Hive Academy
This series of articles is my attempt to point out some useful information, as well as tips for those new to Hive. I have been here over 3 years and these are things I think will be useful. Rewards are declined for this post because I am sure I have written about this subject before in the 3 years I have been here, and I was already rewarded for it.
Cryptocurrency Wallets
The Hive wallet is unlike any other cryptocurrency wallet, in that your name is also your wallet name. While most cryptocurrency wallets have 23 digit alphanumeric codes for the wallet, Hive has both an alphanumeric code and a name. This is very convenient for transfers on the platform, as in order for me to tip someone like @trumpman I just go into my wallet and type Trumpman in the To Field, and then the amount of HIve in the AMount field and press Transfer.
It may seem like a small thing, but I think it's a big thing in the world on OnBoarding, that if you want to send your friend Bob a hew HIve or delegate your friend some HivePower so they can transact, you just look for their name and double check the spelling, and double check thats the actual name of their account. Your friend Bob Jones may have decided to become the DarkWarrior on Hive! A pretty cool name, but not Bob Jones.
The other thing about the Hive wallet which I find convenient is buying more Hive at Blocktrades website by clicking "Buy Hive" in your wallet page. This takes you to the website built by Blocktrades, where you sign in with your name and send Bitcoin, Ether, Dash, or one of about 20 other cryptocurrencies to have them instantly and conveniently converted to Hive that shows up in your Hive wallet very quickly. There is also a tracking feature on that page, which tells you if the transfer transaction is pending or completed. I think it's pretty sweet.
Integrated connection to cryptocurrency exchange.
While I encourage people who are new to hHive to stake their Hive as HivePower to get more influence on the reward pool, I understand we all have expenses and sometimes we need to withdrawal Hive to spend. So I wanted to also mention the other convenient feature of the Hive Wallet is the connection to Poloniex Cryptocurrency Exchange. So if you need to cash out your Hive for living expenses or other personal reasons you can transfer it directly from your wallet to Poloniex and then trade it for Bitcoin, to use as you see fit.
Secret or Subtle Security Features
Now that we have covered convenience, let us discus security. I think it's pretty cool that the Hive wallet has a few security features that people don't realize are security features and some that you may not even notice when you check your wallet balance.
First there is the savings account feature.
Your Hive wallet has a Liquid Hive section, just called Hive. That is Hive you can transfer instantly to other members of the community, and off the Hive Wallet to an exchange like Poloniex or Bittrex. Below there is a section called the Savings Account, where you can hold liquid Hive under a two day hold. Its like a time lock, if you request it you can't get it right away. This is nice because if all your liquid Hive is there it can't be transferred right away out of your account by someone who steals your active keys.
If you check your wallet evey day, you will see a notice that a Savings withdrawal has been initiated, so if you didn't initiate it your wallet has been compromised, but you can stop the withdrawal and use your Master password to change your private keys and then your wallet should be secure again.
Second there is the Hive Power Down warning.
If you check your wallet you will see a red warning stating that a PowerDown has been started in your account. As you may remember you Stake HIve or Power it UP, as HIvePower to be eleigible for interest payments and in order to accumulate voting power with regards to the reward pool. If this is new to you, please read my post on the upvote system and rewards pool on Hive at the link below. So basically this warning also lets you know that someone has your keys, if you didn't initiate the Power Down, so once again you can stop the power down and change your private keys using your master password.
Third there is the time it takes to power down your account.
Your Hive account doesn't power down all at once, it is done in sevenths, or 1/7th of your account is changed from HivePower to Hive each week. So if someone steals your Keys and tries to withdrawal your Hive, they first have to Power It Down or un-stake it, and this takes time, so your Hive is safe.
Fourth HIvePower and Delegation
Hive has an additional feature called Delegation, which is initiated from your Hive Wallet. You are basically staking your Hive as Hive Power, a process we call Powering UP, and then loaning the Hive Power to someone else to use to post or to use to upvote people and earn rewards in Hive for doing this. They will depending on your arrangement then pay you for using your HIvePower. This is actually a nice passive income stream, but it is also a security feature because Delegated HIve Power can't be Powered Down and withdrawn from your account. You have to undelegate it, which tales 48 hours, and then you have to Unstake it or what it is called Powering Down. Which takes seven weeks.
The next security feature I think I should discus is the multiple Hive Account Keys.
When you sign up for a Hive Account you get multiple alphanumeric passwords, which can at first seem a bit overwhelming to the beginner here. But rest assured that the purpose is to insure the security of your account. ONe of these alphanumeric passwords is called a Posting Key, which allows you to post articles such as this one on your blog. Another one is called an Active Key, which allows you to transfer Hive out of your account. Another one is called your memo key and it allows you to create private messages to other members of the community in your wallet. This feature is not turned on. The other password you have is called a Master Key and it is capable of generating an entirely new set of passwords rendering all the old passwords unusable.
The other security feature is called account recovery.
This is a process which allows you to recover your account if someone should steal your Master password and change your other private keys, and lock you out of your account. You would need to contact the person who helped you set up your account and provide them identification and your previous set of passwords. This must be done pretty quickly to be effective otherwise your account could be drained in a few weeks.
Last Words
If you read all the way to the end I hope your are smiling right now and thinking to your self that your Hive is pretty secure here. And it is as long as you follow the rules about storing your private keys offline and only use the passwords you need to post, and use other security features like Keychain. I hope you found this post useful.
Rewards declined for this post.
I have been here three plus years and I am sure I have written posts about these features before. So I am declining Rewards to avoid the appearance of "post-recycling" which is frowned upon by the community members who monitor the community for plagarism and content theft.