How to Develop a Security Mindset Before Buying Your First Bitcoin.

[Insanity]

Your bitcoin security should be the first step you have to take before taking the bold step to acquiring bitcoin, but should I say they are carried away with the returns they will  get from bitcoin and so all they do is to start purchasing bitcoin forgetting that without security your portfolio is at risk and at the hands of  scammer and other dangers.

it's not that deep but it is truly a step you should not take for granted though. Why I won't want anybody to take it for granted is because bitcoin is something many people are currently exploring and it won't be a good thing to see your earned money disappear because of your poor security fix. So as you are trying to set up your account for the first time, the first thing you should do is to make sure your bitcoin security is tightened. Ask the important questions so you can be properly guided and not start investing in bitcoin blindly. Bitcoin can be profitable but losing your money can also be demoralizing.

I do agree that security should be the basis before purchasing your first Bitcoin. The first thing many novice traders miss is considering their own risk factors when they are trading. Simple security precautions like setting up strong passwords, setting up two factor authentication, securing recovery phrases and scanning and avoiding phishing can save costly missteps. Bitcoin brings one of financial freedom, but also imposes responsibility on the user. It's not difficult to build a security minded attitude before investing, but it can be the difference between keeping your assets safe or losing them to a preventable security breach.

[knowngunman]

Last but not lease, security is not a one time task, so think long term because it is an ongoing process. the security habit you develop today can protect you from losing years into the future. most people, especially newbies lose their bitcoin investments because they focus more buying and ignoring how to secure them.

The problem is they tend to focus on the positive side (profit) more than the negative side that is mostly associated with the security part. But I don't blame them, I blame some people that claim to promote bitcoin on one side narrative. Most newbies never try to verify what they have heard about anything, they rely on what they hear to take action. When you tell them about the potential profit in bitcoin without telling them about the security security architecture, you're indirectly misleading them to sow what they will probably not reap. Security should always come first before any other thing. What's the point of rushing to buy something that you have not plan how to make sure it is secured?

[Dex_master25]

Your bitcoin security should be the first step you have to take before taking the bold step to acquiring bitcoin, but should I say they are carried away with the returns they will  get from bitcoin and so all they do is to start purchasing bitcoin forgetting that without security your portfolio is at risk and at the hands of  scammer and other dangers.

I think so far that security of ones wallet is the most important lesson to learn before even learning how to invest to make profit from Bitcoin investment. I don't think I know so much unless I know the best way to secure my portfolio on a decentralized system not even a centralized one, because I believe the centralized systems function for quick trades and profit and funds shouldn't be kept there for long and with all the bans and scrutiny of the government as revolves around regulations and monitoring in my country, it is even more of an important topic to consider before investing in Bitcoin, before we then start talking about scammers and hackers and phishing attacks that may come as false fruits with nice fragrance.

[yixichloro2xx]

You are right, one thing I will also like to add to this is overconfidence. This sometimes catches people off guard. After gaining lots of experience and knowledge with Bitcoin, some usually feel too comfortable and ignore their investments safety because they feel that nothing of such will ever happen to them. That is usually when life will now decide to punish them a little through little mistakes.  People don't even try to read or understand what they are clicking, which prevents them from seeing red flags. Sometimes staying safe is less about what you know and more about not becoming too comfortable with routine. Apart from our normal DCA strategy our wallet security should also be a strong concern to us and shouldn't be ignored always.

[Juicyhome]

Last but not lease, security is not a one time task, so think long term because it is an ongoing process. the security habit you develop today can protect you from losing years into the future. most people, especially newbies lose their bitcoin investments because they focus more buying and ignoring how to secure them.

learn how to secure your funds is more important than making money to me, because the essence of making money is to guide it so you won't lose it , they're Many scammers in the world today, learning how to protect your Bitcoin is necessary in your Bitcoin investment, losing Bitcoin is painful, beginner must learn how to protect it at all cost.

Download the storage app by yourself don't let anyone know your secret keys and keep it safe in a place you won't forget in the future, secure your wallet very well to avoid intruder getting access to it.

