Mastering Safe Crypto Airdrop Farming
9 Essential Tips For Protecting Your Wallet
Crypto and Web3 technologies have brought forth an exciting new world with immense potential. However, amidst this transformative landscape, scams and malicious activities have become a common occurrence. It’s crucial to prioritise safety, when engaging in token airdrops and the broader crypto space, to safeguard your hard-earned tokens and NFTs. In this article, we’ll explore nine essential steps you can take to protect yourself while participating in crypto airdrop farming.
1. Use Browser Profiles
The best solution is to use a separate device (laptop or desktop) for your aidrop farming activities. However, this might be a cost prohibitive approach so, to establish a clear separation between your regular browsing activities and airdrop farming, consider using separate browsers or browser profiles on your regular device. Our preferred browser for web activities, including airdrop farming, is Brave. By creating a dedicated profile within Brave, you can install a fresh instance of MetaMask and other relevant extensions solely for airdrop-related tasks. Alternatively, you can opt to use an entirely different browser like Edge, Chrome, or Firefox exclusively for airdrop activities, ensuring a clear distinction and minimising potential risks.
2. Clear Your Cache, Cookies, and Browsing History
After completing your daily or weekly airdrop farming steps, make it a habit to clear your browser’s cache, cookies, and browsing history. In your chosen browser for airdrop hunting, create bookmarks for the sites and pages you frequently use. Organise these bookmarks into subfolders named after the specific airdrops you’re farming. If there is any crossover, such as with Zealy, bookmark the site for each folder so you never forget an airdrop farming step. This way, it doesn’t matter if you delete cahse, cookies and browsing history as you can always find the sites you need. Most browsers offer an option to automate this clearing process, further ensuring your online safety. If you’re using a separate browser or browser profile for airdrop farming then clearing these contents will have no impact on your day-to-day online activities in your regular profile or browser where you might not want to clear these items regularly.
3. Utilise a VPN for Enhanced Privacy and Security
A VPN, or virtual private network, provides an additional layer of protection for your internet connection and online privacy. It establishes an encrypted tunnel for your internet traffic, safeguarding your data and shielding your identity. When using public networks, such as Wi-Fi hotspots, a VPN creates a secure network connection, preventing unauthorised access to your information. We recommend NordVPN due to its reputation for safety, speed, and effectiveness. However, thorough research is essential to choose a VPN that suits your needs. Avoid browser extension VPNs and instead opt for installable software from legitimate websites to minimise the risk of falling for scam links.
4. Install Antivirus Software
Protecting your device with reliable antivirus software is an essential step in maintaining online security. While both paid and free versions are available, ensure that you’re not compromising on safety for the sake of a small expenditure per year. Sophos is our recommended paid antivirus software, particularly effective for Mac devices. Whichever software you choose, make sure to schedule regular scans to detect and remove any harmful cookies or files that may compromise your system’s security.
5. Secure Your Wallet with Protective Extensions
Wallet protection is a game-changer in the crypto space, and luckily, there are free options available that offer significant benefits. While premium options exist, the free versions are generally sufficient. Consider using one of the following options (we have all four installed):
These browser extensions enhance security for web3 transactions and provide protection against malicious transactions and scams within the NFT space. The free version Pocket Universe, for example, conducts simulated transactions and alerts users to potential scams when initiating transactions via MetaMask or Coinbase Wallet. It detects malicious seaport transactions, honeypot NFTs, and counterfeit tokens, ensuring peace of mind and simplifying the complexities of the NFT space. WalletGuard and TrustCheck will alert you if you land on a suspected malicious website before you even interact, so even if you do click a bad link, you have another layer of protection. None of these are foolproof but they will help you to minimise the chance of interacting with anything bad.
6. Revoke.Cash: Take Control of Your Wallet
Revoke.cash is a platform that empowers users to regain control of their wallets when using decentralised applications (dapps) like Uniswap or OpenSea.
It enables users to inspect and revoke the allowances they have granted to these dapps, minimising the risk of unauthorised access to their tokens and NFTs. By emphasising the importance of limiting allowances when not actively using a dapp, Revoke.cash provides protection against scams and exploits. The platform also offers a browser extension that provides warnings and helps prevent phishing scams. However, it’s essential to note that while Revoke.cash can help prevent further losses, it cannot recover stolen funds or protect against compromised seed phrases. The ability to retroactively revoke approvals in your wallet for NFTs and tokens is a valuable tool for mitigating potential risks, even if it does come with a small gas fee on the blockchain.
