I would like to discuss Steemit Basic Security and share information about different keys (provided to you when you created your Steemit account). I would also provide you with information regarding some basic functionalities of your Steemit wallet.

BASIC SECURITY

Image Source(Cropped)

Your Account Keys

They keys provided to you upon creation of your account are your identity on Steemit. They verify who you are and authorize different actions which you can do on Steemit. So, it will be accurate to say that your identity on Steemit are your keys. This fact, in itself, highlights the importance of these keys for you. Hence, it is REALLY IMPORTANT to keep them safe and not to share with anyone. You need to realize that anyone having access to your keys, can have access to you account on Steemit, and can therefore access various functions permitted through these keys. I myself have printed out a copy of my keys and stored them in my briefcase 😊

Image Source

• Posting Key
  As the name suggests, Posting Key is used for posting, commenting, voting and following other users. Your Posting Key is the one which you will normally be using on Steemit to perform general actions like reading posts, commenting on posts, up-voting / down-voting on posts, creating / posting your content, following other users etc. In essence, Posting Key is safe to use for actions which do not involve financial transactions or changing the account password / keys. Hence it is recommended to use Posting Key for normal day-to-day working on Steemit. New users are encouraged to only use Posting Key initially for logging-in to their accounts, as there is a lesser requirement to engage in financial transactions in the beginning.

• Active Key
  Active Key has all the permissions of Posting Key + it can be used for financial transactions like transferring tokens, powering UP / Down Steem, converting Steem to SBD etc. As Active Key involves wallet related actions, it should be kept secure and not used unless you want to perform actions from your wallet as described above.

• Owner Key
  Owner key is primarily used for resetting ALL the other keys of an account, including the Owner Key itself. This means that Owner Key can generate fresh Posting, Active and Owner Keys for your account. So, it is really very important to keep your Owner Key secure, as anyone having access to this key, can change all other keys of your account and take control of your financial assets as well as your posts on Steemit.

• Master Password (to be kept REALLY REALLY SECURE)
  Master Password is also known as the "seed", as it is the first password assigned to any new account created on Steemit. This password is then used to generate all the keys for that account (Owner Key, Active Key and Posting Key). It is the most powerful key / password of your Steemit account, as it can be used to generate new keys. So, if it is stolen, someone can use it to generate new keys for your account and take control of everything related to your account on Steemit.

• "Memo Key"
  Memo Key is slightly different from other keys associated with your account, as it's only purpose is to encrypt / decrypt memos between people while transferring funds.

So, if I was to sum up the information provided above, the hierarchy of your keys will be as given below

BASIC WALLET FUNCTIONS

Your Steemit wallet is where all your funds reside. All the earnings from your actions on Steemit are stored in your wallet.

Transferring Funds

You can transfer Steem or SBD directly from your account to another account. In order to do so,

• Go to your wallet.
  

• Click your amount of Steem or Steem Dollars (whichever you wish to transfer).
  

• Select the option of "Transfer" from the drop-down menu.
  
  
  A new window will appear
  

• Enter the Steemit name of the account you want to transfer funds to and enter the amount you wish to transfer, add a memo if you want and click "Next".
  
  A confirmation window will appear
  

• Recheck that all the details are correct and click "Ok" to confirm.
  
  You will be prompted to authorize the transaction with your Active or Owner Key or Master Password
  

• When you authorize with any of your Active or Owner Keys or Master Password, the funds will be transferred. (a quick reminder here, your Active Key is sufficient to perform this transaction, it is not recommended to give your Owner Key or Master Password)

Powering Up

It is important to understand that Steem shown in your wallet (top most entity in your wallet) is just liquid Steem, which can be transferred to another account, converted to SBD or transferred to your savings.

However, you should consider Powering Up your Steem to Steem Power. What is Steem Power, you might ask! In simple words, your Steem Power is the amount of influence you have on Steemit. Think of yourself as a shareholder in Steemit, and your Steem Power as the shares you have in the company. The more shares you have, the more influence / impact you will have within the company (Steemit). This will matter when you up-vote or down-vote posts on Steemit (Remember!!! People are also rewarded for up-voting quality posts / content). You will learn how Steem Power works and what it is used for during your progress on Steemit, however I will just guide you how to convert your liquid Steem to Steem Power (or simply Power Up). I must add that you can also Power Down (convert Steem Power back to Steem) but it takes 4 weeks for the process, where you will receive equal distributions of the total amount per week. As a general guideline, Steem Power from users support the overall ecosystem of Steemit and helps it to grow. When the system grows, so will you. In order to Power Up your Steem,

• Go to your wallet.
  

• Click your amount of Steem.
  

• Select the option of "Power Up" from the drop-down menu.
  
  
  A new window will appear
  

• Enter the amount of Steem you wish to convert to Steem Power and click "Power Up".
  
  A confirmation window will appear
  

• Recheck that all the details are correct and click "Ok" to confirm.
  
  You will be prompted to authorize the transaction with your Active or Owner Key or Master Password
  

• When you authorize with any of your Active or Owner Keys or Master Password, the funds will be transferred. (a quick reminder here, your Active Key is sufficient to perform this transaction, it is not recommended to give your Owner Key or Master Password)