<p>https://steemitimages.com/DQmQRvEcjSb9rmXJnc81jY4EK6oFtAjxmjkBPeuZPqxKad2/Steem%20Basic%20Training%20Day%201.jpg</p>
<p>New to Steem?  Would you join us for day one of this <em>28-day Steem basic training program</em> because inside is the best of what I've learned about how to be successful on <em>Steemit</em> including when do we earn money, how to keep our accounts safe, where do we go for help, and how do we make lasting deep relationships with people on <em>Earth?</em> </p>
<h2><strong>Introducing Steem Basic Training Day #1! What next after account approval?</strong></h2>
<p> <br />If you've just got an email like this, as I did on <em>May 20, 2017,</em> saying that your <em>Steemit</em> account has been approved, you might be really excited like I was.</p>
<p>https://steemitimages.com/DQmfKWDuJEmeCsuByGLtHxatU9fDHy2BSpbM5psBYoMypTY/S107-01.jpg</p>
<p>Each day of this basic training will focus on one critical activity to do that I think will be most helpful for you, based on my experience including what I've done right and all the mistakes I've made in my <em>6 </em>months on <em>Steem.</em></p>
<p>Therefore, for <em>day one, </em>what is the one thing that's essential to do on our very first day?</p>
<p>Most of the excitement I've seen starting out on <em>Steem</em> is about how do I make an intro post, earn money and build followers? That is too much to get started with. We will tackle each of these things one day at a time.</p>
<p>On <em>day one</em> there's something much more important that I've noticed my friends and family signing up often not paying much attention to.</p>
<p>Would you join me in seeing exactly how to do this because this may prevent a huge pain point in the future?</p>
<p>As soon as we get our <em>Steem</em> account, we get a link to <em>"steemit.com/start"</em> with some custom characters for each of us. This will allow us to set up our <em>password</em> on <em>Steemit.</em></p>
<p>https://steemitimages.com/DQmamXduj5Jwvir7m9qwB9bgx8tFoXKUqStpGodPKsCHX3P/S107-02.jpg</p>
<p>We will receive a <em>password</em> or have the ability to generate a <em>password</em> that is the <em>master key</em> to our account.</p>
<p>During <em>day one,</em> the most important thing to do is build or use an existing system to keep the <em>password</em> safe and to start immediately using these <em>permissions</em> or <em>keys</em> to sign in instead of the <em>password.</em></p>
<p>https://steemitimages.com/DQmW9PLM8UkqT4cRv4n3rgcYMeVGvZcbyKSXTAGB5tFweFc/S107-03.jpg</p>
<p>I've noticed friends and family signing up not paying much attention to backing up the <em>password</em> or keeping it safe, and signing straight in as I did to <em>Steem</em> with the <em>password.</em></p>
<p>On <em>Steem</em> our <em>password</em> is the <em>master control </em>to our account. If someone takes the <em>password</em>, that person has master control of our account and there's no third party who can definitely help.</p>
<p><em>Steemit</em> may be able to help by recovering an account, but that's not something we want to bet our account on.</p>
<p><em>Steemit</em> says that they cannot recover your <em>password</em> and I advise you to read these seven rules.</p>
<p>https://steemitimages.com/DQma87dxrurGi4A7kWbf2Eabp6tAFsS82Pf4nou9PMbj4jq/S107-04.jpg</p>
<p>If we lose access to our account on <em>Facebook</em> we can just go, <em>"Oops! I forgot my password. Send me another one through the email."</em></p>
<p>I've lost lots of <em>passwords</em> online and used the email recovery option. There is no email recovery option on <em>Steem.</em> If we lose the <em>password,</em> we lose access to our account. That is the number one risk factor for <em>Steem.</em></p>
<p>The most likely possibility of something bad happening is losing access to our own account. What I recommend to prevent this and to build an ongoing security solution for all <em>passwords</em> is to use <em>LastPass</em> at <a href="https://www.lastpass.com/"><em>lastpass.com</em></a>.</p>
<p>https://steemitimages.com/DQmV7wPTu7W5zScgQ2Qjfrc9RdUUqhTfEuT3HWtovExYzxb/S107-05.jpg</p>
<p>My friend @robertgenito recommend <em>LastPass</em> to me which has helped me a lot with backing up and storing my passwords securely. <a href="https://www.lastpass.com/"><em>LastPass</em></a> is a vault where I store all or most of all of my <em>passwords</em> online except the <em>password</em> that opens <em>LastPass.</em></p>
<p><em>LastPass</em> allows us to just remember one really secure <em>password</em> and we can also set up <em>two-factor authentication</em> to provide additional security on our account, and then once we log into our <em>LastPass</em> account we get into a vault that has all the rest of our <em>passwords.</em></p>
<p>I highly recommend using a <em>password</em> manager to back up, not only <em>LastPass</em> in terms of using it for <em>Steem,</em> and not only to back it up, but also to back up other <em>passwords, </em>because this will just speed up the sign-in process and allow for much greater security.</p>
<p>What a lot of us do is just use one or some basic series of <em>passwords</em> that if any of those <em>passwords</em> get out a hacker can easily crack almost all the rest of our accounts even if we use systems like adding ones or specific numbers or letters based on the website.</p>
