Steemit Crypto Academy Season 4 Beginners' course - Task 9: Blockchain Wallet-- Types, Uses, Installation, etc.
Thank you Professor @sapwood for the lessons. I have really learnt alot about the various types of Blockchain wallets and their installation.
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(1) How do you store/secure your keys? What are the different forms of Private Key(Examples/Screenshot)? Download & Install TronLink Wallet(Android/iOS/Extension)? How do you store the key(Hint- write it down on a notepad, demonstrate it with examples)? Which form of the key are you comfortable with to handle your TronLink Wallet? Include Screenshots & hide/blur the sensitive information.
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I think, we can now dive into answering the questions.
How do you store/secure your keys?
The existence of Blockchain has brought about alot of security issues. Blockchain contains personal information and resources in the form of money or cryptocurrencies. For these reason, it is incumbent on every blockchian user to have a password or key. For which that particular key needs to be kept save from outsiders or any third person.
It is undeniably true that forgetfulness is part of human nature. The onus is therefore on us write down or keep passwords and keys save in very unforgettable documents.
Personally, I have stored my passowrds on three main devices. i.e. my phone, my laptop and my external hard disk. In additition to that, I have written them down in my diary.
On my phone, I have stored it on the notes App and in my icloud as well. I have stored most of my important documents on these two including my keys.
On my laptop, I copied and pasted my keys in MS word and saved it as a PDF in a unique folder that only I have access to. I then saved a copy of that PDF on my personal encrypted hard-disk. The encryption code is from the combination of my mum's name so I will never forget and even if you have access to mum's name, you won't be able to know the unique arrangement of the characters to decrypt it.
What are the different forms of Private Key(Examples/Screenshot)?
With respect to the different forms of private keys, there are three main ones that I am aware of, and these include;
- The Mnemonic key
- Private key itself (Alphanumeric keys)
- The Keystore file key (JSON file key)
One thing is that, all these keys have their own unique features though they all serve the same or similar purpose of keeping the user's data and information safe.
THE MNEMONIC KEYS
The mnemonic key or seed is a very unique form of private key. So far as I am concern, I have seen it in only Tronlink and Trust wallet wallet. These are the two that I am very conversant with. The mnemonic makes use of words arranged in a particular order. It is required of the user to keep both the words and their arrangement. I learnt that the words can be as many as 24 words but in creating a Trustwallet account for the purposes of this assignement, the words were 12. You can easily keep these words in your head or betterstill write it down for safe keeping. No one can have access to your account unless they have not just the words but the correct pattern or arrangement.
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THE PRIVATE KEY
This is known as the alpha-numeric key. Just as the name suggests, it is the combination of both letters of the alphabets and numbers respectively. The combine characters can even exceed 25 characters. No matter how good you are with numbers. it will be very difficult for you to keep that private key in mind.
For blockchain related cryptocurrencies, anyone can withdraw asset from your account wallet when he or she has access to your private key. And when that happens, it will be very difficult or impossible to get your asset back. That is why we are encouraged to keep it save.
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KEYSTORE FILE KEY
This is like a modified form of the alphanumeric key (private key). It is also know as the JSON file key. The keystore file key is the combination of both alphanumeric characters as well as symbols.
The keystore file alone isn’t really a key until you include your own unique password. The good thing is that, the JSON file can help you recover your password once you’ve backed up.
The file is very complex and as such it is difficult or impossible to remember or even keep in mind. The best thing is to always back it up.
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DOWNLOADING & CREATING A TRONLINK WALLET
- STEP 1
Go to playstore or AppStore if you’re using iOS device. Then Click install/Download
- STEP 2
Open and create account
- STEP 3
Go through the terms and conditions before agreeing
It is not a healthy habit to ignore this step before agreeing
- STEP 4
Choose your wallet’s name and set your password. You will be required to repeat your selected password for confirmation
- STEP 5 (Extremely Important )
Backup Mnemonic key and save it offline as well.
NB: I securely saved mine on my google drive and in one of my favorite notebooks.
- STEP 6
Repeat Mnemonic key for confirmation by rearranging the 12 words in the same order.
The account is set after this action.
I saw some interesting features on the TronLink wallet.
These are some interesting dApps.
WHICH FORM OF THE KEYS ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH TO HANDLE YOUR TRONLINK WALLET. Include screenshots & hide/blur the sensitive information
I am comfortable with the usage of the Mnemonic key in handling any TronLink wallet. Aside from the fact that I have written the words down in my notebook with ease, I can easily remember the words and pattern or arrangement of the words. I have actually form an acronym using the first letters of the alphabets of each of the words. This helps me to remember all twelve words.
Comparing the three keys, I think the Mnemonic key is more user-friendly. The others are kind of too complex.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, I will urge us all not to overlook the security of our wallet and jeopardize our account. Cyber theft is rapidly interesting these days and the onus is on us to protect and keep our accounts safe.
I am very grateful once again Professor @sapwood for the lecture. It has really helped me comprehend a lot about private keys.
Cc: Prof. @dilchamo
