As a newbie here on steemit, there's a lot of things you need to know about steemit and it's environs. The basic of these is security on steemit, to avoid compromising your account and possibly losing all your earnings from steemit.
How do you prevent this from ever occuring:
I'm a bid to do this u need to ask yourself a few questions, which includes;
*How do I keep my account secure;
When registering for steemit you will be given a master password. This password is used to generate your private keys( a set of keys that allow you carry out various operations on steemit). This master password is also used during account recovery process. Do well to keep this password safe and secure. Do not share it with any one. All your keys should be saved offline on paper or on flashdrive or hard disks. Or stored in your cloud backup to prevent your from ever losing them.
*Have u retrieved your keys on steemit;
Yes I have retrieved my keys from steemit and have kept them safe.
When signing up to steemit, you will be given a master key which is used to generate your private keys. This private keys will be sent as a pdf file. This file should be downloaded and kept secure as it contains all your keys.
*What are the key functions and restrictions:
There are several keys on steemit and these keys include;
Posting key - This key allows the user(me) to post, comment, edit, vote, re-steem, follow or mute other accounts. In general, the posting key is used for everyday operations or transactions on steemit.
Active key -. This is a slightly higher key than the posting key as it is used for tasks such as transferring funds, powering up or powering down, converting steem to dollars, voting for witnesses, updating your profile details. This key is important and shouldn't be toyed with or kept carelessly.
Owner key - is the most powerful on steemit because it governs all the other keys. In other words, it is used to change all the other keys on steemit especially if any of your keys have been compromised. This key can be used to recover your account in case of any problem. If this key is misplaced someone can easily use this key as a back door entrance to steal all your steem and take away your tokens.
Memo key - Is used to encrypt and decrypt a memo when transferring funds. In order to encrypt memo we use the pound/# sign before it.
Master password - this is used to generate other keys including the owner key. It's is used majorly during account recovery process if your account has been compromised. This master password was gotten during the process of signing up to steemit.
*How do you plan to keep your Master password and keys;
You should be careful with each of your keys as this could harm your account and render it vulnerable to malicious attacks from thieves. Don't share any of your keys with anyone not even a third party site. Store your keys and master password in a safe place where you can easily retrieve it.
*How to transfer steem to another steem user account;
In order to transfer your steem to another user you are advised to go to the wallet section of your steem account. Then click on transfer in the drop-down arrow next to the number of steem tokens that u have; then click on "transfer" in the drop-down box. After this enter the name of the steemit user to receive the steem, amount of steem to be sent and fill out a memo if desired and click next. A confirmation screen appears, then you click okay to confirm transaction.
*How do you power up your steem:
To power up your steem you follow the same procedure as for transferring your steem, except this time around you select "power up" instead of "transfer" , enter the amount of steem to power up and then click power up.
This is a brief rundown of steem security and how to power up. I hope that other newbies can learn a lot from this.
Special thanks to
@ cryptokannon
@steemcurator01
@steemcurator02
@alphafx
@whitestallion