<p><em>LastPass</em> allows us to just generate secure <em>passwords</em> all the time and if one of our <em>passwords</em> to one account gets compromised that allows the rest of them not to fall down like dominoes or bowling pins.</p>
<p>With <em>Steem</em>, <em>LastPass</em> also helps us with not losing our <em>password.</em> We can have our <em>LastPass</em> account set up so that we can put our <em>Steem</em> <em>password</em> in <em>LastPass,</em> and then I also recommend an offline backup in case that <em>LastPass</em> goes out of business or all of a sudden goes down and the <em>passwords</em> aren't available there.</p>
<p>An offline backup will allow us to immediately change our <em>password</em> if something happens with <em>LastPass.</em> Therefore, it is critical to get the <em>password</em> to the account set up in a way that it will not be lost over the next five or ten, maybe even twenty years, because if at any time the <em>password</em> is lost and can't be recovered, we've lost access to our account.</p>
<p>Now, once we are confident that our <em>password</em> is both in a <em>password manager</em> and/or backed up in a secure method offline, then we are ready to start using permissions, which will allow us to sign into our account and stay signed in without having to even put our <em>password</em> in.</p>
<p>https://steemitimages.com/DQmbAQgQQ4EJUtxX9nt16s2fyoCVMFXGV7R8NMENAHQ6JUs/S107-06.jpg</p>
<p>It doesn't do much good to have our <em>password</em> backed up in <em>LastPass</em> if we're then signing into <a href="https://steemit.com/@jerrybanfield"><em>steemit.com</em></a>, if we're signing into other <em>Steem</em> apps with our <em>password</em> all the time because then someone could get a hold of our <em>password</em> as we use it on a day to day basis.</p>
<p>On <em>Steem</em> the <em>password</em> is the highest level of security, which means that if anyone gets the <em>password</em> to our <em>Steem </em>account, that <em>password </em>can then just be changed and we can be locked out of our account, and desperately hoping to get back into it by recovering the account, which is not at all guaranteed.</p>
<p>Therefore, the ideal solution to keep our account safe is to only sign in with the <em>posting</em> and the <em>active keys</em> as needed while keeping the <em>password</em> stuck either/or in a <em>password manager</em> and/or offline somewhere.</p>
<p>Once we've got the <em>password</em> stored securely offline and we've got a hold of our <em>posting</em> and <em>active keys,</em> we can then sign in and do everything on our <em>Steem</em> account except change the <em>password</em> and the keys without having to use our <em>password.</em></p>
<p>Now, what you see below is the <em>public key.</em> What I have to do to actually use the <em>posting key</em> is to click <em>"Show private key."</em></p>
<p>https://steemitimages.com/DQmUWQ64dwFBFoei1kRPzCoSGKXFnWBCWShff52Jz7Uk8of/S107-07.jpg</p>
<p>On the <em>active key,</em> I need to log in to show the <em>private active key</em> as well, and I will need the <em>password</em> to do that.</p>
<p>Therefore, on the very first time when setting and backing the <em>password</em> up, and signing in and out of the account with the <em>password, </em>I would grab the <em>password</em> and put it in <em>LastPass,</em> and then sign in and out of <em>Steem</em> immediately afterwards to make sure that the <em>password</em> in <em>LastPass</em> actually works to sign in.</p>
<p>Then, after signing in with the <em>password,</em> show the <em>private key</em> and log in to show the <em>active key,</em> and get a hold of the <em>private versions</em> of these keys. These are the <em>public versions</em> that start with <em>"STM"</em> and the <em>private versions</em> will usually start with a <em>"5."</em></p>
<p>https://steemitimages.com/DQmdQJPCoEgrYWU3GCrz9eXrVqBr1rgysDoWRFXDtCcBgY8/S107-08.jpg</p>
<p>Now, those keys are essentially lower level <em>passwords.</em> Those lower level <em>passwords</em> should also be backed up in something like <em>LastPass</em> or kept offline, but something like the <em>posting key</em> should be available for convenience. You want to be able to easily use the <em>posting key</em> to sign into <em>Steem</em> anywhere. The <em>posting key</em> is what I use to sign into <a href="https://steemit.com/@jerrybanfield"><em>steemit.com</em></a><em>.</em></p>
<p>The <em>private posting key,</em> which is available by clicking <em>"Show private key,"</em> is what I use to sign into <em>steemit.com</em> and that's what I use to sign into other apps unless the apps need the <em>active key.</em></p>
<p>The <em>active key</em> has greater permission than the <em>posting key.</em></p>
<p>The <em>posting key</em> allows for making posts, comments and votes. The <em>active key</em> allows for transferring funds and for powering up or down and voting for witnesses.</p>
<p>The <em>active key </em>may be needed to sign into some apps. Therefore, all we need are the <em>posting</em> and <em>active private keys</em> to sign in and out of our <em>Steemit</em> accounts on <a href="https://steemit.com/@jerrybanfield"><em>steemit.com</em></a> or to sign into our <em>Steem</em> account on other apps.</p>
