What a weekend. We have seen the total market capitalisation of cryptocurrency eclipse $200 billion. $1 trillion here we come! 2018 will be a big year - here is hoping.
One of the most overlooked and concerning things in this space however is hacking and security threats. The fact that someone can invade your account and steal all your money is a frightening and miserable concept. In this game, unfortunately there is no bank to call for help. I hope this posts helps you be much smarter in how you manage your money. Many have asked for it and finally I have managed the time to write it.
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1. USE GOOGLE 2FA
This is a two factor authentication and you can simply download the app and have it generate a code every few seconds to input as you login. This will provide you with a second layer of security. It does not mean you are still not hackable. It just means it's a lot harder.
WHAT HAPPENS IF I LOSE MY PHONE? Have no fear cryptoshaf is here. Well not really. Just make sure to copy the seed from the website you are looking at down. This can be found when you go to set up your account. Take a piece of paper and write it down and maybe make a backup copy on paper also.
2. WALLETS
This is not what you guys are thinking. These are either software wallets or hardware wallets (cold storage).
WHY DO I NEED A WALLET? If you have been in this space you would have heard about Mt. Gox. This was essentially an exchange that shutdown its doors as it was hacked in 2014. To date the users have not been compensated. Any one with coins on this exchange essentially lost them. For $100 it might not hurt much but those with several thousands they learnt a painful lesson. Exchanges can be shutdown at anytime and unless you own your PRIVATE KEY the exchange owns your money.
PRIVATE KEY? Think of this as your bank account password. You don't need a username to login only this password which is several characters long consisting of numbers and letters like "5AHDJD8H8633939HAHAHA"
DO NOT EVER GIVE THIS OUT. You are basically giving away the keys to your lambo to a stranger.
3. TYPES OF WALLETS?
MOBILE WALLET: For those that enjoy having their money continually accessible check out breadwallet. This is a mobile wallet for bitcoin. There are many others out there also so see which one suits you.
DESKTOP WALLET: One of the best wallets around is Exodus (https://www.exodus.io/). It has Bitcoin and several alternate coins (anything other than bitcoin). With a simple interface all you need to know is how to either send/receive the coins. You can simply use the developer mode to access your private key. If you forget your password you can use the 12 words provided at set up (write these down) to retrieve your account.
HARDWARE WALLETS: These consist of what is known as cold storage as they are offline and on a USB like device. If you hold a significant amount of coins this is ideal. These are the most secure type of wallets and I would recommend you avoid buying them off Ebay. The main two types of hardware wallets are Trezor (https://trezor.io/) and Ledger Nano S (https://www.ledgerwallet.com/products/ledger-nano-s)
4. HOW DO I ACTUALLY SEND COINS?
One of the most common mistakes is to send your coins to the wrong address. Yes - you will lose the coins. No - there will be no bank to call. This is one of the downfalls of cryptocurrency. However if you exercise care and due diligence you can avoid making mistakes.
DO NOTS:
- Send one cryptocurrency to a different type of cryptocurrency address (for e.g LTC to BTC). You will lose this money
- Send without looking at the first four and last four numbers/letters of the recipient address. Always double check
- Send a small amount first to check that there are no issues. This applies much better to smaller transaction fee coins. Such as IOTA with 0 fees.
- Confuse the public key (your bank account number to receive money) with the private key (password to your account)
5. EXCHANGES: Today there is a new exchange popping up every week. Binance, Bittrex and Bitfinex are some popular exchanges. If you are actively trading on these exchanges then it is ideal to have money within the exchange.
However to be secure spread out your money across these exchanges in the even one does get hacked. These exchanges are the most likely to get hacked and there have been several unfortunate stories.
Stay safe guys and feel free to ask questions or leave me comments so I know what you would like me to cover next. Thanks!
Cryptoshaf
FREE BITCOIN GENERATING FAUCET: https://freebitco.in/?r=5345367
DONATIONS
BTC - 1M5anDbT4HAuA6XkJekbMfSTFR1ippEkch
ETH - 0xC1f258BeD748F03130edc6D3A07320C882eD8862
LTC -LWx8U7j5Y4vo8jq8CpqWKwWMXKrByaNW6s
DISCLAIMER: Always invest with money you can afford to lose and do your research - these are VERY risky investments. A lot of groups and people will misguide you so be sure you know what you are doing. Always remember all these investments can erode significantly in value as these are VERY volatile markets.
Learnt a few points from this, thanks dude.