How To Keep Crypto Investments Safe

Crypto investments can be prone to hacking and scams, and as an investor, you must know how to protect your coins and keep them safe. There are many ways to secure your cryptos safe, and it may be best to apply more than one safety measure. Following different strategies allows you to have double or triple layers of security measures that can make it difficult for hackers to access your investments.

Here are some ways to do it:

Use A Cold Wallet

A cold or hardware wallet could be one of the safest ways to store your cryptos. It’s similar to a USB device in size and holds the cryptos or a private key that you can use to open your accounts. Having your private key stored in a cold wallet prevents access to cybercriminals because it’s offline, unlike software or hot wallets that contain your private key online. You can learn more about their differences by reading a hardware and software wallet guide online.

However, ensure you don’t forget your private key for cold storage, as you may not access them. Furthermore, you can use various cold wallets for each crypto investment, similar to distributing eggs in different baskets. That way, when one is lost, stolen, or forgotten, you still have other crypto investments in the other cold wallets.

Use Two-Factor Authentication

It’s also best to use wallets or platforms that offer at least two-factor authentication settings. This can give you added security to prevent hacking and unauthorized log-ins. For example, you’ll need to enter a password, which is the first authorization. The second authorization could be a set of numbers or keys you’ll receive on your email or smartphone to verify further that it’s you who is accessing your account.

In addition, you can also look for platforms that utilize multi-factor authentication. This can include vocal or facial recognition software that can be complex for someone to imitate, thus, making it hard for hackers to access your accounts or wallets where your crypto investments are.

Back Up Your Seed Words

Online platforms or wallets for cryptocurrencies are most likely to have seed words. The seed words are ‘master key’ or ‘secret recovery phrase’ that you can use to recover your crypto wallets. And if these seed words go into the hands of any person, they can access your account and possibly steal your coins.

This is why securing your seed words is critical. Without backup, you may forget them, losing access to your cryptos. On the other hand, not securing them properly can also be detrimental as they can land in the wrong hands.

For instance, you take a screenshot of your seed phrase and store it on your smartphone or computer. Note that gadgets can be prone to cyber threats, which can put your seed words at risk. Hackers may also target your PC and cloud-based systems to find keys to access your accounts and crypto wallets if they know you have enormous amounts of tokens. They can use viruses or malware to access and copy your seed words, so keeping them on your electronics and the cloud may not be recommended.

Instead, you may consider storing your seed words in a cold wallet. You can take advantage of it being offline since it’s less susceptible to cybersecurity risks. Another way to have a backup for your seed words is to write them down on paper. While this may seem counterintuitive, considering you may lose it or it can be stolen easily, you can secure this physical copy in water and fireproof vaults or storage solutions. You can also look into metal backup solutions if you want a physical backup for your seed words.

Only Use Reputable Mobile Apps, Crypto Exchanges, And Wallets

Most importantly, do your research before using any online apps, crypto exchanges, and crypto wallets. Ensure you understand how to use them, how secure they are, and how your data will be protected. You may want to choose entities that use air-gapped devices kept offline to store cryptos, TLS/SSL encryption, multifactor authentication, and other security practices. These are some of the best security measures that can prevent hackers from quickly accessing your data that they can use to steal your crypto assets.

In addition, you should also use complex and different passwords for each platform or app, even if they have such security measures. That way, you can tighten security in your accounts.

Conclusion

Cryptos are gaining a lot of attention because of their potential, with more people investing in them to grow and diversify their assets over the long run. However, because of their promising results, cybercriminals may target crypto investors to earn money quickly. This can put their token at risk, especially without proper security measures. With that, you may consider applying the security tips above to safeguard your crypto investments.