What is a Desktop Wallet? Desktop wallets come in many different styles. directly from the cryptocurrency coin distributor, and also 3rd party developers. Desktop wallets store the private key from the wallet onto your PC or Laptop (Hard drive). This option of a wallet can be a good idea as it is one way of holding your private keys offline. In addition they have a good element of security. You also need flexibility to access them for a transaction in a fairly timely manner.
Could your wallet get hacked?
There is a risk of your wallet becoming hacked, and if this happens there maybe a high probability that you may lose your funds. If your keys are stored on a cloud based system (an exchange). Your wallet could be attainable by a third party. You also do not have full custody over your cryptocurrency. If an exchange goes bust or gets shut down by law or legal processes then you will loose your cryptocurrency.
The recovery procedure to reinstall your wallet is so important, if you lose your recovery seed, you will not be able to obtain access to your funds … ever!
If your PC device were to get lost or stolen with your wallet installed on this. The user will still be able to recover the wallet on another device. providing they have their recovery seed. (best practice would then be to send the funds from that account to another ‘new’ wallet address).
So to summarise, Desktop wallets can be an efficient way of making transactions, this does also come with higher risks, as your PC device is not always offline, so hackers could gain access to your computer through the internet if you are connected to it. In this instance hardware wallets come with better security, but also come with their own pros and cons.
