Bitcoin Q&A: Optional Passphrases (Advanced Security Feature) and Seed Storage
Channel: aantonop
Date: 2018-09-20

Do optional passphrases protect against leaks or compromises of mnemonic seed words? Why are brain wallets usually insecure? Why should you not "roll your own crypto" and promote creative schemes that deviate from the standards (like BIP39), without at least getting peer review and testing from other developers, cryptographers, or security researchers?

See the documentation and support pages of various hardware wallets for more information:

Trezor - https://doc.satoshilabs.com/trezor-faq/overview.html https://blog.trezor.io/using-advanced-recovery-on-trezor-4af0eb53c3bb
Ledger Nano S - https://support.ledgerwallet.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000613793-Initialize-your-device
Ledger Blue - https://support.ledgerwallet.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005835414-Initialize-your-device
KeepKey - https://help.keepkey.com/start-here/initialize-your-keepkey https://help.keepkey.com/how-to-guides/how-to-recover-your-keepkey

On the topic of inheritance and estate planning, see: https://youtu.be/4g8rO_queMw

Chapters
0:00 Is it unsafe to publicly publish on Facebook or Twitter the twenty-four word seed, treating my passphrase as the thing that protects my assets in my hardware wallet?
5:24 Brain wallets
7:50 The most important rule in cryptography is, don't roll your own crypto.
10:45 I took my BIP-39 seed, cut it into twenty-four pieces, mixed them up, encrypted them, put them on Dropbox, then erased it from the web, and I can only access it on the archive.
12:36 Passphrase, does that mean the password on the hardware wallet?

These questions are from the August monthly Patreon Q&A session, which took place (late) on September 1st 2018. If you want early-access to talks and a chance to participate in the monthly live Q&As with Andreas, become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/aantonop

RELATED:
How do I choose a wallet? - https://youtu.be/tN6b62sEpsY
Secure, tiered storage system - https://youtu.be/uYIVuZgN95M
Hardware wallets and attack surface - https://youtu.be/8mpDcBfNA7g
Setting up secure storage devices - https://youtu.be/wZ9LxLLvfXc
What is a private key? - https://youtu.be/xxfUpIV9wRI
How do mneomonic seeds work? - https://youtu.be/wWCIQFNf_8g
Using paper wallets - https://youtu.be/cKehFazo8Pw
Wallet design and mass adoption - https://youtu.be/WbZX6BDZJHc
Cryptographic primitives - https://youtu.be/RIckQ6RBt5E
Public keys vs. addresses - https://youtu.be/8es3qQWkEiU
Re-using addresses - https://youtu.be/4A3urPFkx8g
Coin selection and privacy - https://youtu.be/3Ck683CQGAQ
Multi-signature and distributed storage - https://youtu.be/cAP2u6w_1-k
Nonces, mining, and quantum computing - https://youtu.be/d4xXJh677J0
Software distribution security - https://youtu.be/_V0vqy046YM
Protocol development security - https://youtu.be/4fsL5XWsTJ4
Geopolitics and state-sponsored attacks - https://youtu.be/htxPRTJLK-k
How to get people to care about security - https://youtu.be/Ji1lS9NMz1E
Honest nodes and consensus - https://youtu.be/KAhY2ymI-tg
Why running a node is important - https://youtu.be/oX0Yrv-6jVs

Andreas M. Antonopoulos is a technologist and serial entrepreneur who has become one of the most well-known and respected figures in bitcoin.

Follow on Twitter: @aantonop https://twitter.com/aantonop
Website: https://antonopoulos.com/

He is the author of two books: “Mastering Bitcoin,” published by O’Reilly Media and considered the best technical guide to bitcoin; “The Internet of Money,” a book about why bitcoin matters.

THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v1: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Internet-Money-collection-Andreas-Antonopoulos/dp/1537000454/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

[NEW] THE INTERNET OF MONEY, v2: https://www.amazon.com/Internet-Money-Andreas-M-Antonopoulos/dp/194791006X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

MASTERING BITCOIN: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Bitcoin-Unlocking-Digital-Cryptocurrencies/dp/1449374042

[NEW] MASTERING BITCOIN, 2nd Edition: https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Bitcoin-Programming-Open-Blockchain/dp/1491954388

Translations of MASTERING BITCOIN: https://bitcoinbook.info/translations-of-mastering-bitcoin/

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