Keeping your CryptoCurrency Safe - Part 1
Due to new technology is coming out all of the time, new ways of hacking into personal accounts and whatnot are always a threat, especially since it's not like we can call up the bitcoin bank and ask what happened to your currency... there isn't one! This is where it becomes helpful to know how to look up a transaction on the blockchain. It's very simple to do, so don't think you have to be an expert to do it.
So, when creating passwords, you want to create difficult passwords using characters, letters and number combinations. !kjshrd'f&65BNlkKODJDU88 would be a strong password example. What this chick recommends is to type what I want my password is and copy/paste it onto my master list, and use that each time I log in.
You will also notice that some wallets give you a "passphrase" which could consist of a string of words or a phrase. Take care to write it carefully and check your work as most wallets use this as a method of restoring a wallet from say a lost device or a hardware crash. Print or write this down and store it in a safe place. You can also give a copy to a trusted family member or friend, or private trust executor to hold in case something happens to you, there is a way to access the accounts for your beneficiaries. Even if they do not know how to access it, or what bitcoin even is....might be even better!! ;)
I once heard a story where a guy opened a bitcoin wallet with $100 "for kicks" and since he was wealthy to begin with, he didn't really care of he lost the $100. He made his password, 2 characters. Well, his $100 was growing so he added more. That account later was hacked due to an easy password break-in, and today would have been worth over $1 Million in USD! He said he started with a little amount, so he had "little" interest in securing it. Of course when you have $1M, the idea of protecting it becomes a little more important. In essence it's imperative to set it up with as many layers of security as possible. Remember, you are carrying around the equivalent of a swiss bank account in your pocket, so you need to start thinking as a banker. A banker would take the utmost caution to protect the bank assets.
Another way you can protect your account is something called "Two-Factor Authentication." This is done via an app you can download on the app stores of any mobile device. How it works is, when you go to send or receive currency, it will send a code to your app. That code is then used to "unlock" the send money feature. Some sites also can notify you every time there is a log-in. Some have a code you print out or write down, and then it asks you for that code, or a part of it.
Take all of these precautions that you can.
Store all of your passwords in a safe place, offline.
Choose passwords that are not easily guessable or that have a string of words using other characters as well as capital letters
Do not take a screen shot and keep them on your phone, and then have your phone contain all of your wallets. Obviously this would give someone who found your lost phone full access to your passwords
Do not go online, create tutorials for others and reveal your real email address or phone number. This is one way hackers can gain access and steal your coins
There was an elaborate phone "porting" scam going around where hackers were porting people's numbers over to another carrier and then being able to get the access codes themselves. This allowed them to be the receiver of the authentication code gaining them access to app wallets. Tricky, eh? To those hackers I say, karma has no deadline and you reap what you sow.
Coining can be very lucrative, but take steps to be smart and safe.
Happy coining!
-The Chick