You have surely heard about hacking the cryptocurrency wallets and of course about hacker attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges. The higher capitalization of the cryptocurrency market grows and the more popularity cryptocurrencies gain, the more hackers’ interest appears to them. Unfortunately, no service can guarantee you the complete security, but many exchange platforms have a serious security system, so it’s very difficult to hack into them.
image © descryptive.com
Do you know what you should do to ensure the safety of your funds and your personal data?
The security of your account on a cryptocurrency exchange platform largely depends on how serious you take your personal security.
Always follow these guidelines:
- Make sure that you have a strong password, and do not use this password in other services. Learn more about creating secure passwords here. Do not tell anyone your password.
- Use two-factor authentication — this will add an extra layer of security. Do not give out your 2FA codes to anyone.
- Save on paper the QR code or account token used when setting up two-factor authentication and keep it in a safe place. Do not store a digital copy of the QR code and account token in the cloud storage, on your hard drive or in e-mail box — this is not safe. If you have printed the QR code, do not forget to delete the digital copy after printing.
image (с) World’s Direction
Pay attention:
- Always make sure that you visit the real site of your exchange platform — phishing sites can imitate the site in order to steal your login, password and 2FA code. The easiest way is to find the lock icon in the address bar.
- If you are installing an application to work with the exchange, carefully check that it is not fake. If you have any doubts, please contact the exchange support service for clarification.
- Pay attention to e-mail addresses: “i” can be replaced with “l”, “o” — with “0” and so on.
- Do not click on links or open attachments in e-mails unless you are sure that the email was sent by your exchange. Links, which you receive by e-mail, should be copied and pasted to the address bar of your browser. Do not click on them — the attacker may have a hidden link or redirect.
- Be careful with letters from friends. Their e-mails may be compromised and contain malicious content.
- Do not send money to the wallet of someone who claims to be a member of the exchange team.
- Never give an exchange support service (or anyone else) remote access to your computer.
Follow these tips, and the funds in your account will be quite well protected.
If you want to maximize the level of protection, use these recommendations:
1) Use a unique email address for your account. Also, set up two-factor authentication to log in to your e-mail inbox.
2) Protect your computer:
- Regularly update the operating system of your computer.
- Use good antiviruses and update them. Scan your system regularly with an antivirus software. Do not open files from unreliable sources.
- Do not install unnecessary software on your computer or software from unreliable developers. If possible, install a separate operating system on the hard disk partition of your main computer or use a separate computer to work with the exchange. Install Linux, Chrome and nothing else.
3) Internet connection security:
- Use a wired connection if possible.
- To work with a cryptocurrency exchange, use well-protected Internet connections. Do not use free or public connections.
- If you are using Wi-Fi, think about routing through a VPN.
4) Use Whitelist IP, if your exchange has this option: enter one or more IP addresses that will be white. When this feature is enabled, only connections from the white IP addresses you specify will have access to your account, and all other connections will be rejected.
Warning: Make sure you use a connection with a static IP address (as a rule, operators provide users with a dynamic IP address). Use the Whitelist IP function only if you fully understand it.
5) Store all the funds, that you do not need for trading, on a separate wallet, where you and only you have the secret key.
image © https://twim.trade
That’s all rules that will help you keep your exchange account and trading funds safe.