[BlackHatCoiner]

"Be your own bank" sounds awesome until you realize it means you're also your own security guard. I always tell newcomers to do a test run first. Wipe a fresh wallet and restore it with the seed phrase just to prove they actually backed it up right, or make a few transactions on testnet to play with it.

Better to miss a quick pump while learning basic opsec than to lose your whole stack to a silly mistake.

[Berry2d]

"Be your own bank" sounds awesome until you realize it means you're also your own security guard. I always tell newcomers to do a test run first. Wipe a fresh wallet and restore it with the seed phrase just to prove they actually backed it up right, or make a few transactions on testnet to play with it.

Better to miss a quick pump while learning basic opsec than to lose your whole stack to a silly mistake.

Before getting involved in any bitcoin investment related activities one must first practice a right security procedure that can help safeguard his asset incase of necessity if need be because most lost accounts happeneds as a result of once failure to learn the right way to safeguard our assets when necessary.
The procedure of wiping and re-accessing the site before investment is a very good method to adapt to as it will enable one know if his seed phase is properly entered or not. Most lost there's including me, i lost my first account because I misplaced that account seed phase on the creation process which I have learnt the lesson and won't be happy if that happens to someone else.

[Chinesebaby]

Many people enter the bitcoin space with one goal in mind, making profit. Although there is nothing with that goal in mind, but i believe that one of the first things newcomers should learn is not how to buy bitcoin, but how to protect it.

Having the goal of wanting to make money through your Bitcoin investment is not a bad idea, but having the goal of wanting to get rich quick through it is where the problem will lies, because inasmuch as Bitcoin have been able to proof as a digital asset through which people could make money from it over a long run investment period, it will not be a bad idea if people can approach Bitcoin as a way people could increase their revenue, but only if they are patient enough to wait for long term and not be in a hurry. Because to be honestly speaking, it is obvious that majority of the people who now invest in Bitcoin did it because they saw that it was able to skyrocket in value from below $1000 in 15years ago and rose to above $100,000, which is a far more profits any investment could over even after 5 decades. So that alone is enough motivation.

[Queen uloma]

I agree with you, security is not something that someone can learn later after buying bitcoin. It’s suppose to be the first lesson. What’s the use of making profit if one little mistake can make someone lose everything. Many beginners rush into bitcoin investment because they were told that bitcoin price always rise or people make good profit from investing in bitcoin, meanwhile they don’t spend their time to understand how the market works, what recovery seed phrase means, or how scammers operate.  That’s why many people end up losing their bitcoin through fake websites, fake giveaways, or by exposing their seed phrase. Buying bitcoin is very easy but keeping it safe is the main responsibility.

[Mahiyammahi]

Trading or investing, if you can not secure your bitcoins, you will lose it almost immediately after you bought it. With Bitcoin blockchain, transactions are irreversible so if your devices, accounts, wallets were compromised and hackers already moved your bitcoins, transactions were confirmed even just 1 confirmation, you forever lost your bitcoin.

Custodial wallets or non-custodial wallets, if you can secure your bitcoins, it's good but the fact is with custodial wallets, you don't have private keys, so you can not control your bitcoins. If you want to have full control on your bitcoins, you must use non-custodial wallets because you own wallet mnemonic seeds, and private keys.

With any wallets, security is very important as it keeps your devices clean and avoids compromise on your wallets.

Security must be first and foremost concern while you buy your bitcoins because in case your bitcoins are lost due to any reason then its not possible to recover them. There are ways to recover your lost money residing in your bank account in case you got scammed but there is no third party to do so in case of Bitcoins. Developing a security oriented mindset is very important and that means understanding the fact that security of your Bitcoin are solely owner responsibility. The quickly you understand this fact, better things turn out for you.

