Introduction

Dear fellow Hivians on this reputable platform, I welcome you all. I can only but imagine what new Hivians on the platform like me went through when there is no one to put them through and educate them on some basic security.
On a platform like this where currency is freely seen on others wallet, their is the tendency for people with negative intentions to exhibit their plan and newbies are the number one target.

It is my pleasure (though still a learner) to post here basic security on hive and the importance of different keys on the platform. I believe my little input will be of great help.

Retrieve all your keys on Hive

You are entirely responsible for what happens to your account and wallet. Every account created on the hive platform is accompanied with some keys, hence, you need to retrieve all the keys on the platform. These keys in other word is the password, so retreive them,backing them up, and keep it secure. The caution is: 'Do not put your password into unverified third party websites as they may steal your account.' If you lost them, no one will retrieve them for you because it is not possible to recover lost passwords on the Hive blockchain.

How to Secure Your Password (Keys)

Since you are responsible for what happens to your password, it is therefore necessary to secure them the way you secure your fiat money. You are at liberty to chose any means that you think is convenience and reliable for you, but here are few tips:

• If you are using smart phone, download it into your phone's download folder and duplicate it into another created folder in the phone.
• Due to unforseen occurrences like phone lost, stolen or damage, copy and transfer it to a personal computer (laptop).
• Back it up into a flash drive.
• Save it to your mail with trusted security.
• For fear of hard drive failure, keep a hard copy of it (print it out on paper or write them on dairy and keep).

Keys and their functions

There are four different keys which are: Owner key, Active key, Posting key and Memo key. The functions is as follows:

Posting Key: In a simple language it is used to 'post and comment.' This key is used to log in to apps such as Hive.com and perform social actions such as posting, commenting, editing, voting, rebloging, and follow or mute other's accounts. For the fact that most users should be logging into hive account every day with the posting key, users are likely to have their password or key compromised the more and more it is used, hence, a limited posting key exist to restrict the damage that a compromised account key would cause.

Active Key: Simply used to manage funds and participate in governance. Furthermore, this private active key is used for more sensitive monetary and wallet related actions, such as transferring tokens or funds, powering HIVE up and down transactions, converting Hive Dollars, voting for witnesses, updating personal profile details and avatar as well as placing a market order.

Memo Key: Used for decrypting encrypted memos, though not fully in use.

Owner Key: Used for changing other keys. This key is used to reset all other keys. It is use when necessary. It is understandable that it is the most powerful key because it can change any key of an account including the owners key. Hence, it is ideal to keep it offline at all times.

Word of caution

Having said the above, there are still individualized approach to take in securing your password. However, the general restrictions is 'NOT' to share the keys with anyone or keep it were it can easily be seen by others or stolen. This can have damaging consequences. Remember, your account have real value. Keep them where you will not lose them. Prevention is better and saver than cure.

Thank you.