought the same thing.
Ledger is where it's at: https://www.ledgerwallet.com/r/199c?path=/products/1-ledger-nano
Can i get to know what this stellar post means
KeepKey is another good wallet option. Although I think they are currently out of stock. I have used the ledger as well but I prefer keep key.
In the case of Keepkey...
Your private key is stored securely on your KeepKey, never leaving the device. Your KeepKey is PIN-protected, which renders it useless even if it falls into the wrong hands.
Transacting.
KeepKey's large display gives clarity to every digital asset leaving the device. Each transaction must be manually approved using KeepKey's confirmation button.
Is also has integrated shape shift which is pretty awesome!
I have not used a Trezor but I have read many good reviews of that device as well.
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