Responsibility is certainly a big issue in Bitcoin, but it is not right to put all the responsibility on the shoulders of the user alone. Now there are hardware wallets, multisig, backups, and even trusted custodians, which greatly increase security. Even if you keep money in the bank, there are still cases of losing money to phishing or fraud. So it's not just a matter of "once you put money in Bitcoin, you can't get it back," but rather learning about proper security from the beginning. Bitcoin gives people full control of their assets, and with that freedom comes some responsibility. Learning security is more important than being afraid.

[Catenaccio]

Responsibility is certainly a big issue in Bitcoin

Responsibility is not an issue with anyone, it's what they have to treat themselves and their money responsibly or irresponsibly.

but it is not right to put all the responsibility on the shoulders of the user alone.

Developers can build up wallets for users but in practice, users must be responsible completely with their practice and safety of their fund. Users are free to learn about Bitcoin wallets, know which wallets are secure and good to use (non custodial and open source), and master how to use wallets properly. These things are not responsibility of developers, it's user responsibility. It's their money, their coins, their wallets, and their responsibility.

Now there are hardware wallets, multisig, backups, and even trusted custodians, which greatly increase security.

Know which wallets to use.
Know how to use wallets rightly.

They don't have to feel paranoic, just learn and practice carefully.
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The paranoid user's security guide for using Electrum safely.
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[letteredhub]

"Be your own bank" sounds awesome until you realize it means you're also your own security guard. I always tell newcomers to do a test run first. Wipe a fresh wallet and restore it with the seed phrase just to prove they actually backed it up right, or make a few transactions on testnet to play with it.

Better to miss a quick pump while learning basic opsec than to lose your whole stack to a silly mistake.

The problem with the new crops of newbies that have found their way to cryptocurrency and and to be precise bitcoin market they're newbies that are not willing to be enduring in learning, newbies without purpose and never ready to make independent research about just anything related to cryptocurrency but just only interest in coming in to making profit. Self custody is all about responsibility and you can't try to ignore that part and not get screwed.

[Itz-prisigold]

The problem with the new crops of newbies that have found their way to cryptocurrency and and to be precise bitcoin market they're newbies that are not willing to be enduring in learning, newbies without purpose and never ready to make independent research about just anything related to cryptocurrency but just only interest in coming in to making profit. Self custody is all about responsibility and you can't try to ignore that part and not get screwed.

I know self custody means responsibility, but I believe that many newbies don't realize the amount of things to cover in the beginning. Wallets, seed phrases, backups and scams can be overwhelming, so I think it's best to encourage them to learn things one step at a time rather than trying to learn everything at once. A beginner who is willing to take he's or her time to ask questions and learn from errors is much more likely to remain safe than the person who just wants instant results.

[Peanutswar]

I can we can start that if you can afford to have a bitcoin or even other asset in crypto I guess we need to invest first with the security of your money. Having a cold wallet or a hardware wallet is one of the most ideal to have by this you can store your bitcoin offline and it's not prone with the online attacks by the hackers but does not mean its not prone in damage or getting loss of it but most of the hardware wallet have a two booklets that let you input your seed phrase and store somewhere you're the only one knows where it is.

Now let's say you have a good security now with the wallet all you need is self-awareness about different attacks so you are not blinded what are the other forms of attack that might stole your information, and even wallet in your hot wallet of course you will have this as your active transactions. By this basic knowledge you can be safe. Your wallet, your accountability.

[Mpamaegbu]

...backup phrase and the basic security before you start sending funds into the wallet.

No cap there. It's the wisest thing anyone should do immediately after installing a wallet. They should run through seedphrases to be sure what they've written out is the same as what's on the wallet app. Don't just click and leave. That practice saved me once. Spelling error can be highly frustrating. Imagine writing "color" in place of colour.

Fifthly, protect your recovery seed phrase very important. When i first join the bitcoin space i lost the first bitcoin i bought to hold for long term, because i was not aware that there is a recovery seed phrase that needed to be written down and kept in a safe and secured place just in case. therefore, your recovery seed phrase is more important than your password and anyone who gain access to it can steal your bitcoin so never share it for the safety of your bitcoin investment.

