How to Effectively Secure Bitcoin Wallets

Cyber criminals are motivated to steal Bitcoin because of the cryptocurrency’s recent surge in value. These criminals can access Bitcoin wallets with weak security. Criminals are also targeting Bitcoin wallet that belongs to someone who regularly makes large transactions.

Bitcoin owners must create a secure Bitcoin wallet to keep thieves from stealing their cryptocurrency. They must also be conscious of where they are using their wallets to avoid becoming a target for criminals.

Secure wallet methods

A password is the first line of defense for every Bitcoin wallet. For some wallet, it is the only form of defense against criminals. Many hackers guess the password of certain wallets by using a program that goes through a list of words or group of words in a dictionary. Passwords like “donotentermywallet” can take only a few seconds to crack because of the program.

To make it difficult for hackers to crack the password, people need to include numbers, symbols and upper-cased letters to create a strong string of text. Adding these characters can make it complicated for a program to guess the password. However, this does not prevent hackers from guessing the password. This is the reason many sites recommend users to change their password regularly to make it harder for criminals to access a person’s wallet.

Many websites or Bitcoin wallets have a two-factor authentication feature. To access an account, an individual uses their username and password. An individual needs to type in another specific code when using the two-factor authentication. The site sends the code to the user’s e-mail or phone.  This creates an additional layer of security in case a criminal is able to obtain a person’s Bitcoin wallet password.

Avoid becoming a target

It is a good idea to have two separate Bitcoin wallets. One holds a majority of an owner’s Bitcoin and the other is for day-to-day purchases and other transactions. This set-up can hide the IP address of a person’s main wallet.

Bitcoin owners should not access their main Bitcoin wallet through their mobile device if they are using an outside connection. There is a likely chance they might connect to a fake network that can steal the username and password of their wallet. A secondary wallet is useful in a scenario where they need to transact with their Bitcoin outside of their home or office.

To further avoid becoming a target, individuals should not share any Bitcoin transactions they made through their social media accounts. Doing so can grab the attention of criminals and hackers to a person’s direction. They can use the identity of a person to find their Bitcoin address.