Recently I made a post where I offered some tips for the budding crypto enthusiast. There was a section about security where I gave some advice about safeguarding one's private keys.
I've discovered that a lot of people don't fully understand or appreciate the importance of their crypto keys. I regularly come across people complaining about not backing up the mnemonic phrase of their wallets, or not being able to recall a non-retrievable password or key (i.e one's Steemit/Hive keys).
I thought I'd create a guide to offer some perspective on the matter.
What's Up With Private Keys
In centralized systems like the average social network, losing a password isn't really a big deal. If you can't recall your password, you can easily click the "forgot your password" button and the service should be able to sort it out.
Blockchains work differently.
Their decentralized nature means that you're usually solely responsible for the safety of your passwords or keys. In most cases there's no way to retrieve a lost key on a blockchain, and this can have dire consequences for a user.
Practically every crypto wallet I've come across tells its users to back up their mnemonic phrase before doing anything else. Yet surprisingly there are those who neglect to do this simple task.
There's a guy I knew on a group back then that accumulated a sizable amount of tokens via airdrops, before his device crashed and he lost his data.
When he got a new one and tried to access his wallet he couldn't, because he neglected to backup his mnemonic phrase. That's how he lost out on hundreds of dollars worth of tokens.
Don't be that guy.
Safeguarding Your Assets In 2 Simple Steps
So, you've opened that wallet or signed up for that service and there's a mnemonic phrase or key in front of you?.
First off you should;
- Write It Down
There's a temptation to just take a screenshot and be done, but don't. Grab a pen and commit the information to paper.
Make sure your writing is clear and you spell each word correctly.
The difference between color and colour can be the difference between you being worth $200 and you being broke.
Crypto keys are usually case sensitive, so make sure to indicate the difference between upper and lower case letters.
I usually leave a tag in red ink above each character, with u for upper case and l for lower case.
Make a backup of your backup.
The more backups you create the better.
I have my mnemonic phrases in 3 or 4 places.
- Store It Digitally
You can also store your keys in a secure digital space that only you can access.
A couple months ago, my phone got damaged by rain and I lost all data on it. The only reason I'm able to post this article you're reading now, is because I stored my private keys somewhere safe and was able to retrieve them on my new device.
Closing Thoughts
You've learnt the basics of asset security, now go apply them. If you're running a wallet or service where you forgot to backup, you should create a new wallet or account and transfer your assets from the old to the new.
Do that as soon as you can before something bad happens and you start telling stories that touch the heart.
Well, that's all I've got for you today. Stay safe, stay creative and be good because I'll be looking forward to seeing you in another post.
Until later, adios.
Image credits Pixabay,
