New Year New Keys

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Account security is a topic we should all take very seriously.

I would highly encourage everyone to think about account security and what you are doing to protect yourself. Hive is a fun place to play but it our HIVE wallets have value that is increasing everyday and financial safety is important.

There is a saying in crypto MY KEYS MY WALLET... It is really important to make sure you are the only person with access to your keys. I would highly encourage everyone to take evaluation of where you have had your keys and how exposed your keys might be.

I have listened to many cringeworthy stories of accounts getting compromised. Everything from Facebook hacks and keys stored on messenger, to phone hacks and keys stored on a text file on the phone, email hacks, computer hacks, family picking up your password written down and making transfers.

If you are unsure of the places you have left your keys I would highly suggest you change your keys and think about safer storage methods.

How to Change your keys

Here is an article I wrote about how to use PeakD to change your keys:
https://peakd.com/splinterlands/@royaleagle/how-to-change-your-hive-keys-using-peakd

Safe Storage:

After you change your keys the next step is safe storage. When thinking about safe storage the policy I follow is keep the highest authority necessary for the device and store the rest in cold storage. The less places your keys are the less places you are open to exposure of theft.

For example on my phone I only store my posting keys as I do not need any other keys while I am mobile and I use hive keychain in order to store them there. I only play battles and do not perform any financial transactions on the go, if I did I would also input my active key into keychain.

On my desktop I only keep the keys I need once again in Hive Keychain. I load my active, posting and memo keys into keychain.

Instructions on how to install keys into keychain can be found here:https://peakd.com/splinterlands/@royaleagle/hive-keychain-installation-and-usage

Cold Storage

When talking about cold storage there are a couple different approaches people take. Finding the appropriate place to store your keys is also important because you will want to think about making sure you will be able to access them if you NEED to change you keys.

  1. Some people write down their keys in physical format and store them in a safe. (If you do this please make sure you have some way to let yourself know the difference between 0&O and i=l=1 as these are common mistakes.)

  2. Some people put their keys on a Zip Drive or multiple Zip drives and secure them in location that is off device. I follow this piece of advice and have it stored in multiple safe locations.

I suggest a few safe locations in case weird event happens at your primary storage location and destroys your files you will want a backup.


Please take some time to think about New Year New Keys!



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