Before you get your crypto going – A n00bs advice for n00bs

A lot of my friends and family have come to me to talk about “the Bitcoins” (and the related alternative coins). I am new to this space, in general, so I have no advice on what to buy or why BUT I do have some extensive background in Computers, Communications, and Tech. I have been copy/pasting this in to many conversations over the last month and it has grown substantially, undergone multiple revisions, and continues to evolve as new information, ideas, and understanding develops. I offer this to you for consideration. If you haven’t started yet, this is some solid guidance on getting your security up to snuff. If you’ve already started but are a little uneasy about your exposure, this may serve as a checklist for revising your security strategy.

If you haven’t already:

1. Start a new paper journal for crypto that never leaves the house. Use it for your passwords, documenting every buy, sell, and trade, and listing your actions along your new journey.
2. Reimage/”restore to factory default” & update an old cpu that may be laying around collecting dust and don’t use it for anything but crypto. This is now your “coin machine”. Turn off Wi-Fi if enabled and go with a wired connection. When not in use, power down and disconnect hard-wire.
3. Find that old digital camera that’s also collecting dust and some SD memory. You can use this for documenting ANYTHING. Don’t do anything relative to your privacy on your mobile.
4. Create a new email that only does crypto and only access it from your coin machine. Ever.
5. Create a new bank account at your local branch or online - only from your primary CPU, not from your coin machine. If you already have an existing checking/savings account, try to add another account that will strictly be for your crypto (you could also take cash to a new bank and create a completely new account). This will help simplify your taxes AND insulate you from losing everything if you put your account info in a bad spot.
6. Add Google Authenticator (or similar) and Blockfolio (or similar) to your phone from the App/Play Store. Nothing else. Google Authenticator will give you rolling numeric passwords to access your accounts called Two Factor Authentication (2FA). Blockfolio will give you a very sophisticated calculator to help you watch your investments and study others you haven’t bought yet.
7. Create an account with Coinbase/Gemini, Binance and/or Bittrex. Use that old digital camera for photos of you holding your ID (seriously, don’t put anything like that in your phone or email).
8. Setup 2FA for all accounts. Take a photo of the QR on digital camera, copy/paste your backup phrase to a MS Notepad on the coin machine (then save it offline in your camera), write back up phrase in coin journal, THEN scan the QR in to your Google Authenticator.
9. Now you’re ready for the fun stuff.

Now this method is in no way “bulletproof” but it IS heavily shielded from a lot of ways your information can be easily compromised. If you crypto on the same email or CPU you use for social media, entertainment, or the grocery ads, you can get hacked. If you crypto on a machine that downloaded some sketchy content long ago, you could get hacked. If you crypto on public Wi-Fi that hasn’t updated their security protocols, you could get hacked. If you crypto on your home Wi-Fi and a neighbor or passerby finds a way in to the network, you could get hacked. If you put your bank account information in to an unsecured website (no lock in the left corner of the address bar) you will almost certainly get cleaned out (that’s not even a “hack”, you just gave it to them unwittingly).

I want to see people succeed in this realm. I truly believe this is a bold new world where MANY people will be able to change their current conditions for the better, where technology and innovation will take leaps at a rate we can’t currently fathom, where our servitude to the debt-barons that control us will be emancipated.

Cheers and Love to you all.

Thank you,

©Stephen H. Kaplan 12–25–17 (ArmchairAnalyst & Kaptastic)