MetaMask is a popular wallet due to its simplicity of use and accessibility. It boasts many million active monthly users. But can we trust that we can safely move funds? Continue reading
Is MetaMask secure? All you need to know
MetaMask is a hot wallet that is extremely secure. Your wallet information, including your private keys and seed phrase, as well as your password, are not stored on third-party server. Instead, it is stored within your browser’s local cache and can only been decrypted using your password. MetaMask can’t access it for you if you lose your password.
Your MetaMask wallet stores your data locally and keeps your funds accessible. It also allows you to use Web3 services such as DeFi platforms or NFT marketplaces.
MetaMask wallets may not be foolproof and have a security price. They are especially vulnerable to malware and phishing attacks than hardware wallets that store your private keys offline.
MetaMask users can lose their funds in the most common way. This is by entering their seed phrase or password to a fake that is identical to MetaMask and other DeFi platforms. Fake sites can look very convincing. Reddit forums are full of complaints by furious users who lost all their funds because they didn’t pay attention.
Other users downloaded malware-like software and were wrongly misled. Hackers were able to remotely access the entire computer, including MetaMask wallet. One hacker was particularly creative and created , a virus that could edit any text copied or pasted by victims. He then used his wallet address to convince others to deposit cryptocurrency into his account. This was something they clearly couldn’t control.
While it is important to be cautious, sometimes being cautious is not enough to protect your cryptocurrency. It is a good idea to combine your MetaMask wallet and a cold wallet such as Ledger, Trezor or other similar services.
Your hardware wallet will not store your private keys offline. However, you can still use MetaMask to interact with Web3 sites as you did before. To authenticate any transaction on MetaMask, you will need to physically connect your hardware wallet with your computer.
Remember that you can never be too secure in the cryptocurrency world!
