How to Keep Your Bitcoin Totally Secure

The arrival of bitcoin in the financial scene revolutionized the way we think about traditional currency and even the monetary system itself. Not surprisingly,

many people joined the bitcoin craze and soon created a community of miners and regular bitcoin users. As bitcoin opens itself to the public, issues of security especially those that involved fraudulent practices such as theft have become one of the major concerns of the community. 

Remember that the so-called “wallet” contains the user’s private key which he or she uses in order to proceed with transactions. So, once the device that contains the wallet is stolen, do not expect that you can still retrieve the bitcoins stored in it.

In order to provide help especially to the newbies, here are some of the safety measures you can take to secure your own bitcoin wallet.

1. Making an offline storage for your private key.

 One of the most popular ways of securing your bitcoin wallet is through cold storage, a method of storing the private key in a physical device like USB or external hard drive. In this way, the chances of losing your keys are relatively less. 

      2. Using updated software. Always maintain an updated software.

It provides stability and added security to the network. Running a bitcoin wallet in an outdated software makes the user more prone to attacks.

3. Encrypt your device.

Encryption provides additional security upon accessing your wallet. Use a strong password. Passwords that have letters, numbers, and special characters are more secure and are more difficult to crack as compared to those which have lesser characters. 

If you find it tedious to input a password with almost all the characters in it, you can use two-factor authentication (2FA). This type of authentication method requires not only your username and password but also a verification from a third-party application (code generator for 2FA) which can be done by sending a unique code to the user.  
4. Use a more modern method: Multi-signature.

Multi-signature is a modern feature in cyber security wherein a number of people (usually 3-5 people) are required to sign in. These people will act as the ones who will verify the transaction.

The owner of the wallet will still have full control over his or her bitcoins while preventing possible threats due to the additional layer of security.

Be the first line of defense

Bitcoin has paved the way for a new era of trading goods and services. It brings with it a new technology that cut our ties with a central institution.

It gives us the freedom and anonymity that we wanted ever since we first connected to the internet. However, you have to remember that we are still vulnerable. We are very open to attacks.

Thus, we have to take the necessary steps to ensure security no matter what.