Defense in Depth for Self-Custody
In decentralized computing, self-custody offers complete sovereign control over your digital assets. However, sovereignty brings the responsibility of being your own head of security. Here are the 10 cardinal security rules every beginner must follow.
- Never input your seed phrase into any website: Legitimate applications, extensions, and support staff will NEVER ask for your seed phrase.
- Use a dedicated hardware wallet for long-term reserves: Keep the bulk of your assets on an air-gapped hardware device.
- Review token approvals regularly: When interacting with dApps, smart contracts request permission to spend tokens. Regularly revoke unused allowances using tools like Revoke.cash.
- Beware of clipboard hijacking malware: Trojans can monitor your operating system clipboard and swap crypto addresses when you copy/paste. Always verify every character of the destination address before sending.
- Bookmark official websites: Phishing ads routinely impersonate decentralized applications on search engines. Only use trusted, manually verified bookmarks.
Warning: No legitimate blockchain company, exchange, or developer will ever direct message you offering account recovery or asking for your private keys.
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