The recent surge in the value of the cryptocurrency has hackers on their toes. They want to take advantage of the valuable asset by exploiting weakness in the system. Once hacked, you would not be able to access the account and will lose all your investment. With account hacking on the rise, the need for security is now increasing.
Below are a few tips you can follow to ensure the safety of your account.
Setting Strong Passwords
A strong password can keep the hackers at bay. Using known numbers or dictionary words may give you away. Password-crackers can generate 350 billion guesses per second. Do not set up passwords like birthday, name or lyrics as they are highly crackable.
Using hardware wallet encounters this problem as it generates complex keys and signatures.
Users can also enable the two-factor-authentication for everything. Google authenticator is one app that further secures your data through 2 FA.
Using Digital And Physical Wallets
In the cryptocurrency world., you would encounter two types of wallets, Online and Digital wallets. An online wallet is software that helps to keep your data, such as password secured.
The physical wallet is different than that. It is hardware that acts like a flash drive to keep your private key and coins secured.
Online wallets are prone to hacking, which is why experts recommend keeping only a fraction of coins in digital wallets and the majority in physical wallets.
Online wallets are also known as hot wallets, and physical wallets are also called cold wallets.
Ledger Nano X is one of the best cold wallets you can buy to secure your assets.
Choosing right platform
There are tons of crypto exchanges, wallets and apps to choose from, and thus choosing between so many options can be challenging. Investors should carefully research each platform’s security and pick the one with the best security practices.
Look out for platforms with a history of being hacked and go through the user review for additional help.
It is advisable to only invest in reputable platforms due to their reliability.
Being wary of scammers
Scammers can be everywhere, from your Twitter feed, to your inbox. You would get offers that are too good to be true. For instance, “Send us Eth and get double back.” Or they might ask you for your private key to give you free tokens. These offers are entirely ridiculous, and users should not fall for it or as a result, they can lose their investment.
Most scammers would be impersonating someone well known in the crypto world and would offer to help you. Look out for the verified mark on their profile and ask the community if it is legit.
Avoiding malicious software and public wifi
It is important to keep the device you are trading on secure. Installing harmful software often leads to data theft, and hackers can use this to their benefit. Anti-virus software should be enabled at all times to avoid such misfortune.
Similarly, public wifi can be used to install malicious code to read and access information passed on the network. It can result in passwords and other sensitive information being leak.
Final thoughts
With banks removed from the equation, all responsibility comes to the investor to secure the coins. It is advisable to be safe at all times because if you get hacked, it is impossible to redeem your assets. Most countries still have not accepted crypto, so good luck calling the cops.
As an investor, you should make sure all the security points are in check and followed.
