By Mitch Rice
Bitcoin has been designed so that no one can ever hack your funds for as long as you haven’t revealed your private keys to anyone. The hash pointer in the blockchain includes a link to the previous block so that it can be readily identified in the chain. Check websites to trade in bitcoin to utilize the best strategies to make your bitcoin trades profitable. And wallets are software programs people can use to store, send, and receive bitcoins from others.
For example, the public typically stores their funds in wallets provided by these exchanges or other service providers. The below-listed portion will examine the security of bitcoin wallets and how to protect them from hacking, theft, and other attacks. The focus will be on desktop and mobile wallets and hardware wallets.
- Protect your private keys:
Your private keys are the equivalent of your password for accessing your bitcoin wallet. They uniquely identify every bitcoin address in the entire blockchain (the collection of all blocks). No one should ever share private keys with anyone or be written down or stored permanently. It would help to protect your private keys with a strong password and other security techniques. If you consider writing down your private keys, refrain from storing them on cloud storage.
- Use two-factor authentication:
Bitcoin wallets are susceptible to attacks if not used through two-factor authentication techniques such as Google Authenticator, AUTH, or the in-built 2- factor authenticator of the e-wallet. The main goal is to ensure that the person responsible for signing into the account is indeed you and not an attacker who has managed to obtain your password/private key. Therefore, it is essential that you regularly check for unauthorized access to your accounts and ensure that your data backup is in good condition.
- Protect from malware:
Attackers can gain access to your accounts by stealing user credentials (such as compromised e-mail accounts), installing keyloggers, stealing credit cards, or by other means, such as phishing attacks and infected software. In addition, you should keep a close watch on the applications you are downloading from the internet and ensure that they haven’t been tampered with or infected with viruses.
- Do not use mobile wallets:
Suppose you are storing a large amount of bitcoin. In that case, it is strongly recommended that you only keep a small amount on mobile wallets and keep the majority in more secure bitcoin wallets such as desktop or hardware wallets. The reason for this is that mobile devices are more susceptible to viruses. Desktops can be easily protected using anti-virus software whilst mobile devices have limited protection from viruses.
. However, it is still possible that some users have revealed their private keys without realizing it by entering them into untrustworthy websites or applications.
- Stay up to date with the latest threats:
It would be best if you kept a close watch on the latest threats. Therefore, you should subscribe to threat feed services such as the ones offered by Last line or iSight Partners. It helps you stay up to date with the most recent documented threats and is reasonably priced. You can also check out Bitcoin security threat feeds, where you will find all the latest known threats and techniques hackers use.
- Keep only a small amount of bitcoin in mobile wallets:
You can use mobile wallets for receiving and sending payments. However, do note that the private keys are stored on the device itself, so it is advised that you keep only small amounts of bitcoin in case the phone gets lost or stolen (encrypting your mobile wallet will make sure that others can’t access the bitcoins). Again, it is possible by using a hardware wallet or simply storing them on a desktop computer using wallets like Armory or Electrum.
- Avoid public Wi-Fi:
If you want to use bitcoin while downloading it over the internet, make sure you are connected to a secure VPN service or use full disk encryption. In addition, while most people still keep their BTC on the exchange, there are many cases where hackers have stolen Bitcoins via phishing and similar attacks. Therefore, Bitcoin users should always be careful when using public Wi-Fi connections, especially if they do not know the location of their computers.
Data and information are provided for informational purposes only, and are not intended for investment or other purposes.
