Chapter 4 of 11: Understanding How to Keep our Steemit and Steem Cryptocurrency Account Safe - How to Use the 5 Different Passwords - This is part 4 of the 11 Chapters (Full Guide) to help new people make their way

Hi Steemians, Wishing you a Happy and Prosperous 2018 is that I am releasing this new Chapter/Post to help Keep your steem account and crypto as safe as possible!

And before starting say it is incredible how Steem price is at $8! For all believers, for all the efforts of the early adopters & developers, and the newer adopters, thanks for everything you have been doing! All the steemit community and communities around the world that steem blockchain is helping today, will not forget this.

This 4th post/Chapter of the series is to help new visitors and new people on the steemit platform to understand how to "Keep your Steem Account and Cryptocurrency Safe" . It is a part of a larger series of the full steemit guide of 11 Posts/Chapters.

Before starting this new chapter #4, in case you would prefer to read the introductory (1st Chapter), and the 2nd Chapter, as well as the 3rd Chapter/post, here are the links and brief description of what you will read/learn on them:

Chapter 1 of 11: Have you recently Sign up on Steemit and Don't know what to do First - Basic Things for New People make their way easier on the Platform - Part 1: What you need to know to be more confident & get rewarded on the platform?
https://steemit.com/steem/@gold84/chapter-1-of-11-have-you-recently-sign-up-on-steemit-and-don-t-know-what-to-do-first-basic-things-for-new-people-make-their-way

You may also be interested on reading Chapter 2 of 11: Focusing on the Details of the Steem Wallet to learn as much as possible How to use it - Transfer Steem SBD - Convert it to ETH LTC Bitcoin or other Crypto - This is part 2 of the 11 Chapters (Full Guide) to help new people make their way.
https://steemit.com/steem/@gold84/chapter-2-of-11-focusing-on-the-details-of-the-steem-wallet-to-learn-as-much-as-possible-how-to-use-it-transfer-steem-sbd

Chapter 3 of 11: Understanding Where the Funds from Upvotes come from, Focusing on Steem Power & Reward Pool - This is part 3 of the 11 Chapters (Full Guide) to help new people make their way
https://steemit.com/steem/@gold84/chapter-3-of-11-understanding-where-the-funds-from-upvotes-come-from-focusing-on-steem-power-and-reward-pool-this-is-part-3-of

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Special Thanks for Important People that are supporting to make the 11 Chapter Steemit Guide be reached to the most people hands

Before starting I wanted to add 1 last thing. I am very thanful for all of my followers, and several steemians, as well as @blocktrades , @lukestokes , @steempower , @starkerz , @cryptographic , @teamsteem , @stephenkendal , that are supporting with all their best to make this posts/chapters be reached to the most possible hands.

In case you are a whale, dolphin, plankton and you enjoy reading the post/chapter, or with your personal knowledge and experience see this guide as useful for new visitors, new steemit users, minnows, and other steemians, your support to help the chapter reach as many hands as possible, is greatly appreciated.

[Important Note: At the end of this Post you will find the Chapters Index, were you can find detailed information of any of the topics you would like to learn]

My main aim here with this full Steemit guide of 11 Chapters is to give new visitors, new users on steemit, minnows, (and for the ones that have been here for a week or 2 and are struggling to earn some rewards), all the needed information to help them understand the steemit platform and steem blockchain as much as possible and as easier as possible, and thus help them make their way on steemit. This means at the end, more people achieving success on steem, more stories for the world that steem is achieving freedom and empowering people, as well as returning the power to the hands of people. This are the aims of its creator @dan Larimer, which is mentioned by @teamsteem in his welcome to steemit post.

So, for those of you who have been here for less than 20 or 30 days, on behalf of the steemit community, let me extend in a LOUD VOICE, a big WELCOME to you.

My aim is to help people understand: the most important concepts, the actions they will do on the platform, the things that they will interact with, learn about the entire ecosystem were steem is being developed, as well as give them some personal advice on how to contribute with the steemit community by adding value, and thus earn rewards.

