In light of recent major events or as some may call it, the beginning of WW3:
I would like to remind everyone that from a historical point of view,
your coins are in the most danger they may have ever been in. Just look at some examples of what is happening:Example 1: https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-seizes-30-crypto-wallets-allegedly-used-to-fund-hamas/ >Exchange wallets got (probably rightfully) BTFO'd by the government.
Example 2: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5387930.0 > Bitcoiner who recently got hacked by Russian hackers and lost 2.4 BTC (Coinomi Wallet)
Example 3:https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5386543 > Another Bitcoiner who recently was a victim of a "Clipboard-Hijacking" malware/virus and lost his coins
Some of you may have noticed the onslaught of Russian hacker groups like "lapsus$", who specialize in ransomware and digital theft. A lot of these hackers are targeting not only exchanges, but your phones, computers and of course, crypto wallets.
DON'T LET YOUR COINS BECOME RUSSIAN WAR-MACHINE FUNDS!
I have gathered some very simple OPSEC tips of my own on how to keep your coins safe during these trying times:Don't Keep coins on exchange wallets This goes double for chinese/formerly-chinese owned exchanges like Binance or Huobi. If China ever decides to join the war on the wrong side, your coins will belong to them in a heartbeat before you have time to withdraw them. Or your own government might decide you are a "persona non grata" and freeze your bank/exchange accounts, especially if you are a russian citizen or former russian citizen (remember japanese-american internment camps 1942).
Don't Keep your keys/passwords/seed phrases on any device which has/has had internet access. Store seed phrases on paper. That means never type it up, store it online, or take a photo of the card. If you disregarded this, and now you think that your wallet might possibly be compromised, then transfer your coins to a new wallet.
Don't Connect your wallet to unknown DEFI platforms or give permissions to any altcoin smart contracts. Depending on the smart contract, this could be used to access your wallet and steal your coins. In fact, best to not hodl altcoins, especially those based on centralized/semi-centralized blockchains like Binance Smart Chain. Just like with crypto-exchanges, any centralization can be used against you.
Don't Use SMS for two-factor authentication. Use Google Authenticator.
Don't Brag about owning any crypto amounts to strangers, or better yet, anyone.
Do Use a hardware wallet or multisig wallet.Do Triple check the withdrawal/deposit addresses. Clipboard-Hijacking can change your copy/paste address into the hacker's address
Do Check routinely for Viruses/Malware/Phishing and scam-websites. If you like to invest in ICO Projects or unknown coins/tokens then do your research
first. The scam accusation subforum on Bitcointalk is a good place to start.
Do Generate unique, random passwords for any and all accounts and change them often. Never use repeat passwords, especially for accounts with personally identifiable and sensitive information (e.g. Facebook, Gmail, AppleID, Twitter, banks/payments, crypto accounts). Use passwords that are randomly generated and 20+ characters long.
If there is anything you think that I should add to the list, let me know. Stay safe!
