Achievement 2 @bsaad Task: Basic Security on Steem

Having ventured into cybersecurity a little bit, I discovered nothing is ever actually locked or secure. Every wall is penetrable in the cyber world. As to whether a wall can be penetrated or not depends solely on how the user operates. There are a variety of ways to protect one’s account from being hacked. This level requires that I elaborate on the various keys used in the steemit world, its uses and how to keep safe from intrusions.

source[https://thriveglobal.com/stories/the-key-to-unlocking-your-purpose/]

Right after I joined steemit, A file containing all the necessary passwords and keys was downloaded onto my PC. After going through the file, I realized that steemit, just like many other blockchain platforms self generates user passwords to ensure heightened security. These passwords are a complex and random combination of alphabets (upper and lower case) as well as numbers. This reduces the chances of someone actually guessing the password.
Even with this randomized generation of keys, one is not always assured unwavering security. As to whether your account is safe from any forms of hack will depend on how and when one uses these keys. It is for this reason that it is important we know what these keys are and the perfect times to use each key.

The hierarchical representation of the various keys as rightly presented by @cryptokannon is displayed in the figure below.

NOTE: The Master password is not part of the keys but rather it is the password used to generate the document containing the various keys. The only time the power of this key should be invoked is when going through account recovery after the account is compromised.

POSTING KEY: This key is used to carry out daily activities on steemit. Basic stuff such as posting, commenting on other people’s posts, editting posts , voting on posts, resteeming posts, and following or muting other accounts are all made possible using the posting key. This key though the most basic and frequently used, should not be taken lightly because a whole account can be compromised when a vulnerability is spotted in the use of this key.

ACTIVE KEY: This key is used when addressing matters more sensitive than a daily routine. This key grants permission when sensitive tasks such as transferring files, power up/down transactions, converting Steem Dollars, voting for witnesses, updating profile details, and placing a market order are to be carried out.

MEMO KEY: This key is used for encrypting and decrypting memos when transferring funds. In order to encrypt a memo, use the pound/# sign before it.

OWNER KEY: This is the most powerful key as far as steemit is concerned. It has the power to change all the other keys and ironically, the owner key has the power to change its own self. Ideally, it is meant to be stored offline, and only used to recover a compromised account. As a result of the power vested in this key, it is pertinent that it is used only when necessary.

The keys elaborated above can be found retrieved by following the following steps:
• Go to wallet after logging into you steemit.com account

• Select Keys & permissions in window displayed

After going through what the Master password and the keys are capable of, it has been made clear that these access tickets are very important and needs to be kept safe a secure. In other for me to be at ease about not losing my keys, I have created backups which will ensure that I will always have access to my accounts when push come to shove. This is my back up plan:
 Saved on my PC’s hard disk
 Save on an external hard drive
 A hard copy of the password and keys made and save in a secure place

TRANFERRING TOKENS AND POWERING UP

The questions I asked myself and I know most newcomer steemians do is, how do I transfer my tokens from my accounts to other accounts? And how do I power up?

These are the simple steps required to provide answers to the questions above;

For transferring tokens:

• Go to wallet on your steemit account

• Click on the drop-down button situated around the “STEEM” button and select Transfer

• The next window that appears requires that you fill out the necessary details for the transaction

• Press next and wait for the transaction to be executed.

For powering up:

Powering up also follows the first two steps stated in the process of transferring tokens but for the sake of emphasis it will be listed again.

• Go to wallet on your steemit account

• Click on the drop-down button situated around the “STEEM” button and select Power Up

• The next window that appears requires that you fill out the necessary details for the transaction and hit power up

• It will take a few seconds for the power up to reflect.

I hope this post will be beneficial to other newbies like me on this platform
THANK YOU!