Security Practices
When it comes to cryptocurrencies it is very important to remember that the individual is responsible for safeguarding and protecting. We will go over the top security practices that should be implemented while using crypto.
Hardware Wallets
Long-term crypto should be stored away from centralized exchanges and private keys should be held on hardware wallets. We went over our picks for cryptocurrency wallets in a previous post and in the end, recommend Ledger Nano X for its ease of use and high compatibility.
Have multiple locations for storing crypto
It is never a good idea to put all your crypto in one place as if somehow a private key were to get leaked to the internet. The equivalent of putting all your eggs in one basket.
Recommendations: have a long-term storage area for some of your crypto. Use Hot wallets such as (Metamask, Coinbase Wallet, and Exodus) for the crypto you can get too quickly. Lastly, use an exchanges cold storage area such as Coinbase’s to store a small percentage. By performing these steps you have successfully spread your risk over multiple areas to where if one were to fail you would not be impacted as badly.
Reputable Locations
Cryptocurrencies and imparticular DeFi have multiple decentralized exchanges and web applications to interact with. A wise decision to only interact with reputable sources such as well-known exchanges (Kucoin, Bittrex, Binance) when interacting with decentralized exchanges such as (AAVE, Pancakeswap, Uniswap) while smaller exchanges offer more reward but at a higher risk.
Recommendation: if you interact with a smaller less known decentralized exchange set up a secondary wallet within Metamask to protect your main assets. Secondarily, using a separate browser for crypto would be recommended.
Strong Passwords
The key to security begins with a strong password but with comes the balance. When we have a 16 character, upper/lower case, with special characters in a non-sequence can make memorization very difficult.
Recommendation: utilize a password manager to manage your passwords and many can generate secure passwords. We can recommend a free and open-source manager Bitwarden available for PC, MacOS, Android and iOS.
Below the radar
You’ve heard the saying “loose lips sink ships” the same can occur with cryptocurrencies. Going around the internet publicizing your profits and gains can bring unwanted attention. You should refrain from posting wallet addresses and linking them to social accounts as attackers are always on the hunt for new victims and using some operational security to protect yourself and crypto accounts.
Recommendation: Separate your email accounts from cryptocurrency dealings. Create sole accounts on Protonmail and only use these accounts for crypto exchange login pages. This also acts as a secondary barrier should your main email accounts (Gmail, Yahoo, Microsoft Exchange) be compromised your crypto footprint is reduced.
Secure Passphrases and Seed Phrases
When creating wallets it is beyond important to secure these security passphrases which enable the reproduction of crypto wallets. Storing these phrases on paper should be protected within a plastic bag and secured in a safe location and should be protected at all costs.
Recommendation: Passphrases should be stored in the same location as Passports and important documents. Steel phrase wallet exists (Billfold Backup) as well which can protect against fire.
Understand what has access to your Metamask
Browser wallets can be a gift and somewhat of a curse. We can connect to dApps and projects across the web but some bad actors do take advantage of people by requesting more permission than is required. You should be tracking who and what access these apps have to your wallet frequently.
Recommendation: With Binance smart chain, Ethereum block explorer websites you can use the “More” tab at the top of the page and use “Token Approvals” to see a list of connected apps to your wallet. From this page you can revoke access to projects you no longer are using or have questionable permissions.
Need Crypto Help?
Here at Crypto Technical Consultants we can help take the worry out crypto issues and questions you could have along the way.
We will never ask you for any of your wallet information – EVER.
Have an issue connecting your wallet to software or just simply want to make sure you are performing all the steps correctly and that is where we step in. Cryptocurrencies and wallets can be complex but we want to make sure you understand everything along the way from beginners to advanced users.
Simply head over to our page and set up an appointment with our consultants at https://cryptotechnicalconsultants.com.