Your first major cryptocurrency buy will most probably occur on an exchange account. In cases when a hacker breaches said account, they can pull your stash to their own wallet address.
A simple step towards thwarting such attacks would be to ensure secure purchases of your crypto. Binance safety experts recommend you always enable the two-factor authentication (2FA) option before going about any financial operations.
But what else can be done? Below, we’ll look closer at how to keep Binance account safe with simple yet powerful security measures.
Crypto-wallet Hygiene
Back up your crypto wallet
Backing up a wallet normally requires putting a 12 to 24-word seed phrase into a reliable hidey hole. Some fund storage tools can be locked with a unique username-password combination, while others make use of a recovery file you’ll need to access and load each time.
Keep your recovery phrase away from prying eyes
Typically, keeping recovery phrase(s) online, in your phone’s photo gallery, or other applications that handle photos (e.g. Instagram) is considered a big no-no.
The rule of thumb here is that if you can look up the seed expression in a single text recording or image, anyone on the web can too — in the event, of course, that your sensitive data is compromised.
This actually concerns low-tech means of recording as well; while having the secret info recorded in a notebook may seem a brilliant idea, it all again revolves around not keeping it in one unscrambled piece.
And you’d want to care about how easily the recorded pieces can be damaged, too. Even if you are not living in a floodable area, there is always the danger of fires or pests — which is why crypto pros often go the extra mile and store their recovery keys engraved on plates in metal cylinders.
Stay on alert when it comes to passwords
There can arise literally zero situations in which you’ll be required to share your recovery data or keys to a tech-support expert or a trader. A request to share a sensitive piece like that would certainly indicate a 100% scam. As a rule, a user will get contacted by fraudsters via email, Telegram or Discord DM with an offer of assistance. Do NOT deal with such people, especially if they seem overly friendly or ask for your password to “verify” your account.
Variegate Your Passwords
A staggering lot of crypto users show enough carelessness as to lock their wallets and online accounts with a single universal password.
If you feel pretty invincible with your 16-digit super-cryptic combination, it may surprise you just how unsafe passwords actually are when used on popular websites. Should a hacker access the site’s database, they can crack your password by processing the hash. Massive breaches are more or less the plague of social media and the likes, and those rarely affect mobile devices or cold wallets.
But if you happen to be a power-user whose security is impenetrable, you may also rely on using automated software for trading crypto. Jet-Bot Binance brings together the futuristic advantages of financial simulation and the benefits of a close-knitted crypto community. It allows you both to play with a transaction sandbox and trade for real, emulating the best merchants out there on the Web. While enabling you with an advanced potential for growing profits, Jet-Bot remains very beginner-friendly, totally intuitive, and can even create a Binance account in one click.
Another dangerous point of entry that comes with a careless cybersecurity attitude is a browser password manager. These usually store passwords unencrypted and therefore easily fall prey to malware. In case of your browser being compromised, your unvariegated copy-pasted key combinations will get you into trouble not dissimilar to losing a whole briefcase of documents imprudently stored together.
Finally, a very sophisticated hacker may always lay in wait to snatch one of your passwords with a key-logger. This might happen to an inattentive user who isn’t careful with where they type in their sensitive info. Sometimes, you may enter a fake website finely crafted to imitate a familiar one, for example, an exchange. Having unique combinations for each account and wallet does not give thieves a chance to get the whole of your resources on one fell swoop.
Be Knowledgeable About Social Engineering
With technologies getting smarter and more hackproof, scammers too get sneakier and more creative with their attacks. Rather than fiddle with the software, some fraudsters target users themselves and work their way into your heart and mind. Below are a few tips aimed to help you apprehend and deflect manipulative attempts.
Disregard any suspicious bit of contact info
If you receive a phone number and/or a profile link, check first that your BS senses are not tingling. Distrust is generally a very trusty feeling in the domain of crypto operations — what feels wrong, probably is. In most cases, you should be able to research the contact data independently or run a check on it with a trustworthy official source.
Be cautious with your close communications
One of the best ways how to secure Binance wallet is not to discuss unnecessary financial details with your friends, family, or colleagues. A bit of paranoia would be healthy whenever your close contacts start taking interest in your crypto life all of a sudden. It will never hurt to double-check whether you speak with the actual person by using an additional communication channel.
Your favorite apps are vulnerable too
A long-time familiarity with your digital tools often lowers your guard, and that’s exactly what scammers hope for. The more trust you put into your preferred website or application, the better their chances are of manipulating you into a trap.
Stick to multi-factor authentication (MFA)
The idea behind social engineering attacks is often about assuming your identity, so it would be great to counteract that preemptively. MFA enables your digital self with extra layers of complexity, making the digital you harder to emulate. Remember that fingerprints, passcodes, secret phrases, and guard devices are all powerful means to shield your accounts from thieving fingers.
Anti-malware Practices
Your Binance account may suffer an intrusion via the deposit/withdrawal address. A proper address-handling practice requires you to use an offline notepad app in where you can record it (preferably, encrypted). The trick is to copy-paste your address from the document to your browser and then, check if what you’ve copied and what you have noted match exactly.
Any discrepancy would be an indication that your PC or smartphone has caught a Trojan. To safeguard yourself against such risks, ensure you do all the following:
- Buy or download for free a resident antivirus software able to root out malware and prevent it from infecting your system;
- Remove all plug-ins, add-ons, and extensions from your browser (or use the incognito mode with restricted permissions);
- If you already suspect intrusion, formatting your disk and reinstalling the OS could be a must;
- Consult information security specialists.
Teach yourself about phishing campaigns
The primary rule can be stated simply: steer clear of unsolicited offers.
You ears should be ready to prick at any message you weren’t expecting to get. However legitimate the gist may appear and whatever the promised profits are, take it with a whole spoonful of salt before you even consider answering.
Still, with each passing day bad actors teach themselves new cunning attacks, so you should not lag behind. In addition to reading up on how to protect your data, consider looking at the situation through a malefactor’s eyes. Then, you will be able to weaponize those dirty tricks to preserve what’s rightfully yours.
Final thoughts
Knowing both how to secure your Bitcoin wallet and protect your Binance account is indispensable for safe and secure navigation of the crypto realm. Of course, you’ll find no such thing as a single security switch, but raising multiple protection layers is the best bulwark today’s technology can offer. As long as you exclude information leaks from the mobile, communication channels, and your network connections, your coins, and token will remain safe and sound.
