One of the most important things to pay attention to in the crypto space, is the purse that carries your digital assets, and how safe it is.
This purse is often known as your crypto wallet, and it houses every of your crypto assets like a purse for physical money.
With your financial portfolio enclosed in a digital wallet, security becomes a thing of concern because a breach of your crypto wallet translates to a direct breach of your funds.
In this piece, we’ll be looking in-depth at 5 simple ways to secure your crypto wallet, and keep hackers away whether you are a beginner or an experienced trader.
Before we look at these 7 ways to secure your crypto wallet, let’s quickly explore why you need to secure your crypto wallet.
Sit back, grab a popcorn, and enjoy this piece.
Why You Need to Secure Your Crypto Wallet
There are a good number of reasons why you should secure your crypto wallet more than you may think.
1. Crypto’s Popularity Makes Your Wallet a Target
The digital footprint of the cryptocurrency space is getting more pronounced on a daily basis, as adoption grows all over the world.
With this growing adoption comes a growing risk of cyber-attacks on crypto wallets, and so it is important to pay great attention to the matter of security.
2. Phishing and Fake Wallets
The booming growth and adoption of cryptocurrency has now opened up the space to lots of cyber-attacks. Scammers now send phishing links to unsuspecting users who click the links and then have their assets wiped off their wallets. In many instances also, there are fake wallets apps everywhere.
3. You Are Your Own Bank
In the crypto space, you are your own bank, because the space is decentralized. Unlike traditional bank services, you cannot trace your assets if they are stolen or if your wallet is hacked. You need to take over the security wheel of your wallet, by putting everything in place to ensure maximum security.
4. Protection from Theft
This is the ultimate purpose for which your crypto wallet must be kept safe and secure. In the same way thieves are after physical cash, they are also after stealing a user digital cash. Securing your crypto wallet is like building a bunker around your funds.
5. Crypto’s Decentralization and Irreversible Transactions
Crypto’s decentralization is another reason why you need to secure your wallet. Transactions are irreversible once executed, and so it is impossible to recover your funds from hackers if they gain access to your wallet, unlike traditional banks.
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7 Simple Ways to Secure Your Crypto Wallet
As slippery as the grounds of security in the crypto space are becoming, there are still simple and basic things that can be put in place, to ensure the safety of your crypto wallet from hackers and scammers.
1. Use Strong, Unique Passwords
One of the ways hackers get access to people’s wallets is if their passwords can be easily guessed.
Oftentimes, people tend to use passwords that have a relation to their birthdays, or their names.
Now making your password out of these personal details that are public on some of your social media accounts is not safe.
According to a password breach statistic by Forbes, 35% of people admitted that their accounts got breached due to weak passwords.
To secure your crypto wallet, you should use passwords that will almost be impossible to trace to your personal details. Also, let your password for your crypto wallet, be a combination of uppercase, numbers, lowercase, and some symbols.
Another important thing to take note of in creating a strong and unique password for your crypto wallet, is to avoid using the same password used on your wallet for other platforms like email or any other social profiles. Hackers can easily bridge those platforms and extract your password.
2. Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Another simple, yet effective way on how to secure your crypto wallet, is to enable two-factor authentication. It would be impossible to hack your account with a password alone if two-factor authentication was in place.
It is often wiser to use app-based 2FA instead of SMS based 2FA.
Your SMS system can be hijacked through your service provider.
Advisably, use a wallet or exchange Breet, that allows 2FA.
If you are making use of an app-based 2FA system, make sure to back up your 2FA keys somewhere else in the event of the loss of your device.
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3. Store Private Keys and Seed Phrases Offline
It is important for you to understand that your private keys and your wallet seed phrase, is the ultimate access key to your funds in your wallet.
If your private keys or your seed phrase are compromised, your funds are gone.
In securing your crypto wallet, the storage of your private key and seed phrase is much more important than anything else.