7. Wallet Management: Burner Wallets and Separation
Consider using a “burner wallet” solely for basic transactions and collecting airdrops. It’s important NOT to keep valuable assets like NFTs or large token balances in a burner wallet. Instead, reserve your burner wallet for holding a small amount of crypto specifically for gas fees. The exact amount will vary depending on the network you’re using. If you want to take extra precautions, create an entirely new MetaMask (or other wallet provider) account with a different seed phrase specifically for your dedicated airdrop browser or airdrop MetaMask account. By separating your wallets and using different addresses, you can minimise the risk of malicious interactions and protect your main wallet from potential threats. You can create multiple burner wallets, but remember to write down your seed phrases and store them in a secure location, such as a physical safe that is water and fireproof. For even greater security, consider using a hardware wallet and avoid ever using it with your dedicated airdrop browser or airdrop MetaMask account.
8. Webacy: Continuous Wallet Monitoring
Webacy is a subscription service that offers continuous risk assessment, wallet monitoring, and action-taking capabilities for unlimited personal wallets. It provides features like Wallet Watch, which offers transaction notifications, a Panic Button, Backup Wallet, and Crypto Will. Wallet Watch is a notification service that quickly alerts users via SMS or email for various wallet events, such as confirmed transactions, approvals, incoming and outgoing transactions, contract calls, signatures, airdrops, successful trades, and more. While the subscription service comes at a cost, you can still take advantage of the Wallet Watch service on one of your wallets for free, providing an additional layer of monitoring and security!
Pro tip: if you have WalletWatch setup you can be alerted immedialtely by SMS to a transaction you didn’t expect. You can then jump on to revoke.cash to revoke further approvals. WalletWatch allows you to act a lot faster.
9. Project Safety: Hacks, Spam Links & Malicious Websites
Following your project closely for updates is often limited to Discord, Twitter and/or Telegram so having access to these platforms and the dedicated project servers, profiles or channels is a must. Unfortunately, hacks and scam links on these platforms are common occurrences, and it’s essential to remain vigilant. Scammers can be convincing, and a momentary lapse in judgment or an absent-minded link click can lead to falling victim to a scam. Here are some tips to stay safe:
- Be cautious of surprise airdrop or minting announcements that have never been previously mentioned, particularly if there is a sense of urgency (time limited deal) or scarcity (almost minted out).
- Check the website link provided, ensuring it is the official link for the project or dapp. WalletGuard can help you to sus out whether a link is malicious.
- Beware of locked channels where comments are restricted or limited to random channels especially when those channels have not been locked to comments or interaction previously.
- Take note of the types of emojis allowed for reactions on the announcement. If only positive or happy emojis are permitted, exercise caution. Often is the case that the hackers prevent emojis that could warn others (e.g. a cross, a thumbs down, etc.) and they spam the positive emojis to create hype.
- Look for official announcements on the project’s other platforms like Telegram or Twitter. Lack of official or coordinated announcements may indicate a potential scam. Or you might find an annoucnement saying they’ve been hacked on one of their other platforms.
- Exercise caution with projects claiming affiliation with the main project. If in doubt, verify with project team members in their support channels to confirm the legitimacy of the affiliation.
- Be cautious of illicit direct messages (DMs) on these platforms especially those containing links. Discord direct messages are often used in scams. You can easily make it a default setting on Discord to not allow DMs from anyone unless you’ve approved them as friend. You can have this as an overarching setting or custom for each server you’re in. Similarly in Twitter and Telegram you can turn the DM features off.
Pro Tip: adjust these settings in the platforms for ultimate safety.
Discord
Telegram
TLDR;
By following safety-first practices, you can actively protect your wallet, assets, and overall online presence while engaging in crypto airdrop farming. Don’t underestimate the importance of these steps, as a little effort invested in security can go a long way in safeguarding your crypto. While some precautions may seem excessive or burdensome, maintaining safety and discipline in your crypto activities can mean the difference between avoiding scams and losing significant funds. At the very least, you should implement the following measures: use a different browser for airdrop activities, sign up to Webacy’s WalletWatch for your main airdrop farming wallet, install Pocket Universe and Wallet Guard browser extensions, and bookmark revoke.cash for easy access to inspect and revoke allowances in your wallet.
Stay safe!
Please note that investing in crypto carries a high level of risk and is speculative in nature. The content of this article should not be considered as a recommendation from Droppables or the author to invest in crypto. Droppables does not provide any guarantees regarding the accuracy or timeliness of the information presented in this article. It is important to consult with a qualified professional who can assess your specific circumstances before making any financial decisions.
