School of Steem - Importance of Private Keys (Posting, Active, Owner, Memo)

I know that out there are manuals about these things, and I have read them just to refresh my memory before writing this for you guys, and I had problems to understand them... :) So, I will try to explain it to you with my own words... Just to be more suitable for beginners.

First and most important thing! STORE your passwords on multiple places... In a .txt file on a USB drive, lock the file with an additional password, and finally, PRINT your passwords (keys) on a paper and keep it in a safe place. Do this immediately when you open your account!

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Why are private keys so important on ANY blockchain? Well, most of the cryptocurrencies have 2 keys, public key (you address that you give when you want to receive coins) and private key (your password that you use when you want to send coins from your address (public key)). The catch is that your keys are generated through certain algorithms, and NOBODY knows your private key. As nobody knows it, it is the reason why there is NO RECOVERY BUTTON.

Let's get back to STEEM... Why there are 4 types of keys? Well, STEEM in general, is a different type of blockchain... Instead of a long array of characters, our username is our wallet name, so it's much simpler to remember your wallet address! But, because of the nature of the network (social aspect), we have more "levels" of protection through different KEYS.

The most important and the most used ones are POSTING KEY and ACTIVE KEY.

POSTING KEY

Posting key is used for interaction with the "social" part of the network when you are posting, commenting or voting on something. So, when you are login to some of the condensers (Steemit, SteamPeak, CTPtalk, Palnet, etc.) you will be asked to enter your PRIVATE POSTING KEY. Usually, you will do that through third party services as SteemKeychain or SteemConnect, but, sometimes you can log in by entering your key directly (I'm trying to avoid that kind as much as I can).

ACTIVE KEY

Active key can also be used for the same things as posting key, but it is mostly used for funds transactions, exchanging services, etc. Just one more thing, it CAN BE used as posting key, but I would suggest you use it only for money involved things. Some of the condensers do not allow you to log in to their platform with active key (for example Steemit), and you HAVE TO enter posting key. But, when you go to wallet pages, you will be asked for the ACTIVE key. (This rule is also valid for most of the tribe condensers, for example, CTPTalk.com.

OWNER KEY

Owner key is the most important key and it is used for changing other keys and it is used for recovering your account. You will not use this key often, but it is important that you have it somewhere in a safe place. I said before that there is NO RECOVERY BUTTON, and it is true if you have no keys at all... But if you have your OWNER KEYS, there is a chance for recovery.

MEMO KEY

Memo key is used to encrypt and decrypt your messages sent through blockchain. It is used very rarely and it is the key with fewer authorities of all.

In conclusion, take care of your keys wisely and keep them safe. When I say wisely, I think when some dApp ask you for your private key, you will enter the proper one. If dApp doesn't have anything with paying, then you will use POSTING key... If you are logging in your wallet, you have to use ACTIVE key...

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