Keep your cryptocurrency keys securely!

Don't forget to make backup of your keys even if you use hardware wallet.

Hardware wallets use flash memory (like SSD disks, USB flash drives) and this type of memory is prone to failure, especially when it's not powered for weeks or more.

Hardware wallets are great for making secure transactions, however it's irresponsible to keep your private keys only on them (without backup).

I have a habit to write multiple copies of my important files when I use floppy disks, USB flash drives and optical disks (CD, DVD).

I not only use multiple mediums, but also write the file several times on every medium.

DVDs are more reliable than CDs, I prefer DVD+R (instead of DVD-R).

Here is my short guide: Archiving private keys - TLDR version

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Do not use (only) flash memory (SSD drives, hardware wallets, USB flash drives) for your precious private keys!

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Flash memory is not a reliable medium for archives. Especially when there is no regular power. I have personal experience with usb flash drive not powered for weeks - one file became corrupted . (Read more here: Archiving private keys - TLDR version. ) You should always back up on paper and other mediums. Flash memory is prone to failure if it is not powered for weeks or more and if there are ionizing radiation When you write your precious private keys you should use technologies like Parchive and ZFS . And make several copies of your files. It's OK if you use your USB flash drive for another backup, but don't rely on it! Always back up on DVDs (even small files!), paper and online (after encryption with CPU and RAM intensive key derivative function like scrypt). Here is example of using the scrypt utility: $ sudo apt-get install scrypt $ scrypt enc -M 1073741824 -t 200 secret.txt encrypted.scrypt Do not use default values of "-M" and "-t", they...
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Archiving private keys - TLDR version

0. Make multiple encrypted copies. On DVDs (they are better than CDs and Blu-Ray discs; DVD+R are better than DVD-R), paper, cloud services like DropBox, OneDrive, Google Drive, e-mail it to yourself and to your friends, use P2P storage services like MaidSafe, Storj and Sia , etc. 1. Use proper font when printing PGP encrypted keys on paper. 2. Flash memory (SSD, USB flash drives, hardware wallets) is less reliable when not powered regularly (i.e. every week). 3. Use error correction methods like Parchive and ZFS. 4. Print on paper or store on digital media only encrypted data. 5. Your encryption software should use CPU/RAM-intensive KDF (i.e. scrypt with secure options - do not use defaults! ). First, encrypt with scrypt and then encrypt it again with PGP (using different password!) in ASCII armor mode before print it (other methods like QR codes may not be reliable as multiple copies of the PGP ASCII armor). Do not use the same password for the PGP because it's easy to brute...
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