Since there are lots of things to learn on Steemit and the steem blockchain (and you will see its a never ending learning process), below I will enumerate the learning topics I will be discussing in the series of 11 posts/Chapters.

All this topics I will be talking about are things I have learned from the very first day I signed up. There are many things to learn in order to make our way on the platform, and for sure I will miss some things.
This is because when we start doing things on repetition, we forget about them, and we just do them automaticaly, so feel free to ask any questions on the comments section. Also if you are a Plankton, Dolphin or Whale reading the post, your contribution, suggestions here will really help new People (Minnows) to make their way, and thus make steemit grow and make it a better platform every day.

So, lets get started with Chapter/Post #4, and learn how to "Keep your Steem Account and Cryptocurrency Safe"

Chapter/Post #4: Keeping your Steem Account and Cryptocurrency Safe

1- How can I help keep my steem account safe/secure, by using the different private/public keys on steemit, and keeping safe the ones that do not need to be used?

2- Example of using @blocktrades to keep your Bitshares account safer, when converting/transferring crypto from an exchange or Steemit to Bitshares.

Special Credits on this Chapter for: @blocktrades , @jerrybanfield , @pfunk , @steemitguide , @thecryptofiend , @dantheman (the brilliant blockchain visionary)

1- How can I help keep my steem account safe/secure, by using the different private/public keys on steemit, and keeping safe the ones that do not need to be used?

When we sign up to Steemit, after we get approved, we receive an email with the confirmation. Once we click on the link we receive, we are taken to a steemit page that contains our Master Password. This is one of the passwords (private keys), that the steem blockchain has created for us (In addtion to the 4 private keys we'll describe below).

Lets take a look at all the 5 passwords (private keys) available on Steemit , to see what they do, and how to use them.

A) Owner private key
B) Posting private Key
C) Active private Key
D) Memo private Key

E) 16 character "Master Password": This password can do everything same as Owner Key, with one extra thing. It can also decrypt private messages, something the Owner Private Key can't. This functionality of decrypting private messages is not something used on the platform yet, according to my research, so if something knows more about this, it will be great if you could comment.

Before explaining each of them, here is a great contribution I found from @pfunk with a table showing what each of the keys can do. Thanks @pfunk for helping people on steemit learn how to keep their accounts safer.
https://steemit.com/steemit-guides/@pfunk/a-user-s-guide-to-the-different-steem-keys-or-passwords

Also, here is a great post from @steemitguide with an infographic explaining what each of the keys can do. Thanks for helping lots of new people on steemit, minnows, and visitors (not yet signups), learn about how to keep their account safe.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@steemitguide/a-complete-guide-on-steemit-permission-keys-posting-owner-active-memo-digital-passwords-with-unique-functionality-that-allows

A) Owner private key is the one we are given initially when approved to start on steemit. This is the most important one, because it controls the entire account, to make everything. Between the important things the owner key can do are:

1- Changing account ownership (this means that if somebody gets your owner key, they can change it, and you loose access for ever, to your account and funds on it. This is unrecoverable, because nobody including Steemit Inc has access to your password. The passwords are only held by you, and they give you access to the Steem Blockchain)
When the Owner key Password is changed, all passwords (private keys change automatically)

2- Posting, Commenting, Curating, Tranfer funds, everything you can do in the Steem Blockchain

Recommendation for the Owner ley Password: Once you get it for the first time, write down all the other 3 private keys information, keep it safe offline in a USB, label it Steem or Steemit Master key, and never or almost never have it online. Giving anyone access to it, can make you loose all your account.

B) Posting key is the key to be able to log in to Steemit, make posts, comments, curate. You can have this key on a folder in your computer or accessible.
Just keep in mind, if this key goes to the wrong hands, the person will be able to make posts, comments, curate for your account, but will NOT have access to your funds, and will not be able to change account ownership. So, if you notice your account has published or made comments you did not do, it is probably somebody that has access to your posting key.

