Best Ways to Protect your Crypto Portfolio from Hackers

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Best Ways to Protect your Crypto Portfolio from Hackers
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  1. Avoid Crypto Exchanges
  2. De-sync Your Gmail Account
  3. Refuse the Password Autofill
  4. Opt for a Hardware Key
  5. Clear Password Autofill
  6. Go for hardware wallets

Despite the vibrancy of the crypto market, with its immeasurable opportunities, it comes at a small price. The price of the security. It is safe to say that cryptos are one of the most vulnerable assets a person can hold, ones that require extensive safekeeping.

It is hard to remember that, not everything can be predicted. Therefore there is never an exact measurement of your security, even if you have your coins on a crypto exchange. It is always heartbreaking to see how all of that hard work you put into growing your crypto portfolio, be snatched away by a hacker. Even crypto exchanges have suffered these fates, but there are always measures you can take to avoid this scenario.

First things first, what can these hackers actually do, which is far more dangerous than just wiping your wallet clean? Well, they can suspend your account because of some suspicious activities, which means that even if you do get your funds back, it will take a long while to restore your account, which will forever be tarnished. What’s even worse is that if you have your wallet connected to your mobile phone, the hacker can easily access your phone number, which he can later use to contact your family and loved ones, asking for money. This has happened before, it is no mere theory. Therefore, in order to protect yourself and those around you, let’s find out some of the best ways you protect your cryptos.

How to protect your cryptocurrencies from hackers

Before we start I have to mention that there is never a 100% for anything. All of the options I will list here will definitely increase your chances of bypassing a hack attempt, but all they do is they make the process of hacking your account a nightmare for the hacker. If he stays persistent enough, he can still get in, but it will take him months, if not years.

Avoid Crypto Exchanges

This is probably the most extreme measure you can take. You can completely avoid crypto exchanges and cryptos in themselves, especially an ICO. The financial world was able to adapt to the new digital currencies and have incorporated them as CFDs on many platforms. However, crypto CFDs come with a plethora of disadvantages (you don’t actually own cryptos, and commissions). Therefore the avoidance of actually buying cryptos on exchanges should only be done in the most extreme of cases.

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De-sync your Gmail account

What Gmail does is that it attaches your phone number to the account. Therefore if the hacker is able to decrypt the password, he not only gains access to your Gmail account but your phone number as well. Therefore it is paramount that you do not indicate any type of personal information such as your phone number, sure you can sync it with your smartphone, but don’t give away the number. Just make sure you also clear any confirmation emails as well.

But after the de-sync, you may encounter a completely different problem, which is identification. In order to retain your mobile authentification, I suggest you get a different number, insert it to a phone that never connects to the internet and use it only for the login process, nothing else. This should help keep your data off the web and away from the hackers.

Refuse the Password Autofill

If you carelessly attach the passwords to a specific email then it becomes even easier for a hacker to access your accounts. Even worse all of the passwords connected to that email account will be accessible for the culprits. It is best to keep your passwords in a written manner, something as far away from the internet as possible.

Opt for a hardware key

A hardware key is basically a bypass of the SMS authentification. It’s best if you get two of these keys, one as the primary key and another one in reserve. This adds a backup-plan in case something goes wrong like, you forget your primary key. In order to activate it, you will have to replace all of the passwords and add the main key as the primary password.

Clear password autofill

It is easy to get comfortable with your login process. So comfortable that you activate the autofill feature. In no circumstance is this safe, as anybody with access to your computer can easily log into your every account. It’s best to refuse the autofill, or if you already have it, clear it. It sure sounds tedious, but it’s a small price to pay for maximum security. If you are not so sure that you can remember your password, then just write it down on paper and keep it safe in a dry and dark space. Just keep it as far away from the internet as possible.

Go for hardware Wallets

Hardware wallets are like impenetrable fortresses when compared to online wallets. The best ones to go for right now are Trezon and Ledger. However, it’s sometimes hard to remember to redirect all of the cryptos from your exchange account to your hardware wallet, so try to turn it into a hobby as it cannot be automated.

The way the wallet works is that it has a closed key. This makes sure that nobody but you will have access to it. There is also a back-up plan involved in this and it is just another key. It’s best to have the other one printed out and saved in a dry and dark place, same as a normal password.

These are currently the best ways you can protect your cryptos, but as time goes on, developers pay more and more attention to security and come up with genius alternatives. If you find these to be very tedious, just go for the least time consuming one before something better is available.