We have various sources to learn on how to earn cryptocurrency but ever wondered what if someday you wake up and all your hard-earned cryptos are gone?

It is equally important to understand to safeguard the cryptocurrencies that we work so hard to maintain and to earn.

A cryptocurrency is based on blockchain technology and as it is known for its features such as decentralization, security, immutability and so forth but it still does not have any regulations like the traditional banking system also because the government or bank has no involvement with the creation or the maintenance of cryptocurrencies. Such concepts make the user on their own will to be responsible for the security and safeguard of their cryptocurrency. 

One of the known theft that had occurred in cryptocurrency was the theft of bitcoin of the value of $450,000,000 with Mt. Gox. Hence it becomes of utter importance to be responsible for this world of cryptocurrency.

As they say, with great power comes great responsibility.

So here we have laid down a list of rules you could follow to safeguard your cryptocurrency:

1. Secure your private information

In the world of digitalization, it is very easy to access through one’s information through various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and so forth. It could also be through utilizing the public Wi-Fi on various sets such as hotels, coffee houses, airports, stores. Thus, it is very important to make sure that private information is not kept public but to oneself, as this can lead to major fallouts towards phishing, spying or hacking of one’s account.

2. Creating strong passwords

One could create complex passwords with many characters as the hacker will not be able to guess all the characters as such. One could keep their passwords with more characters, long, or adding space in the password, not involving common or family names or words that could be easily guessed. It is also important to realize that all the passwords of every account should be different than the other.

It is ideally said to keep the password with the strength of more than 20 characters.

3. A 2FA which is also known as Two Factor Authentication for all the accounts consisting of cryptocurrency can help to create and maintain added security. You could use Google authenticator or Authy for 2FA.

4. Encryption of data is an important aspect to be considered especially when you involve your hard-earned money. Thus one can make encrypted files to store the passwords and wallet backups and use different passwords for every container of the files.

5. The user can create a new e-mail id just for the usage of the cryptocurrency and keep their account uptight. 

6. Using a normal computer can be a risk to protect cryptocurrency as it could have viruses and other such bugs that can lead to hacking and other such evil practices. However, strong anti-virus software can help to sustain such issues.

7. Usage of multiple wallets can also be a good security check such as not limiting your cryptocurrency to one wallet but spreading it amongst several other wallets.

8. It is also important to inform a trusted person about all your information in case of any unfortunate event for inheritance purposes.

9. It is fundamental to have backup both offsite and onsite as many as one can have. One could purchase an external hard drive to store all their information of the cryptocurrencies or storing one in your USB stick and depositing it in the bank.

10. A wallet is access to all your transactions and cryptocurrencies, so it is very important to set a password that is strong and encrypt it.

Also Read, 7 most common phishing attacks

11. Wallets are also accessible with mobile phones but it should be considered that not too many cryptos are stored in the wallet based on phones. A small amount of basic usable value should be kept in the wallet and should not be used a primary storage

12. You could use cold wallets as it is a physical electronic device that can aid to secure your cryptocurrencies and it should always be connected to your device for any updates or alerts and disable the auto-updates from your wallet.

13. Free anti-virus is nothing but a well-designed scam, any software before installing for free should be checked thoroughly. Considering such important software that needs constant dedication and update, money, time and manpower would not really be given out for free!

14. Try not to keep your cryptocurrencies on an exchange for a longer period of time because if the exchange is hacked there is a very least possibility that you will be reimbursed.

15. Do not make transactions of cryptocurrency if it is not necessary and check the wallet address twice before your transfer funds.

16. Learn and make it essential to log out when you are done with your transactions on your devices, wallets and even on exchanges.

17. Browse through secure extensions such as HTTPS than HTTP in the address bar. Make it a habit to use https all the time, Netcraft extension and auto delete the cookies.

18. Always keep yourself updated and aware of the recent trends, news, activities, scams, developments basically everything of cryptocurrency and blockchain-related.

19. It might sound childish but sometimes these are the mistakes that individuals make! It is important to understand that one should not brag or tell the world about owning cryptocurrency as you could just possibly dig your own grave!

20. To end with, keep a track of all the activities of your cryptocurrency and related transactions. The key element is to be alert at all times!

Andreas Antonopoulos, a crypto-entrepreneur, said, “Nothing teaches someone about security faster than having their Bitcoin on a Windows machine.”

It is very important and rational to take the digital money aka cryptocurrency on a serious note. It may be complex, tiring and would feel like some ton of constant working especially for less tech-savvy users but security has never been easy and to protect your cryptocurrency it is very vital as you are completely single-handedly responsible towards your crypto.