I can only imagine that, and surely it hurts. That coin will be lost forever except someone stumbles on seedphrases to them by chance. Many addresses are like that.

[Zigabel]

Many people enter the bitcoin space with one goal in mind, making profit. Although there is nothing with that goal in mind, but i believe that one of the first things newcomers should learn is not how to buy bitcoin, but how to protect it.

A security mindset is the habit of thinking about risks before taking action. but it is quite unfortunate that many people start thinking about security after they are already lost funds to scammers, phishing websites fake giveaways or malware.

Therefore, before buying your first bitcoin it is important to understand that you are entering into a system where you are fully responsible of your funds, the bitcoin system is not like the traditional bank where we have customers support that can reverse transactions or recover stolen funds. ones your bitcoin is gone it is likely gone forever.

Venturing into Bitcoin can come with some kind of excitements because most of the times, the person introducing you would mostly come with good tidings and how profitable Bitcoin can be so that triggers some sort of excitement and most newbies wants to get in already without any delay, this makes them skip the point where they get to learn in details about that which they are venturing into.

These newbies then lack the patience to learn in details how well to protect their investments, rather they go after the chances of making profits alone, and they will be so focused on it that they miss out on the main thing they are supposed to pay attention to. All of the above then sounds enticing to them and sound like some sort of opportunity for them to explore, meanwhile those are just dangers ahead. if only they can exercise some more patience to learning, they will be able to avert and avoid some of this things from happening to them.

[Mame89]

The problem with the new crops of newbies that have found their way to cryptocurrency and and to be precise bitcoin market they're newbies that are not willing to be enduring in learning, newbies without purpose and never ready to make independent research about just anything related to cryptocurrency but just only interest in coming in to making profit. Self custody is all about responsibility and you can't try to ignore that part and not get screwed.

I know self custody means responsibility, but I believe that many newbies don't realize the amount of things to cover in the beginning. Wallets, seed phrases, backups and scams can be overwhelming, so I think it's best to encourage them to learn things one step at a time rather than trying to learn everything at once. A beginner who is willing to take he's or her time to ask questions and learn from errors is much more likely to remain safe than the person who just wants instant results.

We must admit that most beginners enter the market simply because of FOMO and the hope of getting rich quick without realizing that self custody is a full responsibility on their own. This often leads to many of them neglecting research, security, and risk management ultimately resulting in losses or being scammed. We can say that self custody isn't just about saving in a wallet and then forgetting about it it's about lifetime responsibility for the private key.

While learning all of this can be very confusing for beginners because it's very complicated, it's necessary before investing in Bitcoin. Therefore, beginners must be serious about taking the best step-by-step approach to quickly understand it. Start with a basic understanding of Bitcoin, then wallets, seed phrases, and backups. After that, advanced security techniques and scam prevention can be introduced. Learning in a sequential manner will be easier, even if it seems difficult at first. The point is, beginners who are willing to ask questions, learn slowly, and learn from small mistakes are far better than trying to rush or force themselves to invest. Because successful investors are those who have a combination of gradual education and a strong mindset so that they can survive for a long time in a very fluctuating market.

[L E G E N D A R Y]

I know self custody means responsibility, but I believe that many newbies don't realize the amount of things to cover in the beginning. Wallets, seed phrases, backups and scams can be overwhelming, so I think it's best to encourage them to learn things one step at a time rather than trying to learn everything at once. A beginner who is willing to take he's or her time to ask questions and learn from errors is much more likely to remain safe than the person who just wants instant results.

And that’s why they say one doesn’t necessarily need to gather all the knowledge about Bitcoin first before they get started. Just the basic knowledge and concepts of Bitcoin is enough for anyone to get started with Bitcoin accumulation/investment. I can say that I didn’t know half of what I know today when I got started with Bitcoin, little by little I got to understand a lot of things, got interested in a lot of things and advanced my knowledge, and I’m pretty much still learning as I still have a lot to uncover and learn. That’s how Bitcoin investment should be, and not waiting to understand everything before one gets started.