To solve this thing you just log with your Owner/Master Password, change this password, and then the Posting Key and all the others will also be changed. In this way, recovering complete privacy of your private keys again. Again always remember to put your new Master Password offline. It will help you save yourself from lots of problems.

To change your Master Password, it is important you do it with lots of attention, because if something is not done properly or the new Password is not written properly, you are subject to loose access to your account for ever, and it is unrecoverable.
[We'll show you how to change your Master Password at the end of the post]

C) Active Key: With this key you can almost do everything the Master/Owner password does, but you can't change ownership.

Exception compared to Owner/Master Password: You can't change ownership of the account.

With this key, another person can transfer funds, but can't take ownership of the account. So, once you are able to recover your acccount by changing your Owner/Master password, you will get new private keys. The good thing is that if you notice somebody was accessing with your active key, and most of your funds are on Steem Power, or in Account Savings. In both of them, you need to wait 7 and 3 days respectively, so if you realize after 2 days, you can cancel those operations, and avoid loosing anything.

D) The Memo key is the only key able to decrypt private messages sent to your account. According to what I researched, this feature isn't implemented on Steemit yet.
(If somebody knows more about it, or it was implemented, please let us know in the comments section, so we can update this accordingly).

E) The Master Password can do everything Owner key password does, and one more thing. It can also do what the Memo key does, which is decrypting private messages.

Changing the initial (E) Master Password:

Here are instuctions I found from @thecryptofiend to change your "Master Password", that once you do it, it will change all the other 4 passwords too: https://steemit.com/steemit/@thecryptofiend/a-quick-guide-to-how-keys-passwords-work-on-steem-and-steemit

This is a perfect post/tutorial made by @jerrybanfield about the security of our steemit accound. On the last half of his post is were he explains how to change the master password, that will automatically change the other private key passwords.
https://steemit.com/steemit-guides/@jerrybanfield/the-steemit-account-security-tutorial-june-2017

I definitely recommend you to read his post, and also follow @jerrybanfield in case you are not doing it yet, because you will learn a lot from Steemit, and he is definitely one of the steemians to follow. Actually the reason I found this site was from a post he did, that I found in Google.

And here its a very technical explanation on how to get your private key from steemit. This is very difficult to be understand by us (not technical or developer user), but the reason I wanted you to take a look at it, its because it was made by one of its creators @dantheman . And here we can see how he explains 2 years ago, another important thing of the platform.
https://steemit.com/steemhelp/@dantheman/get-your-private-key-from-your-steemit

Here is an excellent initiative from @jerrybanfield to help several users to make a Master Password reset, because he found they were using their private keys to transfer funds from Bittrex (external centralized exchange) to steemit. In this way they were puting at potential risk their accounts or funds to be taken from their possesion. https://steemit.com/steemit/@jerrybanfield/i-found-usd63-278-of-private-keys-on-steemit-com-in-10-minutes
Thanks @jerrybanfield for this great help for this steemians.

If you have been here on Steemit, for those who does not know @jerrybanfield (If you are reading my post I assume you already saw at least 1 or several posts from @jerrybanfield). He is a witness, and very involved in making the Steemit platform grow, and to make it a better place everyday. He is helding several important promotional actions on facebook, google, youtube, to make more people know about Steemit.

2- Example of using @blocktrades to keep your Bitshares account safer, when converting/transferring crypto from an exchange or Steemit to Bitshares.

For instance, if we want to transfer steem or sbd to Bitshares from our steemit account (for those who don't know much about Bitshares it is the Decentralized Exchange and its part of the bigger ecosystem together with Steem and EOS, and I'll be referring to it in post/Chapter #11) , in order to buy BTS (bitshares crypto), it is safer to use @blocktrades than using Openledger-dex .

