Crypto Academy Season 3 Beginners' course - Task 6: Blockchain Wallets

How do you store/secure your keys?

Keys in blockchain are cryptographic secret keys that are generated or provided to any user who is creating a new wallet these keys, in essence, are used by users to make and complete all necessary transactions they are also used for encryption and decryption of messages and transaction with the help of keys transactions address can be generated for accepting digital payment keys are important in blockchain technology and their importance can not be overlooked.

storing/securing keys can be done in different ways depending on a user's choice.

The first step of securing one's keys is by storing them offline by so doing a user is safe from malicious software attacks or phishing from scammers.
Also when saving or writing down the keys it's recommended to use separate papers by so doing one is making sure they are reducing unforeseen circumstances such as external users having access to different parts of the paper.

A hardware wallet is also the best means of securing my keys since by using it I will be avoiding connecting my device to the internet unless when necessary.
My generated keys from the hardware wallet will also be stored/written down on paper and kept separately.

Another way of securing keys is by writing them on different external hard copy papers which are not accessible online in different sections for example some keys range from 12-24 a user can write down 12 keys in one paper and gain write down another 12 in a separate paper and either laminate them and store them separately.

Another method which is also very safe is by memorizing the keys by so doing only a user of such key can be able to access his key although this method can be stressful as one can easily forget his keys.

Never print a private or recovery key to avoid leaving digital prints on a computer hard drive it's not recommended for one to print his recovery keys.

Never take screenshots of private keys or store them online taking a screenshot of private keys or storing the keys on the cloud can be dangerous which can be assessed once a hacker has access to your online information.

What are the different forms of Private Key(Examples/Screenshot)?

There are different forms of private keys which include.

PRIVATE KEYS
KEY STORE FILE
MNEMONIC

PRIVATE KEYS

Private keys are alphanumeric keys used for completing transactions in a users wallet they are long string character that is very hard to memorize and also hard for hackers to crack the private keys are used for generating public keys.
The private key is an essential part of the wallet which is generally used for completing or processing transactions, Steemit wallet is an example of a wallet that uses the private key.

MNEMONIC PHRASE KEYS

MNEMONIC keys are readable which means they can be easily memorized by a user most MNEMONIC keys come in a range of 12-24 words they are used for recovering or restoring a wallet most wallets like tron wallet, trust wallet, and coinbase wallets use Mnemonic keywords.

Keystore file

The Keystore file keys are not popular keys they are vulnerable to hacking and phishing these types of the key requires a user to copy files online which is not always advisable when dealing with private keys they can be used for restoring the wallet with the use of password example, of wallet, using Keystore file is the MyCrypto desktop application wallet.

Download & Install TronLink Wallet(Android/iOS/Extension)?

Below are steps taken to download the TronLink wallet

• From my Android devices I will be accessing the google play store and search for a TronLink wallet. I will click on install to download the wallet.

• On successful installed I will be creating a new account. by clicking on create an account.

• Next I will be setting up my username which will be used to identify my wallet below is the screenshot

*Next I will set my password.

How do you store the key(Hint- write it down on a notepad, demonstrate it with examples)?

After creating my password I will be presented with a backup page where I will have access to the 12 MNEMONIC PHRASE KEYS which I will be writing down the 12 words in an offline paper.

• The next step is generating my MNEMONIC PHRASE KEYS which I will copy down in a paper below is the written copy of my recovery key which will be stored offline and not on my phone.

The best method of storing my keys is offline by writing down my phrase keys

Which form of the key are you comfortable with to handle your TronLink Wallet?

Looking at the three different forms of keys the MNEMONIC PHRASE KEYS is more convenient to handle as it contains words that can be easily understood and memorized by me also writing down the 12 words were very easy and simple to do without any problems or errors.

Writing down a private key or Keystone file can be very difficult as one can easily omit an alphabet or number which will make the wallet not function properly.

Conclusion

The security of our wallets depends on how we chose to store or secure our private keys it's more advisable for one to store his/her crypto-token in a hardware wallet that is operated offline with this it will be very difficult to hack or access.
There are also different types of wallet that uses different forms of keys for restoring a users account one needs to understand the different types of wallet keys and use the one that suits him/her most.