Keeping your devices clean
- Author
- CRYPTO PORT Editorial
- Published
- Updated
- Reading time
- 6 min
In short
If the device you open your wallet on is compromised, no storage scheme survives it. Keep the OS and apps updated, install as little as possible, and lock the screen. Those three habits remove most device-borne risk.
Key points
- Updating the OS and browser closes holes that are already public knowledge — do not defer them
- Pirated software, modified apps and cracks are a main delivery route for wallet-stealing malware
- On a device that touches assets, install the bare minimum
- Turn on a screen lock and full-device encryption so a mislaid device is not a loss
Definition
The everyday practice of keeping the computers and phones you use for crypto free of malware and unauthorised access.
Crypto security discussions tend to collapse into which wallet to use, but in practice the most common failure is a compromised device. Keystrokes logged, the screen captured, a copied address rewritten, a browser session stolen — in every case the damage happens while you believe you are operating correctly. Before you pick a wallet, get the machine that displays it into shape.
Do not let updates pile up. Updates to your OS, browser and wallet app usually close vulnerabilities that have already been published, and published means attackers know about them too. Turn on automatic updates and restart the same day you are prompted. If a device runs an OS that no longer receives security updates, do not use it for assets at all.
Next, install less. Malware arrives mainly through pirated software, modified game clients, free video converters and attachments in 'you have won' emails. On a device that touches assets, hold the line: never run a file whose origin you cannot verify. Better still, separate the machine you browse on from the machine you sign with. Even an old laptop or a spare phone dedicated to wallet use makes a real difference.
Do not neglect the physical side either. Enable a screen lock (biometrics plus a PIN of decent length), full-device encryption and remote lock. Shoulder surfing is a real threat: opening your balance or a trading screen on a train or in a café is itself a reason for someone to single you out.
Watch out for
- · Fake installers are distributed as 'wallet updates' — update from inside the app or from your own bookmark of the official site
- · Antivirus software will not catch everything you choose to run yourself
- · Before sending a device for repair or trade-in, remove wallet apps and factory-reset it
Frequently asked questions
Is a phone or a computer safer for wallet use?
Neither is categorically safer. Phones benefit from app review and stronger app isolation, but they are easier to lose and easier to look over. What matters is less the device type than what you have installed on it, whether it is patched, and whether it is locked.