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RE: WHAT, HOW, WHO – My first post on Steemit

Hey, just a friendly bit of information about passwords. I was hacked within my first month and lost all my SBD. Know your passwords and only use your posting key for day to day posts!

For Steemit specifically there are levels of passwords, understanding these will save you a lot of stress and loss.

Your Master Password is used ONLY for when you first log in, to change your settings or reset your password. I will explain how I and many others were hacked and how I could have easily prevented the loss below. But repeat this to yourself: I do NOT need to use the mater password, I do NOT need to use the master password. This password you should print or some other method ( now is your chance to get body tattoo clues Memento style) and keep it offline. This is like your lock box, safe or storage unit key.

Posting Key is what you use to log in to another device and post, comment, or upvote. This is the only password you should keep handy and really the only key you would use on a regular basis. If you insist on 'saving' your password on your computer or phone for easy logging in, this would be the ONLY one to save. If someone steals it, they can do some damage, but it will be mostly superficial and easily remedied.

-Active Key is what you use when you are doing any transactions in your wallet, transferring money in or out. If somebody gets this, they will be able to immediately transfer your Steem tokens and your SBD to another account. It is then gone, just as if you had been pick-pocketed. Even though we can see where it goes, unless you have the expertise or connections to some how track this to an end user and exact revenge, there is no other entity to cover the losses. A bank insures your money, but in exchange they are able to have access to it, and they use it to make themselves more money ( find ways to charge you fees, or lend it to others and keep the profit). The insurance you get from them is not 'free'. IF you have your active key stolen or hacked, the hackers WILL get your liquid money, but you will be able to immediately use your master password to lock them out and regain control, meaning all of your Steem Power ( SP-which is the bulk of your account) will be untouched, and you will be able to mitigate the damage they can do from posting or using your votes.