Aug 16, 2018
AirGap Weekly Poll #1 Results: Private Key Generation
We’ve asked Twitter the last week:
We’ve gathered 26 votes over a timespan of 7 days.
Conclusion
The sample size is quite small with 26 votes, but we can see some trends. For one many people use Web solutions to generate their private keys for example services like MyEtherWallet.
The number of people who used an air gapped approach is quite astonishing with 9 votes, we’ve also got a reply that in one case the imToken cold wallet features was used. A conclusion that could be made, followers and people who participated in the voting were more security conscious than a broader set of subjects would probably indicate.
Client was specified with an example of MetaMask, this categorisation might have been a bit too broad, generating your private key with MyEtherWallet or MetaMask and using that key for the majority of your funds is a suboptimal approach. If you opt to generate a key on your desktop or notebook you should use solutions like MyCrypto Desktop App.
Another surprise is that only 1 vote out of the 26 went to Mobile, where apps like Enjin Wallet were mentioned as an example. A conclusion drawn here could be that mobile wallets are used at the moment only as hot wallets, where a small amount of funds is stored for immediate use. Another reason could be that there are not many solutions out there who offer a secure key generation on mobile besides AirGap.
Why is it important where I generate my key.
If you generate your private key on a device with network connectivity, this key is potentially compromised. Especially if you’re planing on using this secret for the majority of the funds.
What is AirGap?
AirGap has a two app approach, that gives you added security while handling your crypto funds. You get the highest security if you install AirGap Vault on a separate smartphone, and never connect that phone with any network again. If you handle smaller amount of funds you can install both apps on the same device and still profit from added security.
Learn more about AirGap.