Here is why using @blocktrades is safer.
When we transfer steem using @blocktrades to buy BTS here is what we do: (In all the process, we just use the active private key of the steem blockchain only once. This is not only safer, but helps as make less mistakes, because we are using fewer passwords or private keys. The less we use our private keys, and the more we keep them safe or offline, the better for the security of our account)

1- We go to blocktrades (In the wallet, we go to STEEM or SBD and click on Buy or Sell. All this about the wallet is explained in detail in Chapter #2: https://steemit.com/steem/@gold84/chapter-2-of-11-focusing-on-the-details-of-the-steem-wallet-to-learn-as-much-as-possible-how-to-use-it-transfer-steem-sbd ),

2- We choose the crypto we want to send (in our case for the example: Steem),

3- Then we choose the crypto we want to receive (In the case of our example: BTS (bitshares).

4- Then we just need to enter the Bitshares account user name.

5- Finally we click on the get deposit address, and

6- We send the funds to the address that blocktrades requests, by using the transfer function on the steem wallet on the STEEM section.

**[In all the process with @blocktrades, we just use the active private key of the steem blockchain only once. The less we use our private keys, and the more we keep them safe or offline, the better for the security of our accounts]

Lets explain what happens when we use Openledger-dex to transfer steem and buy BTS.

1- we open the Bitshares.org client/desktop app.
2- we go to deposit/withdraw
3- we choose Openledger (OPEN.X) as transfer service
4- we select the crypto to receive (in this case steem)
5- Openledger-dex will provide the address and memo when needed
6- We transfer steem to the address given by Openledger, and we'll receive it in our Bitshares.org client/desktop app (to do this we need to use the steem blockchain active key as explained above in this post)
7- We then go to the exchange, and place an order to buy BTS (bitshares) with the steem (to do this we need to enter the Bitshares.org password. So, this is the second password we need to enter)
8- Wait until exchange order is processed

[As we see here, we need more steps, and we need to use and enter passwords of 2 blockchains. More process, and less secure to do, because more of our private passwords are exposed in this operation]

Always DYOR (Do your own research). This explanations are informative, and I am trying to explain everything I am doing and everything I learned by using all this systems. I am sure that other steemians can add more to this in the comments section.

Below, you will find the 11 Chapters full INDEX, were you can find several important things to know about the steemit platform, steem blockchain, and its community.

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In case you think this post is original and helpful for the STEEMIT community, Please:

Upvote, Resteem, and Comment , so we can all get the most of the benefits of this cryptocurrency journey.

I like to upvote quality comments and suggestions that are good for the growth of the steem community.

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11 FULL CHAPTERS INDEX

Current Post/Chapter #1: What you need to know to be more confident and set your way on Steemit

1- You just signed up, whats next?
2- How fast can I earn rewards on steemit?
3- 3 ways I can earn rewards in the steemiot platform (Posting, Commenting, Curating)
4- What is an upvote, comment, resteem, follow?
5- Lets learn about the wallet area: Basics

Special Credits on this Chapter for: @teamsteem , @cryptoctopus, @timcliff (The voice of the community), @cryptogaphic , @blocktrades , @elear

Chapter/Post #2: Focusing on the Wallet to learn as much as possible about it

1- How to use the Steem Wallet?
2- How to transfer funds from my steemit wallet to a cryptoexchange?
3- What are the 2 cryptocurrencies on the Steem Blockchain?
4- How to convert steem or sbd into Bitcoin, Eth, Ltc or other crypto?
5- Amazing Bonus: The crypto managing spreadsheet and calculator by @lukestokes and Pablo Yabo

Special Credits on this Chapter for: @cryptos , @stanleyfordyale , @steemitguide , @mindhunter , @billbutler, @blocktrades , @thecrytotrader , @ilyastarar , @timcliff (The voice of the community), @steempowerwhale , @steempower , @glennolua , @jesta , @dan-atstarlite , @lukestokes and Pablo Yabo

Chapter/Post #3: Where do Resources Funds on Upvotes come from?

1- What is voting power?
2- What is SP (Steem Power)?
3- What happens when we power up? And what happens when we power down?
4- How much votes can we do per day so that it can get recovered at 100% again in 24 hours?
5- Steem applications to check the steem blockchain transactions + check voting power remaining
6- Where do resources for votes come from?
7- What does the reputation number next to your username at the top of your blog means, and what is it for?