You should not store your seed phrase or private keys on social media accounts, or on your email. If hackers can gain access to any of your online accounts where you have stored it, then your wallet is compromised.
Backing up your seed phrase or your private keys to your Google Drive is also not advisable, as access can be gained one way or the other to your Google Drive.
To securely store your keys, write them down manually in a book, or duplicate them in several places offline.
This way, online hackers are crippled and will not stand a chance of accessing your private keys.
4. Use a Cold Wallet for Long Term Holdings
There are two types of wallets you could use to house your holdings in the crypto market.
There is the cold wallet, and a hot wallet. The hot wallet are online wallets like Metamask, Phantom, and the likes. Cold wallets are offline wallets.
When you want to keep your crypto holdings for the long term, it is advisable to make use of cold wallets, as they are not online, and the risk of getting it attacked is far less than for a hot wallet.
A quick caution for using cold wallets is to get it directly from the manufacturer to avoid buying a fake wallet.
5. Keep Your Wallet Software Updated
Over time, online wallets like Trust Wallet, Metamask, Phantom, and the likes may discover a bug in the wallet that needs to be fixed.
Some of these bugs can impact the overall security infrastructure of your wallet, and so it is important to keep your wallet updated.
Most wallet will prompt you to update them on the Playstore or Appstore. Make sure to always download updates to keep your wallet secure.
6. Be Cautious of Phishing Attacks
Phishing is one of the most common tricks used by hackers to steal people’s crypto.
It often comes in the form of emails, fake websites, or even social media DMs that look legitimate but are set up to trick you into entering your private information, such as passwords or seed phrases.
Always double-check the URL of any crypto exchange or wallet you are logging into.
A single misplaced letter could lead you to a fake site designed to steal your credentials. Also, avoid clicking on random links sent via email or Telegram claiming to be from a wallet provider, exchange, or even an airdrop promotion.
If you’re ever in doubt, go directly to the official site by typing in the URL yourself, or better still, bookmark it.
Never enter your private keys or seed phrase anywhere online, no matter how legit a website or support staff may seem.
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7. Use Trusted and Secure Internet Connections
It’s easy to overlook, but the type of internet connection you use can make a big difference in the safety of your crypto wallet.
Using public Wi-Fi at cafes, airports, or coworking spaces might seem convenient, but it also exposes you to a high risk of being hacked, especially through techniques like man-in-the-middle attacks.
To secure your crypto transactions and wallet logins, always use a private and password-protected internet connection.
If you must access your wallet in a public place, consider using a reliable VPN (Virtual Private Network) to encrypt your connection and hide your traffic from potential snoopers.
Remember, even if every other security measure is in place, a compromised internet connection can still put your wallet at risk.
FAQs on How to Secure Your Crypto Wallet
- What is the safest type of crypto wallet?
The safest type of crypto wallet is a cold wallet, because it is mostly offline and so not easily prone to online attacks like phishing and malware.
- What happens if I lose my wallet device?
Losing your device does not automatically translate to losing your crypto wallet. If you have your seed phrase safely written down offline, you can get access back to your crypto wallet on another device.
- Can my wallet be hacked?
Yes, your wallet can be hacked, especially if you have your private keys stored online or you use a generic password for your wallet that can easily be guessed or decoded by hackers
- What is a seed phrase or recovery phrase?
A seed phrase or recovery phrase is a 12 or 24 word combination that is generated upon the creation of a new wallet. It is like the doorway into the wallet, and whenever it is used on any device, access can be gained into the wallet and all of its constituents.
- How do I know if a wallet is legit?
To determine the authenticity of a wallet, it is advisable to only download them through official websites and platforms.
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Conclusion
Securing your crypto wallet does not have to be hard at all, simply take cues from this piece like using 2FA, using strong and unique passwords, storing your keys offline, keeping your wallet software updated, and using cold wallets for long term holdings.
By doing all of these, you can improve the security of your wallet and safeguard your crypto assets. Remember, security is more important than strategy.
