You can gpg encrypt a text file or write it down on a piece of paper, but what are other good options to secure your mnemonic seed? I want to hear your ideas :)
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7 Answers
You could also scrypt your paper wallet. Then use base64 to get the encrypted data in a printable format. This way somebody stealing it will still need a password to get the keys or mnemonic seed and scrypt will make sure that brute force attacks are infeasible even for weak passwords.
Encode:
scrypt enc -t120 data.txt | base64 > data.enc.txt
Decode:
base64 -d data.enc.txt > data.enc
scrypt dec data.enc
One major drawback though is that you'll probably have to scan+OCR to get the encrypted data back from paper into a digital format ;-)
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1You can also add a password to the mnemonic seed itself (keeping it a mnemonic seed). Printing is dangerous since then your printer can spy on and steal your moneroj. Commented Sep 23, 2016 at 13:14
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Adding a password to the mnemonic seed is probably a better solution then. However, even in the worst case a printer can only steal the encrypted data.– jpfCommented Sep 23, 2016 at 19:22
The best option I found is:
I bought few of them. This is by far the best option in my opinion.
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1Note the you might need to buy two to store the seed (96 characters per plate, a monero seed is between 150-170 characters) Commented Sep 23, 2016 at 11:36
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2you only need the first three letters of each word Commented Sep 23, 2016 at 13:13
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Indeed then you need only one plate, I wanted to keep the word full to avoid mistakes so I took two plates. Commented Sep 23, 2016 at 17:05
You might like a more low-tech option: have your seed on a piece of paper, then copy that paper (by hand) and split it in 2 parts. give each part to a different friend. Of course you make sure these friends do not know each other.
You can even do this multiple times, so for example note the seed again on a piece of paper, and give a part of this one to 2 different fiends. Then even if one of the friends falls away, you have a redundant copy of every part of the key.
If you do not trust your friends, then keep part of the seed yourself. There are many variants of course of this, but you get the idea.
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You should use Shamir's secret sharing scheme to split the seed, by the way. Otherwise, your friends can brute force the seed easier. Commented Sep 23, 2016 at 17:19
Some additional security measures are avaible at https://xmr.llcoins.net/
It includes password protection and two-factor authentication, all while keeping it in seed form.
answered Sep 23, 2016 at 19:24
I like j ust using gpg. Simple secure straightforward. You can store the encrypted file just about anywhere.
I use: https://www.gpg4usb.org
This should not be a computer technology limited answer.
Keeping a few copies of half of the words in some locations and a few copies of the other half of the words in other locations should provide you very good security.
Arguably keeping even a paper wallet (words written on paper) is safer than keeping any computer file in a place it could be leaked onto the internet.
Might also consider Shamir's Secret Sharing for cold storage of a Monero wallet. This is more flexible, secure and resilient than simply chopping up your seed into pieces.
