Living within the revolutionary age defined by the 4.0 industry, owning several of crypto wallets is to many of us not an entirely alien concept. Traders who often jump across the ponds between various crypto markets are especially no strangers to owning at least a couple of different wallets. Regardless of the myriad of the crypto wallet uses — whether for investing or storage, it is impossible to deny the existence of many who use crypto wallets on daily basis and with them — the compounded wealth in such wallets. However, not an insignificant part of this growing population of crypto wallet users have been at some point affected by less or more successful hacking attempts — whilst the remainder constantly plagued by the vivid hacking horror stories. A reportedly ongoing hack against cryptocurrency wallet Electrum has seen a malicious party steal almost 250 Bitcoin (BTC) (about $937,000) on Dec. 27th 2018. Through one way or the other, the increasing hacking raids have by now grew into an issue that can no longer be just swept under the rug. Whilst the wallet creators and administrators have all been relentlessly working to fortify the security of their creations, it cannot be said that the user should just sit back, lie down and solely rely on others to protect his own property.

It is of the very essence that anyone should learn and be able to easily access information on the core principles of crypto wallet security in order to be able to protect oneself and one’s assets. That is why, we have summed up the most core principles on how to do so.

1) Do not use any form of public access to Wi-Fi, even if you use additional security features as VPN. Do not be careless, the free Wi-Fi is often just not worth it.

2) Enable 2FA for all your accounts. If possible, do this using the Google Authenticator, not through the basis of a text message.

3) Do not store your private key in the clear. Use a 256-bit encryption service to encrypt a key if you cannot remember it.

4) Do not install any unverified applications on your computers, phones, tablets, you name it. You must be sure that your applications do not contain malicious code. The best option is to start up your device with the sole purpose to work with your money.

5) The only person who needs your secret key is you. Always beware of phishing scams — no one ever needs to know your secret key for administrative purposes.

6) Use bookmarks for sites. Some fake websites have URLs that are very close to the actual ones with the sole purpose of stealing your data.

7) Use the monitoring option on the Etherscan and get transaction notifications with your address.

8) If you have a large amount of money, divide it between different wallets so that one attack does not destroy all savings.

9) Make a backup — backup your wallet files, in case your device breaks down, burns, is stolen, or the cat turns a carafe of water over it.

10) Update your wallets ASAP as new versions become available. Any software requires regular updates. Therefore, if you have installed a local wallet or an application on your smartphone, be sure to check for new product releases.

In general, security is the basis of crypto-investing and with the growth of the cryptocurrency market and the prices of leading coins, crypto fraud will also grow, adding to the “ways of fairly honest weaning money”. Of course, the choice of a reliable and safe wallet is still the most decisive factor. After all — the chances are that you will be a target to theft whilst carrying your cash for everyone to see rather than when safely hiding it in the depths of your purse.

These 10 basic rules on how to avoid falling prey to any hacking attempts on your crypto wallets are meant to foster your knowledge on how to be safe and cautious. After all the industry is still a growing, constantly shaping and much unexplored wilderness. Nevertheless, this should not deter you from investing or using crypto wallets at all. Whilst interaction with cryptocurrencies in many respects is not exactly a piece of cake — it is definitely doable. So no matter what, do not give a blind eye to the advantages of crypto just because of your fear of inability to protect it.

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