Now that you've went through the process of creating an account, I'm sure you are probably overwhelmed by all the weirds keys and password that seems like they are 1000 characters long. We are not in Kansas anymore!
The reason why you were given those keys is that contrary to anything else you have access to online. This account is 100% yours. Nobody...we mean nobody has access to your account unless you give them permission. This means that you can't just click "Recover my password" like you would do on Facebook...because nobody has your password anywhere!
Your account has a real monetary value and there is a big incentive for people to try to steal access to your passwords. So what is there to do?
Ease of use and access often don't jive with each other. You have to balance those 2 concerns and choose the right balance for you.
On the paranoid level of security, you have a physical copy in a locked safe and you type all those characters by hand everytime you want to log in. Not very practical but...safe. On the other extreme, you would you something like Google Password Manager.
Now, the community developed secured intermediate level tools for you to use. If you use Chrome or Brave, you can use Hive Keychain which is quite secure to store your keys. There is also the option to use a password manager such as LastPass.
Both of the tools above require that you create a Master Password to unlock your keys...so make sure you don't lose that password too! 😂
Now, no online solution is "perfectly" safe and this is why people recommend to keep an offline copy somewhere you wont lose it. Redundancy helps make sure that if you lose it somewhere, you can recover it elsewhere.
There are 4 types of keys.
Posting key - The posting key allows accounts to post, comment, edit, vote, reblog, and follow or mute other accounts. Most users should be logging into Hive every day with the posting key. You are more likely to have your password or key compromised the more you use it so a limited posting key exists to restrict the damage that a compromised account key would cause.
Active key - The active key is meant for more sensitive tasks such as transferring funds, power up/down transactions, converting Hive Dollars, voting for witnesses, updating profile details and avatar, and placing a market order.
Memo key - Don't bother with that one too much
Owner key - The owner key is only meant for use when necessary. It is the most powerful key because it can change any key of an account, including the owner key. Ideally it is meant to be stored offline, and only used to recover a compromised account.
If you use Hive Keychain when enter your keys and it will select which one you have to use depending on the situation. For most beginners and this is the option that we would recommend.
Feel free to ask your questions below about how to secure your keys or any other security related questions that we haven't thought about including in this article.
