Newbies Initiative Task3 - Hive Security

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I have been constantly notified to change my recovery account since the time I activated my Hive account. I was meaning to do it but ended up procrastinating.

Week 3 of the newbie's initiative program got me finally. I read everything in detail about Hive Security and Recovery and I think I am fully equipped with all the knowledge now. I knew most of the things due to the good amount of experience on other blockchain but never really touched the topic of Account Recovery.

So, let's see what I have in task 3.

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1- In your opinion, what are the best ways of keeping your keys safe?

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There are multiple ways of keeping one's keys safe. Some people save it online and some prefer offline.

In my opinion, anything that is "online" is always under threat. I never trust cloud or email storages. Traditional passwords can easily be compromised.

If I have to send any key via online method, I always add another layer of encryption to it and decryption method stays between me and the receiving end.

I prefer cold wallets or any offline storage.

• A PDF in the computer, although not completely safe if the computer is compromised but still better than cloud storage.

• Get a printout and save the paper in your home. This will be a useful backup if your device gets broken or stolen.

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2- How do you check your recovery account and what process is needed to recover an account?

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I use PeakD interface usually and there we can check recovery account like this:

• Open your Profile
• Click on Account Actions
• Go to Keys and Permissions
• Go to Recovery Account tab.

There at the end of the page, recovery account is mentioned.

Before I explain the recovery method, I must remind that

Only stolen or compromised account can be recovered.

Lost master/owner Keys can't be recovered.

Because we still need the owner key to change keys or recover the account.

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To recover an account,

• Go to https://reazuliqbal.com/HiveAccountRecovery/
• Click Recover Account

The page will redirect to a form like this:

Fill in all the information as instructed.

• Send the Newly Generated Owner Key to your Trustee or Recovery Account Holder.

• The trustee should open the Request Recovery tab from the same link - https://reazuliqbal.com/HiveAccountRecovery/ and fill the form which is somewhat like this:

• Assuming the trustee has filed the request, now you will have to fill another form like this and you will be able to recover the account.

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3- Whom did you choose as your account trustee, and why?

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I created my account in 2018 but was not active here so by default the recovery account was set to @steem. Now that I am active, I daily get pop-up messages to change my recovery account since a lot has changed since that time and I am not sure if my current recovery account is something that I can rely on.

I am still weighing my options because I don't know personally anyone on Hive. But soon I will figure it out and change my recovery account, whose owner I can reach outside Hive.

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4- List the various types of keys and state their use cases.

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Keys	Uses
Posting Key	For Voting, Commenting, Posting, Following, Muting
Memo Key	For Sending and Viewing Encrypted Messages
Active Key	For Executing all kinds of Transactions including Powering Up/Down, Token Transfer, HBD/Hive Conversions, Witness Vote
Owner Key	For Recovering Account, Resetting Posting, Active, Memo Keys
Master Password	For Recovering Account and Resetting all keys

That's all about keys and their uses.

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^{Cover Image was designed by @projectmamabg specifcially for this inititave and other images are screenshots from [here](https://reazuliqbal.com/HiveAccountRecovery/ ).}