Tech Radar- The Best Cryptocurrency Wallets

Cryptocurrency can’t just be stored in your pocketbook, which is why having a cryptocurrency wallet is important for those mining or buying Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and more. There are four types of crypto wallets: hardware, software, mobile, and web.

For security’s sake, hardware and software wallets are generally more secure, mostly because if a mobile or web wallet provider is hacked, your key can be stolen, allowing cybercriminals to also steal your cryptocurrency funds.

So how do you choose? There is no simple answer besides choose what works best for you and your cryptocurrency goals and needs, but these are some top-notch choices for hardware and software wallets.

HARDWARE

Trezor

Trezor has two wallets available that have robust functionality for secure cryptocurrency storage, the Trezor One and the Trezor Model T.  The Trezor One is really great for novices in the crypto world, and at $104 it’s a solid basic wallet that boasts data encryption, a personal recovery seed and highly secure storage for keys, coins, and passwords.

Ledger

Ledger offers two of the most secure wallets available, the Ledger Blue and the Ledger Nano S.

These wallets are simple, safe, and highly secured so you can access your bitcoin from anywhere safely.

KeepKey

See this video to see how KeepKey works:

BitBox

Plug BitBox into your computer to securely store, spend and receive cryptocurrency, including Ethereum, Bitcoin and Litecoin. The simple design is made with a dual chip design and crafted from the same material as bulletproof glass.

SOFTWARE

Electrum

Electrum is one of the most popular Crypto wallets, and for good reason. It’s free, reliable, simple to learn and use and very secure. Electrum encrypts your keys and stores them on your computer and then enables two-factor authentication. This software is faster and less bulky than many others, so it’s understandably a popular choice in the Crypto community

Exodus

Exodus is more than a crypto wallet, it is also a crypto exchange and portfolio service, so you can store, manage and trade all in one place. All of your data is encrypted so your funds are securely stored.

Jaxx

Jaxx was started by one of the co-founders of Ethereum with the idea that users shouldn’t be tied only to one type of cryptocurrency or crypto wallet. Essentially, Jaxx provides their users with a Masterseed that can be used to manage all the private keys for your blockchain based assets and lets you access them on any other wallet or software. Jaxx is also equipped with a Blockchain Interface so you can convert digital assets to other cryptocurrencies.

Copay

Copay is an open source, multisig wallet, which means you can create your own version of the Copay wallet as well as share your crypto funds with a group. Shared-funds wallets are one of the most secure ways to prevent fraud and send cryptocurrency because your entire group needs to approve the transaction, similar to how each transaction of a cryptocurrency on a blockchain is verified.

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The Fall of Facebook?: the Aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica Scandal

Facebook has been heavily profiled in the news lately, due to a massive questioning of how users’ data is handled, after political data firm Cambridge Analytica had access to over 50 million Facebook users’ private data, which was, in turn, able to use the data in their work for the Trump campaign in 2016. The backlash against Facebook has been substantial, with companies, celebrities, and everyday users leaving the site and speaking out against misinformation of privacy policies and misuse and mishandling of personal data. But how did we get here? This scandal is years in the making.

Background:

In 2010, Facebook launched the original version of their Open Graph API, allowing third-party app developers access to user data, following this, Facebook signed a decree with the US Federal Trade Commission, consenting that user data will not be shared without the user’s permission. In 2013, Cambridge Analytica is founded by UK strategy company Strategic Communication Laboratories Group as a US branch. The founding was orchestrated by Steve Bannon, and funded in part by the Mercer family, a Republican donor and Breitbart News backer.

How did Cambridge Analytica get the data?

Cambridge University researcher Aleksandr Kogan created a personality test (for Cambridge Analytica) similar to one created by the University’s Psychometric Quiz that had been gathering Facebook data since 2007, which the University refused to share with Cambridge Analytica. Through the new test created by Kogan, the data firm collected 270,000 people’s data with their knowledge, but against Facebook’s terms, the app also collects the information of those original 270,000 users’ friends without their consent or knowledge.  Cambridge Analytica now has over 50 million profiles in its database.

What is happening now?

Christopher Wylie, a former data scientist for Cambridge Analytica becomes a whistleblower on the company’s activity and triggered the investigations into Cambridge Analytica and Facebook from governments around the world.

There is a movement to delete Facebook, which has been joined by Cher, Will Ferrell, WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton, and Tesla founder/CEO Elon Musk, as well as Musk having the SpaceX and Tesla Facebook pages deleted. There are multiple businesses canceling their ads, and removing themselves from the platform, and investors are nervous as stocks fall.

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has since responded to public outcry, first saying that the main issues have already been resolved, and then in a second statement saying that he takes minimal issue with regulating Facebook more heavily. Zuckerberg has refused to testify about the privacy violation and misuse of content in front of UK MPs but will testify before Congress in the coming months.

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