There are two cardinal rules bitcoin holders should follow to prepare for the bitcoin hard fork. These rules will help users protect their bitcoin and gain access to bitcoin cash after the fork resolves.
Rule 1: Protect Your Private Keys
The most important thing to remember: do not keep your coins on a custodial wallet. This will ensure you will have access to your bitcoin after the fork. Make sure you store your coins in a wallet where you KEEP THE PRIVATE KEYS.
Keys are not the same thing as “password”. You can use a password to login to a service (like an online wallet). “Keys” refer to the actual code used to control your funds (your coins) on the Bitcoin blockchain. As long as you have the key, you can always use that key (in almost any Bitcoin-compatible wallet) to access your funds.
Rule 2: Do not Transfer Bitcoin During or Immediately Following the Fork
The second rule: Users should not to do any bitcoin transactions — send or receive coins — during or directly following the fork. All users should wait until two or three days after the fork before sending funds (maybe longer depending on network stability). This is important because the network may be unstable and vulnerable to attacks during this period. However, any vulnerabilities cannot be easily exploited if users are not sending funds around.
Read the whole article here. I am sure that many of here have already heard the many ideas, suggestions and sometimes even lies and half-lies on what to do this coming August 1, 2017. There are actually the two basic rules that we have to follow if we are are not trusting the usual service providers we are using for Bitcoin.