<p>Therefore, on <em>day one</em> the only thing that is critical to do right after we've got access to our accounts is to get our <em>password,</em> back that <em>password</em> up, get a hold of our<em> permission keys, </em>get those <em>private posting keys</em> and <em>active keys</em> and start signing in and out of <em>Steem</em> with those keys.</p>
<p>Once we can verify, we are able to sign in and out of <em>Steem</em> with the <em>posting key</em> and the <em>active key,</em> and once we've verified our <em>password</em> works to sign in and out of our account wherever we've backed it up, then we stop using our <em>password.</em> We do not use our <em>password </em>anymore to sign in and out.</p>
<p>The only thing we need to use our <em>password</em> for is if we lose our <em>posting private key</em> or our <em>posting active key,</em> we can't remember them and can't sign back in, but if you are using a <em>password manager</em> that shouldn't happen.</p>
<p>Or, if you think the <em>posting</em> or <em>active key</em> have been compromised, then you can go in and change the <em>password,</em> which will change the <em>posting</em> and the <em>active key</em> and remove the ability of those old keys to do anything.</p>
<p><em>https://steemitimages.com/DQmQmfg2mUsMhkEWFpBKmtCoWLws1pcApqz66PFe4NgqEEh/S107-09.jpg</em></p>
<p><em>Day one</em> is all about account security.</p>
<p>You want to get account security right from<em> day one </em>because it's much easier to start off and do account security right from <em>day one</em> than it is to suddenly discover as I did after two months of using <em>Steem</em> that I was signing in with my <em>password</em> to everything, and that I very easily could lose access to my entire account if someone else anywhere got a hold of my <em>password</em>.</p>
<p>I then changed my <em>password</em> to prevent anyone with the old <em>password</em> from being able to get into the account within <em>30 days </em>and now since then, I use the <em>posting</em> and the <em>active keys</em> as the only things I use. I haven't signed in with the <em>password</em> in months.</p>
<p>I hope this has been extremely helpful for you in getting started and once you are comfortable signing in with the <em>posting key</em> and/or the <em>active key</em> depending on where you want to sign in, then you are ready to do <em>day two.</em></p>
<p>The <em>posting key</em> is the only thing that should be needed getting started, but you want to also have the <em>active key</em> available for things like <a href="https://steemit.com/~witnesses"><em>witness votes</em></a> or other apps.</p>
<p>Therefore, in summary, to complete <em>day 2,</em> you will want to have the <em>posting private key</em> ready to go and be signed into <em>Steem</em> with the <em>posting private key.</em></p>
<p>Thank you very much for reading <em>day 1</em> of <em>"Steem 28-day Basic Training"</em> here with me, <em>Jerry Banfield.</em></p>
<p>I hope this has been helpful for you and if you've enjoyed this, I hope to see you in <em>day 2</em> of<em> "Steem Basic Training."<br /></em> </p>
<h3><strong>Final words</strong></h3>
<p> <br />Thank you for reading this blog post, which was originally filmed as the video below.</p>
<p>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11u7eIElSus</p>
<p>If you enjoyed this video, would you please leave a like on it because that's how I'll know to do more videos just like this.</p>
<p>If you found this post helpful on <em>Steemit,</em> would you please <em>upvote</em> it and follow me because you will then be able to see more posts like this in your home feed?</p>
<p>Love,</p>
<p>Jerry Banfield with edits by <a href="https://steemit.com/@gmichelbkk">@gmichelbkk</a> on the transcript from <a href="https://steemit.com/@deniskj">@deniskj</a></p>
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<p><br /><strong>Our Most Important Votes on Steem are for Witness!</strong></p>
<p>Would you please make a vote for jerrybanfield as a witness or set jerrybanfield as a proxy to handle all witness votes at <a href="https://steemit.com/~witnesses">https://steemit.com/~witnesses</a> because 100% of my witness earnings pay for ads that will help promote Steem for years? Thank you to the 2100+ of us on Steem voting for me as a witness, the nearly 1 million dollars worth of Steem power assigned by followers trusting me to make all witness votes through setting me as proxy, and <a href="https://steemit.com/@followbtcnews">@followbtcnews</a> for making these .gif images!</p>
<p><a href="https://steemit.com/~witnesses"> <img src="https://steemitimages.com/DQmfG2kraPru5ZtbCaVZg5tcw92S3wSMbVcKZd6hwSjY8om/vote%20for%20jerrybanfield%20witness%2023.gif" alt="Vote Jerry Banfield Steem Witness" width="100" height="100" border="0" /> </a></p>
<h3>Or</h3>
<p><a href="https://steemit.com/~witnesses"> <img src="https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://i.gyazo.com/e41b5378209532d6b282543f780b0278.gif" alt="Jerry Banfield Steem Proxy" width="100" height="100" border="0" /> </a></p>
<p><strong>Let's stay together?</strong></p>
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