Question about protecting Electreum wallet data file

[bitmover]

I would argue that none of this works at all if your computer is hacked. In that case, all of your wallets will be broken into, unless they are hardware wallets.

Why if the wallet file is stored on an external SSD or flash drive? I mean, if the wallet file is stored on a medium that is not connected to the computer, how will the hacker be able to access it even if he hacks the computer?

The problem is that you will need to sign transactions in that "offline device".
Then you need to insert a pen drive or something like that to transfer the signed transaction to an online computer.

At this point you have a potential breach in your setup which a small mistake can be fatal.

You won't see people saying that they were hacked using a hardware wallet properly.  But using offline computer it is very common

[Husna QA]

I would argue that none of this works at all if your computer is hacked. In that case, all of your wallets will be broken into, unless they are hardware wallets.

Why if the wallet file is stored on an external SSD or flash drive? I mean, if the wallet file is stored on a medium that is not connected to the computer, how will the hacker be able to access it even if he hacks the computer?

In this case, storing wallet files separately from the Electrum app is only an initial precaution in case of a PC hack so that wallet files are not directly affected.
Of course, when making transactions and connecting the drive where the wallet files are stored to your PC, you should ensure that the PC is not hacked and is free from viruses.

Hardware wallets can minimize the incident even if they are connected to a PC affected by malware that the user is unaware of. The hardware wallet will have a confirmation process during the transaction, so hackers will not pass this stage easily.

Another example is that you can cancel the transaction if it turns out that the destination address is different from the desired one, for instance, because the PC is affected by clipboard malware.

Or, even if you don't use a hardware wallet, You can use the multi-signature wallet type in the Electrum.

[Findingnemo]

I would argue that none of this works at all if your computer is hacked. In that case, all of your wallets will be broken into, unless they are hardware wallets.

Why if the wallet file is stored on an external SSD or flash drive? I mean, if the wallet file is stored on a medium that is not connected to the computer, how will the hacker be able to access it even if he hacks the computer?

In this case, storing wallet files separately from the Electrum app is only an initial precaution in case of a PC hack so that wallet files are not directly affected.
Of course, when making transactions and connecting the drive where the wallet files are stored to your PC, you should ensure that the PC is not hacked and is free from viruses.

Keeping the wallet file in a separate drive may give better security but whenever we need to access the wallet we have to connect the wallet file which can potentially compromise the wallet file if the device is affected by a malware.

It is better to prefer an airgapped wallet using electrum or installing tails on memory stick just to access the electrum can be better option.

[Husna QA]

-snip-

Keeping the wallet file in a separate drive may give better security but whenever we need to access the wallet we have to connect the wallet file which can potentially compromise the wallet file if the device is affected by a malware.

It is better to prefer an airgapped wallet using electrum or installing tails on memory stick just to access the electrum can be better option.

Suppose you look at the discussion on the previous page in this thread. In that case, I have also suggested another option, such as using TailsOS (I have tried Electrum on Tails OS, https://www.altcoinstalks.com/index.php?topic=318368.msg1510362#msg1510362), a multi-signature wallet, to save wallet files in different places.

The last option is still too vulnerable, and you must always ensure that the PC you are using is truly safe, even though this should be the security standard for each user when he uses it to install wallet software.

[Mr. Magkaisa]

Hello. Greetings to everyone.
On the occasion of the opening of the technical Section, I had a question that I would like to raise here for discussion

Some time ago, my laptop was hacked and the hacker was able to steal the Electreum wallet data file, and after that he was able to open the wallet. I do not know how, but he was able to open the wallet and steal the balance.

Several questions come to mind:
1 - How was the hacker able to open the wallet file even though I was using a very strong password?

2 - Are there other ways to encrypt the wallet file other than the password so that it makes things more difficult for the hacker to open the file?

3- Is it possible to access the private key in such a case? I mean, can a hacker access the private key through the wallet's data file?

4 - The last question is hypothetical: I know that there is a possibility of creating an Electreum wallet with two-factor authentication 2FA. In such a case, if I enable two-factor authentication, can a hacker access the wallet even if he manages to obtain the password?

        -   First of all, I'm sorry about the hacker hacking your laptop. It just means that you have to be more careful now. You know that nothing is impossible for a hacker once they find an opportunity to get into your account.

I have been using electrum for a long time, but I have never tried activating 2FA in electrum because it has not been explored 100% as long as I only have the seed and the password is the private key. But it is better if there is a 2FA.