A few days ago, we used a story of a cowherd and a weaver to teach you to clarify professional terms such as 【private key】【public key】【address】【signature】 and their relationship. And 【Private Key】As the most important member of the whole family, what are the things you must know?
1. What is Private Key?
The private key is composed of a 64-bit hexadecimal character generated by an encryption algorithm, like this:
5KYZdUEo39z3FArtuX2SbbwPnNP5zTd7yyr2SA1j299sBWnWjss.
The method of generating the private key is completely random, and there are no rules to follow. Randomly generating such a character string has 16 possibilities of 64th power, that is: 2 of 256th power. This total sounds ordinary, but it can’t be described by common things.
I once saw a very vivid metaphor: “The diameter of a hair strand is about 500,000 atoms superimposed, and the total number of private keys is close to the number of all atoms in the observable universe.” So, you also worry that your private key will Repeat with others?
It should be noted that the wallet generate private key in the blockchain, and it is not artificially set. Why this is so, because the original format of the private key is very long, and it is very troublesome to let the user set directly, so the wallet does this work.
2. The role of private keys
- Generate wallet address
As mentioned above, the private key is generated by the wallet, and the wallet address is calculated by the private key, one private key corresponds to one address.
- Authorized signature transaction
Every time we want to make a transfer transaction from the wallet, we only sign and authorize it with the private key before we can send it out to complete the transaction. The straightforward point is that whoever has the private key has control over these digital currencies.
- Restore the wallet
If you accidentally delete or uninstall your wallet, then you need to restore the wallet with the private key.
In the world of blockchain applications, the assets in your wallet are all stored on the blockchain, and the private key is the only certificate of your assets in the blockchain world. Having the private key will have the corresponding address assets. If your private key is lost, you will also lose control of the assets on the chain, and there is no way for any platform to help you find it.
So be sure to back up the private key safely.
3. How to back up the private key?
The current wallet private key generally has these two display methods: one is a character string, and the other is a two-dimensional code.
(1)Character string: Please follow the order；the writing is clear； the case is correctly copied to the paper, and stored in a safe place. After the copying is completed, it is necessary to verify the content copied by the opponent, and import the wallet to see if it can be successful, to prevent copying errors. Once you do not pay attention to capitalization when copying, then what is waiting for you is this prompt: “Private key error.”
(2)QR code: Private key in the form of a QR code, remember not to take screenshots when backing up. When importing, it is also necessary to directly scan the imported wallet under a secure environment. Once the other obtain the QR code, it will cause irreparable asset losses.
Next, let’s recite and memorize the private key together 8 principle:
- Do not use mail to transfer or store private keys;
- Do not use WeChat collections or cloud backups to store private keys;
- Do not take screenshots or take photos or save to mobile phone albums to save private keys;
- Do not use WeChat or QQ to send private keys;
- Do not tell the private key to your around people;
- Do not send private keys to the group;
- Do not use Apple IDs provided by others;
- Do not import private keys into unknown third-party websites.
4. Several common methods for recovering private keys
So, if the private key is lost, is there really no way to get it back? The following is a summary of several common methods for recovering lost private keys:
- Hand delete wallet by mistake
As long as you remember the private key, download a wallet again, import the private key, and reset the wallet password.
- The phone is missing or broken
If you accidentally your phone is stolen or broken, as long as the private key or mnemonic is still there, you can re-download a wallet, import the private key (or mnemonic, Json file), and then re-create the wallet Just fine.
- Words: mnemonic words
The mnemonic word was proposed by the BIP 31 proposal. The main purpose is to allow users to better remember their private keys. The most common mnemonic word is a group of 12 words.
- Word interpretation: Json
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) file is a file format containing lightweight data, which can be easily read by people or machines.
- I forgot my private key, but the mnemonic or Json file is still there
If your private key is lost, but the mnemonic or Json file is still there, then do n’t worry, these two can help you retrieve your private key.
Of course, there is another way to import the wallet with the mnemonic + Keystore password and successfully back up the private key.
Word interpretation: Keystore
Keystore is the encrypted private key.
- Forgot the private key, the wallet is not deleted
If your private key is forgotten, but the wallet is still on the phone, this is very easy to handle. You only need to log in to the wallet with a password and back up the private key.
- Lost private key, password, mnemonic
Sorry, no one in this world can help you!
- Password forgotten or entered incorrectly
This is the same as when we log in to some other APPs. If we forget the password or enter several times and display an error, then click forget password and retrieve it again. Back to the decentralized wallet, we need to use the private key or mnemonic to import the wallet to reset the password!
The above are the countermeasures when various situations occur. It should be noted that the specific operating experience of each wallet is different. Please be sure to operate according to the official help of the wallet. Be sure to read the help content carefully before the operation. There are problems Find the official customer service consultation and then start.
Click to read the previous issue “A story to understand wallet-related terms”
