Hey there On Rampers, I hope you’re having a great week!
Sometimes the boring things in life are also the most important. Today I’m going to walk you through how to put some basic security in place to protect your digital assets. A bit dry to start things off, but stay with me on this.
Why is this important?
With Bitcoin and crypto, there’s no centralized company, organization, or government that can take your coins, freeze your account, or hit you up with fees. But this also means if someone breaks into one of your accounts or tricks you into giving them access, there’s no centralized company, organization, or government that can help you get your funds back. It’s truly YOUR money, which means you’re also responsible for your own security.
What’s the point of buying bitcoin and other digital assets if you lose them later because you didn’t take 15 minutes to set things up safely?
After going through today’s guide, you’ll be able to feel confident that you’ve set yourself up to safely and securely buy and manage your crypto.
Goal: Learn how to secure accounts
Skill: Beginner
Effort: 15 Minutes
ROI: Put yourself in the best possible position to keep your digital assets safe.
First, a Quick Word on Passwords
We all know it’s important to use a strong password, not to use the same password for everything, and not to store your passwords where they can be easily found. It’s also important not to put your password on your car’s vanity license plate (I’m looking at you family member who shall go unnamed).
When it comes to your money (including digital money), you need to take some extra steps to make it as hard as possible for someone to get access to your funds, because once they’re gone, they are likely gone forever.
Many years ago, I was that person who cleverly used the word “password” for my password. And not just for one site, but for everything. Pure genius really. I didn’t have time (classic excuse) to come up with a system for passwords or setting up a password manager and I didn’t take security or privacy very seriously. Fortunately, I was never scammed or hacked. I was lucky.
Over time I realized the importance of taking security seriously, so I came up with a system for creating and remembering passwords. You might have such a system yourself. If not, check out this article on Lifehacker “Four Methods to Create a Secure Password You'll Actually Remember”.
Another great option that doesn’t rely on your horrible memory is a password manager like LastPass, which allows you to only have to remember one master password and then they take care of the rest, making it quick and easy to log into websites while using strong, secure passwords.
There are plenty of how-to articles and videos on secure passwords and password managers, so today I’m going to focus on a 3 extra steps that will help you keep your bitcoin and digital assets safe.
Security Guide: Keeping Your Accounts Safe
In this week’s guide, I tried to find a balance between security and convenience. If there are other ways you’re securing your accounts, please feel free to share your tips in the comments.
It’s best to have multiple layers of security in place, making it more difficult for someone to access your funds. Today we’re going to cover the first layer. In future posts, we’ll add additional layers of security, so you can have peace of mind each step of the way.
Without further adieu, let’s get into the 3 steps that make up this first layer of security:
1. The First Rule of Fight Club
One of the easiest ways to keep your crypto safe is to not let anyone know you have any. Not fun I know, but the more you have, the more I would suggest keeping it to yourself and the people you trust. It may be tempting to publicly share any big gains, but this just has the potential to draw unwanted attention.
2. A Secret and Secure Email Account
Continuing on this theme, the best way to avoid scams, spam, and phishing attacks is to set up a new email account that you only use for your crypto-related accounts.
This is an email account that no one else knows about, you don’t share publicly, and you don’t email other people with. You only use this email account to set up and log into any new crypto-related accounts.
It’s much harder for someone to break into your email account when they don’t know it exists.
Steps to create your new email account:
Select an email provider. For our purposes here, I’m going to use Gmail. Google provides a good level of security and it’s a provider most people are familiar with. If you really want next level email security, I would suggest going with a free ProtonMail account. ProtonMail provides fully encrypted email along with anti-phishing tools.
Create your Google Gmail account, using the least amount of personal information possible. You don’t have to use your real name, but you do have to use your phone number when signing up. Here’s a video someone created on how to create a gmail account:
Assuming you started this process on your computer, you can now download the Gmail app to your mobile device as well.
3. Two-Factor Authentication
Last but not least, we want to turn on Two-Factor Authentication (known as “2FA”). With 2FA, you add an extra layer of security to your account in case your password is stolen.
This is one of the most important steps you can take to securing your accounts.
After you set up 2FA, you’ll sign-in to your account in two steps using:
Something you know, like your password
Something you have, like your phone
In this way, if someone does steal your password, they still can’t log into your account unless they also have your phone in their possession.
Google has a few options for 2FA and they do a good job of walking you through the process. Here’s how to get started:
Open your Google Account.
In the navigation panel, select Security.
Under “Signing in to Google,” select 2-Step Verification and then Get Started.
Follow the on-screen steps.
Note: I recommend using the Google Authenticator option for 2FA. It’s available for both iPhone and Android, it’s very secure, and we will use Google Authenticator to set up 2FA on the other crypto-related accounts we’ll be creating in future.
Here’s a video someone created on how to set up 2FA and the Google Authenticator mobile app:
Saving and Time and Peace of Mind
I get it, no one likes setting up accounts and creating passwords. And 2FA can be confusing the first time you set it up, but the good news is you only need to do this once, so power through!
The time you’re spending now will save you lots of time later and provide you with the peace of mind that your first layer of security is properly in place. You’ll also be much less likely to get emails that are trying to trick you into giving up your password or access to your funds.
So if you haven’t started already, now is the time to spend the next 15 minutes getting your new, secret email set up, and then setting up your 2-factor authentication!
The Wrap Up
Today we covered the 3 basic steps to set up your first layer of security:
Keep a low profile with regards to your crypto investments.
Set up a secret email account that no one else knows about. An account that you only use to set up and access any crypto-related accounts.
Set up 2-factor authentication (2FA), so even if someone steals your password, they won’t be able to get into your account.
There are always more ways to increase your levels of security and privacy, but the steps we covered today are a great place to start! In future posts, we’ll be setting up new crypto-related accounts and we’ll cover new layers of security as we go along.
So what are you waiting for? Get started now, it will only take 15 minutes or less, and you’ll be ready for next week’s post! And when you’re done, do what I like to do and reward yourself with a chocolate chip cookie!
Until next time, onward and upward!
-Carl
PS. If you found this post helpful and think a friend or family member might find it helpful too, please share this with them!
Not financial or tax advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This newsletter is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.
Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, I hold crypto assets.