Special Credits on this Chapter for: @tuck-fheman , @inventor16 , @blocktrades , @cryptographic , @dantheman (the brilliant blockchain visionary), @penguinpablo , @boxmining , @donkeypong , @rulesforrebels , @steevc , @roadscape , @dan-atstarlite , @cerebralace

Chapter/Post #4: Keeping your Steem cryptocurrency Safe

1- How can I help keep my steem account safe/secure, by using the different private/public keys on steemit, and keeping safe the ones that do not need to be used?

Special Credits on this Chapter for: @blocktrades , @jerrybanfield , @pfunk , @steemitguide , @thecryptofiend , @dantheman (the brilliant blockchain visionary)

Chapter/Post #5: Other ways to earn on the Steem Blockchain

1- Make Contributions in @utopian-io
2- By delegating SP to minnowbooster
3- By investing Steem, and Powering Up on the platform
4- By delegating being a sponsor in @utopian-io
5- By promoting steemit in your country, city or town with #promo-steem created by @starkerz and @stephenkendal
6- By purchasing a delegation of SP from @blocktrades and curating content on the website. This will not only give you more rewards for the curated content, but will also provide more influence on the platform for the delegated time.

Special Credits on this Chapter for: @blocktrades , @lukestokes , @utopian-io , @elear (The brilliant visionary that created @utopian-io ) , @aggroed , @minnowbooster , @timcliff (The voice of the community), @terrybrock , @steemit , @starkerz and @stephenkendal

Chapter/Post #6: The Vision of its Creators, and the Power of the Steem Blockchain (Current Developments and the Ones in Process)

1- What's the vision of Steem and Steemit?
2- Why is the Steem Blockchain so powerful?
3- What are SMTs, and what are they planning to achieve?
4- What is @utopian-io?

Special Credits on this Chapter for: @teamsteem , @utopian-io , @elear (The brilliant visionary that created @utopian-io ) , @exyle , @cryptoctopus , @jerrybanfield , @mooncryption , @aggroed

Chapter/Post #7: Using bots to upvote quality posts you want to be reached by more people

1- What are upvoting Bots?
2- How to use them with quality posts and to gain more visibility?
3- How to use Bot Tracker by @yabapmatt to help you choose the best bidding bot
4- Important bots to reduce spam and double posting, like @cheetah created by @anyx

Special Credits on this Chapter for: @yabapmatt , @jerrybanfield , @anyx

Chapter/Post #8: How Making Connections with other Smart & Creative People that have our same likes make steemit and our way on steemit better

1- How to make a success path way on Steemit?
2- Getting to know smart and creative people on the platform
3- Collaborate with your knowledge and experience, to help the platform grow
4- Get to know the needs of the Community and see were your knowledge fits in order to help it be a better place

Special Credits on this Chapter for: @cryptoctopus , @timcliff (The voice of the community) , @terrybrock , @bigsilver , @utopian-io , @elear (The brilliant visionary that created @utopian-io ) , @theaustrianguy

Chapter/Post #9: Learning from Experts of specific topics on Steemit

1- Trading
2- Cryptocurrency
3- Investing
4- Steem Blockchain
5- Blockchains

Special Credits on this Chapter for: This will be revealed in the next few days

Chapter/Post #10: Other useful apps on the Steem Blockchain

1- Steemnow.com
2- Steemd.com
3- Steemdb.com

Special Credits on this Chapter for: This will be revealed in the next few days

Chapter/Post #11: Steem as part of a much larger ecosystem

1- Bitshares
2- Steem
3- EOS

Special Credits on this Chapter for: This will be revealed in the next few days

Bonus Chapter/Post #12: Who are Steem Witnesses?

1- What is a Steem Witness?
2- Special personal Thanks for Witnesses that are contributing really huge for the Steem blockchain and Steemit

Special Credits on this Chapter for: This will be revealed in the next few days