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Just as technology keeps advancing daily, so are the crypto industry and, even more, crypto wallet hackers. As a result of hacks here and there, a lot of people have been discouraged from investing in the crypto market and from owning crypto wallets for fear of waking up one day to find all their cryptocurrencies gone, which is quite understandable because no one wants their assets in a place with no guarantee of security.
There have been a lot of hacks since the Covid-19 pandemic shook the world a few years ago, such as the theft of about $15 million of Ether from a popular exchange known as Crypto.com. With several others worth billions of dollars. Therefore, this article will give you a detailed guide on shielding your crypto wallet from new hacks. Keep reading!
7 Ways to Shield Your Crypto Wallet From New Forms of Hacks
1. Trade with a Reputable Exchange
This is one of the best ways to prevent your crypto wallet from new hacks in the crypto market. Ensure that you understand the security features of any exchange before you use it in trading because these crypto exchanges are more secure than others. You will have to conduct thorough research to know those among them that might have been compromised or hacked. That way, you will be able to know those with vulnerabilities and with the potential to put your investments at risk.
Many crypto exchanges don't legally guarantee your investments' safety in case of a cyber attack. This is why it's very important that in choosing an exchange to connect with your crypto wallet and trade, ensure it has some of the best security practices, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA) and TLS/SSL encryption. Also, ensure that they have other safety measures, such as an option to temporarily freeze the account in case of hacking to mitigate damages.
2. Updating your Crypto wallet Passwords Regularly
This step is also crucial in shielding your crypto wallets from new hacks. You can be certain that some of your crypto wallet passwords can be breached at one point or the other in time. Therefore, to be on the safer side, it is advisable to protect your crypto wallet by using complex passwords and storing them in a safe place where only you can access and change them regularly.
Ensure that when choosing a password for the wallet, you avoid reusing any password you might have used in the past. Finally, instead of storing your password on your mobile or desktop browser, you can use personal notepads and password managers that only you can easily access.
3. Make Use of a Secure Internet Connection
If you are keen on shielding your crypto wallet from new hacks, ensure that in accessing it, you use a secured connection and not just a random public WiFi. You can also use a VPN to hide your IP address and location.
4. Avoid Fake URLs and Software
Another way to shied your crypto wallet from new forms of hacks is to avoid downloading a fake wallet in the first place because a lot of scanners nowadays will offer the fake version of that crypto wallet you want to use and even go to the extent of advertising their fake product on popular media like Facebook or search engines like Google.
So one of the best ways you can shield your crypto from this scam is to ensure that you download the wallet from the developer's official website - that is, avoid clicking on just any random advertisements on search engines or elsewhere. Finally, please avoid using the likes of Google Playstore or iOS App Store to search for crypto wallets because these app stores do not differentiate the fake ones from the originals in their search results.
5. Avoid Inputting Your Wallet Seed Phrase on a Website
It's also advisable to avoid typing your wallet seed phrase on any website as it may open your wallet to hackers. If you are surfing the web, especially when using a browser-extension wallet, sometimes you might come across something that looks like your wallet website, but when it asks for your seed phrase, please close such a site and clear it from your browser's cache. It is a malicious website by hackers to access your crypto wallet. In other instances, if your wallet is malfunctioning, you can try uninstalling and reinstalling from a blank browser page or in incognito mode. This will help you ascertain that you are using your wallet and not just a random web app.
6. Avoid Sharing Your Crypto Wallet Password
As ridiculous as it might sound, your crypto wallet password must be kept with utmost privacy from anyone, even your family and friends. Some crypto users think it is much safer to share it with friends for safekeeping; after all, once it's lost, it's unrecoverable. However, to be on the safer side, try putting it down somewhere that you can easily access whenever you need it.
7. Stay Up to Date With the Latest Hacks
The best way to shield your crypto wallet from new forms of hacks is to stay abreast of any latest development in the world of crypto wallet hacks because these hackers keep getting smarter every day, coming up with different tactics regularly in a bid to steal your cryptocurrencies. Therefore, ensure you continually monitor crypto news for the latest updates to know how to respond quickly before it is too late to do so.
Conclusion
No crypto wallet is 100% safe from hackers, no matter how large or small the amount of funds in such a wallet is. Therefore, never assume that your crypto wallet cannot be targeted by hackers or your funds stolen. The easiest wallets hackers go after are those with generic passwords because the easier it is for you to log in and access your wallet, the easier it is for the hacker waiting across the globe to access your cryptocurrencies. Therefore, as much as possible, try and keep your wallet safe and stay up to date with the latest happening in the cybersecurity world.
Disclaimer
The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not reflect the views of Bitcoin Insider. Every investment and trading move involves risk - this is especially true for cryptocurrencies given their volatility. We strongly advise our readers to conduct their own research when making a decision.