Crypto currency storage & protection - Risk & prevention [English post from french guy]
How do I keep my stock of crypto currencies safe?
As you know, the world of computing is not without any risks, it is necessary to protect its values. Professionals, companies and individuals all around the world are constantly subject to attacks / hacking / piracy. The democratization of the crypto currencies has become a motivation for the hackers to steal them.
Perhaps you already own large amounts of crypto currencies, or maybe you will take advantage of the actual lower price of these currencies to invest. I can only advise you to do it quickly, or very soon, if investing is your ambition. For me, I intend to invest, that's why I care about risk and prevention. So, I want to prevent future risks and share how to do it.
Many people store their crypto currencies on online platforms (kraken etc), something absolutely not to do. The platforms have been repeatedly hacked, and even if they attempt to protect themselves, there is no guarantee that it could not happen again ( some people say that's a part of the reason of the bitcoin crash in december 2013 ).
I'm going to propose to you three ways to guard against pirates' stealing.
1 For every currencies
Use an electronic wallet, downloadable from internet. For bitcoin, follow this link to get a list of the best of them: https://bitcoin.fr/recevoir-conserver-et-depenser-des-bitcoins/ (it's a french website, but you don't need to speak french, everything is illustrated). I suggest you to use Copay, this application is very intuitive, and exists on all medias, also on Linux and Windows Phone. For others crypto currencies, you will easily find on internet which wallet to use. It's a good solution to have this kind of wallet, but it's not the safest one, especially if you need to stock a big amount. We never know if your material can not function anymore, or if they can get stolen. In all case, you should copy them from your phone and your computer, just in case.
2 For bitcoin only
The second solution is to use a "paper wallet", which can be manufactured simply with a printer from this website: https://bitcoinpaperwallet.com/ . Simply follow the instructions by clicking on "Generate Keys & Print Paper Wallet".
Here's how to do: You will be asked to generate a key based on random movements of your computer mouse. So your key will then be unique, nobody could have reproduced the same. You can also choose a design from many different proposals. The paper will include a public key, a private key, and their QR code. Finally, print your paper wallet. You can print several copies if you are afraid of losing it. I advise to never bring it with you when you go out if you know that you will not need it. You can even make several different models if you prefer to have one with a big amount of bitcoin in it, to store it, and another with a smaller amount to spend your bictoin. Hopefully you will not have a fire in your house!
3 For most part of crypto currencies
The third and last solution, is a physical wallet that looks like a USB stick. The most well known and safe wallets are stolen by Trezor and Ledger Nano S. It's a material wallet to store your currencies that you use by a secure connection between this object and the dedicated website. Its use has a price, as you have to spend about 100$, but it's also the most secure wallet since your crypto currencies could never be hacked. You can lose the object, it's true, but the company guarantees you that you will get back your stock if you remember/trace your "security words" (given at the sign up for your wallet). But using it will not be necessary if you just traide and don't stock crypto currencies.
Trezor: https://trezor.io/?a=reviewsera.com
Ledger Nano S: https://www.ledgerwallet.com/
