Steps to keep your Binance account Safe and Secure:
1. Donât keep extra funds on an exchange:
One of the biggest mistakes a lot of users make is by using their exchange account as a wallet. This is a big mistake, as your exchange account is always targeted by hackers, and sometimes the entire funds of an account were hacked (Read about Mt. Gox hack), or sometimes the exchange CEO runs away with the user funds. Iâm not saying you would face the same with Binance, as they are too big and they have one of the best security measures in place, however, there are possibilities of such events with any exchange in the world. If a crypto exchange got hacked, they might file for bankruptcy, and you wonât be able to retrieve your funds.
I understand you might keep funds on Binance or exchanges to take advantage of their saving account feature, but again it is risky. It is alright to keep those funds on an exchange that you need for trading. However, move your funds to a cold wallet such as Ledger Nano X (hardware wallet), which is the safest way to secure your funds. In fact, a wallet like Ledger also helps in the staking of your coin, and you can connect it with Metamask to enjoy all the features directly.
This might not be an ideal situation for many of you, and it is ok. But rule remains the same; exchanges are prone to hacking, and always remember âNot Your Keys, Not Your Coinsâ.
2. Secure your email account
Your email account is an important piece of the puzzle, that you need to secure. If you are dealing with a large sum of funds, you are better off creating a separate email account for crypto exchange sign up. Make sure you use a complex password (start using a password manager), and setup 2FA for your email.
A lot of users might find this inconvenient, and if you are one of them and donât want to do this, at least ensure your email account is super safe and secure.
3. Backup Key while setting up 2FA:
Every exchange including Binance offers a 2-factor authentication feature, and I have earlier published a detailed guide on how to use 2 Factor authentication. Make sure you are using 2FA, and while setting up 2FA, you note down the backup key on a piece of paper. This backup key will let you restore 2FA in case if you lose access to your phone. This will also save a lot of hassle in the near future.
If you want to take your Binance account security to the next level, you can use a security key like Yubikey. This is a physical device, and you need to tap the physical device button to enable 2FA. This is useful for those who have significant funds on an exchange account. I believe this feature is unique for Binance exchange, as I have not seen many exchanges having this feature.
Along with this, make sure you enable SMS authentication and E-mail address authentication, which will be used for every deposit/withdrawals you are making. Many users find it annoying, but this is perhaps the best way to secure your account.
4. Whitelist address:
This is an underutilized feature of Binance exchange, which safeguards you from funds withdrawal when your account is hacked. Using this feature, you can allow withdrawals to the addresses that you have whitelisted.
âAddress Management allows you to save and write memos for each of your withdrawal addresses. The optional Whitelist function helps protect your funds by only allowing withdrawals to whitelisted addresses.â
Again, you may find this feature annoying as when you need to withdraw funds to a new address, you first need to add that address as a whitelist, but compared to the pain of losing your funds, this step is a piece of cake.
. Anti-phishing Code
By setting up an Anti-Phishing Code, you will tell if your notification emails are coming from Binance or phishing attempts. This is a great way to find out if something is attempting a phishing attack. You can enable this and all the above features by going to the Profile > security tab on your Binance web app.
6. Device management:
This feature let you see which all devices have access to your Binance account and revisit this once every few months. Remove any device that you donât recognize, or remove your old devices to maintain the top security of your Binance exchange account
7. Binance API key Security
Another sure shot way to get your Binance account hacked is by exposing your Binance API key to others, or using it on a less trusted website. There are a few things you could do to mitigate this risk:
Create Binance API Key only when necessary.
Use only high quality and trusted 3rd party website where you are adding your API Key
Never give deposit/withdrawal permission when creating API Key
Delete unused API Key.
