Securing Your Cryptos (1)
Buying crypto is not so hard. But are you keeping it safe?
If you keep your crypto on an exchange, you are not safe.
If you keep it on your device(PC/Phone), you should make sure your device is safe.
The safest way to store your crypto is using a hardware wallet or a paper wallet.
I'll try to cover as much as possible, what I do to secure my cryptos.
CONTROL YOUR OWN PRIVATE KEYS
Do not share your private keys
Don't leave your crypto in an exchange. Exchanges have been hacked and it's biggest target for hackers. It will happen again.
Have a safe backup of your private keys. Your PC/Phone can break, or get stolen. Make sure you can access your private keys without your main device.
Use a hardware wallet if possible. Hardware wallet doesn't support all cryptos. When possible, keep it safe in a hardware wallet. Software wallets are not safe since your private key is stored on the device which can be hacked. Hardware wallets are harder to hack since the private key never leaves the device. Since you don't have real access to your private keys, there are some limitations. For example, you have to wait for the manufacturer to support a fork when a fork happens.
I'll go into more details in the following posts.
Photo from https://www.pexels.com/photo/ethereum-and-bitcoin-emblems-730569/
ALl good tips. I try to follow all these. Most of my holdings are either in STEEM, in my Coinbase account, or in my hardware wallet.
I do have a small amount of Electroneum left on Cryptopia, so I should do something about that. It is true, hackers target exchanges.
These are tips everyone should follow and read. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this information, specially reminding us to "backup private keys". This could be easily overlooked if we don't make a habit of it. Thanks again!
While I am always happy to see a security-based article, I think that you are too trusting of phones and other devices. Keep your coins off of the exchanges -- yeah, of course. However, your PC and/or your phone WILL eventually be HACKED.
You are right. PC/Phone can be hacked. I don't use a iPhone wallet. iOS is safer than Android, but I don't trust it enough. If hardware wallet doesn't support your crypto, you have to use a software wallet. I'll try to cover some ways to make your PC safer. If you have some tips please share.
No doubt you know this, but just so it is said -- I understand from http://www.myetherwallet.com (and other sources) that the safest place for your coin is on a hardware wallet (Trezor, Ledger... there are others just as good as well). Ledgers seem to be the most cost effective solution, but they only come with a low amount of memory -- only enough to store "apps" to access only a few of your coins at a time. If I were to buy a hardware wallet, I'd spend the $120 to buy a Trezor.
Aside from a hardware wallet, the next best place for your crypto is a PAPER WALLET (writing down the key), but make sure you don't write it down incorrectly, or else you've lost your crypto.
There are some funny solutions of people selling paper wallets made out of steel or iron (which would survive a fire), but writing it down on paper is probably sufficient.
Next best thing is to put your crypto on your NON-ROOTED PHONE, in a software wallet.
Obviously this is a huge loss of security, but a phone wallet is more secure than a PC wallet. If you must use a PC wallet (which you must for some coins), just make sure you are not doing anything that would make you a target for hackers. For example, don't run pirated software, don't go on piracy or bittorrent websites, stay away from installing software willy nilly, etc. And, be aware that at any moment your PC can (and eventually will be HACKED). Let's hope you have a good firewall, antivirus, and malware scanner running when they try to get in.
Thanks for the comment. I'm currently writing about hardware wallets which will be posted tomorrow. I also heard about the social hacks for hardware wallets.
I'm not sure there is a good wallet for iOS. Only time I used a wallet on a smartphone is to claim my BTG. I used a test Android phone to do it.
I agree about not installing cracked software. I only use a Mac for crypto wallets. I would be more paranoid if I had to use Windows.