Bitcoin is semi-anonymous. Meaning that your identity and activity are seperated. People can see how much money you are sending, and know how many addresses you are sending to, but have no idea who you or the recipient is. Unless of course, you reveal that your Bitcoin address is yours.
This forum is a place to gain and share knowledge. That's why naturally, I'm obliged to share some safety tips.
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Keeping your Bitcoin safe
Use a wallet which you have complete or the majority of control of.
One of the most popular recommendations and a definite must in this day and age. A web wallet like Coinbase is not a good idea, as despite you being able to send and receive Bitcoin at will, you do not have access to the private key. They are basically acting on your behalf, but they can run away at any time.
Use 2FA whenever you can!
2FA, or 2 Factor Authentication, is the use of a second authentication method, on top of your password. This means that if a hacker knows your password, they will need access to that second factor, like your email, SMS or a phone call. It's much harder to get this, and greatly increases the security of your account. If you own alot of bitcoin, this is a must.
Keeping your devices secure
Refrain for downloading everything you see!
If a random person comes up to you, saying that you should download something, be wary. If you want to download any file (like cracked music
), make sure you download from a reputable site. (This doesn't necessarily mean anything from Google drive is save, mind you)Another way to find if a download is safe if it has a comment section somewhere or is a forum. Look at the responses. If there are lots of positive responses, it should be safe. Be very wary if there are negative reviews or even worse - none at all.
Watch out for phishing links!
For anyone that doesnt know, a phishing link is a link that brings you to an unwanted site that tries to either "Phish" information from you (asks for your password or credit card number) or downloads malware onto your device.
Stay away from any links that randomly come up in your email, or an a random website. A good idea would be to hover over the link with your cursor. This will reveal where this link goes to.
For example, I can make a link, PayPal.com go to google.com. Hover over it (or if you have a mobile phone, tap and hold), and it will reveal the link.
Keeping your identity safe
Be very careful when giving your ID out online.
I, personally have never given out proof of ID online (Passport, driver's licence, legal document) except when I needed it. (Which still, is never
)If the company who you sent the documents to were to be hacked, the hacker could have taken your documents and could sell them all on the darknet. You never know. By the way, a company will never in their right mind delete your documents. Trust me.
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I'm looking for this thread to be a community driven guide. That means most of these safety tips should be from the community. Please suggest your own tips below, and I'll update asap (I'm notified when you reply!)
Remember however that this guide is for safety practices (Like password protecting your wallet), not for recommendations (Using tor)
