Read some posts about people getting hacked and losing their cryptos, and so I started to research a little more. See this and this.
This leads me to realize how vulnerable hot wallets such as MetaMask are.
Clearly, these wallets are technically connected to the web whenever we are online, so hackers who are successful in getting into our system can do nasty things. Surveillance and keystroke logging should not be difficult for these people. That means they can steal our cryptos!
I have heard of people suggesting that it is advisable to have a dedicated laptop for crypto dealings. I think that would mean a separate laptop that is used only for brief trading using MetaMask on DEX and logging into wallets for staking. To be safe, only use LAN connection and not wireless. The idea is to minimize the duration of the time these info are available online. If you use your usual laptop for surfing the internet for metamask, the duration is obviously long.
If you have an old laptop lying around, you can do a clean install of a Linux distro for this purpose.
The other safe measures apply. Say, keeping the private key safe (and not in the laptop), having separate wallets so that the amount is distributed.
As for Hive dealings, once it is powered up, it does take time to power down, so there is a safety net there. It is good to make it a habit to check the Hive account to detect anomalies. This makes Hive pretty secure, in my opinion.
If you have other thoughts, please share them.
Stay safe, and protect your crypto assets!