The Dangers of Having a Metamask wallet (And how to be safe with one too)

Metamask, a popular web3 wallet choice for many getting into the decentralized world is often misleading. They claim that they are a "non-custodial" wallet, which in the eyes of crypto many newbies seems like "non-custodial" equates to enhanced security. However, they can be farther from the truth.

Metamask Danger #1 - Seed Phrase

Metamask is full of many security flaws that can be easily exploited. One in particular is how the seed phrase is stored. Since the seed phrase is stored within the extension/browser, a malicious website/virus can easily steal the seed phrase of the wallet and have full access to the funds stored within. With the seed phrase the attackers will have full ownership of the wallet and will be able to do whatever they want with it.

Metamask Danger #2 - WiFi Connections

Another way a Metamask wallet can be hacked is through WiFi. This is done through the work of rouge access points within a foreign WiFi network (They can also use keyloggers). Through these rouge access points, the attackers will have access to most of the private information from your MetaMask wallet, including your seed phrase and most likely your password as well. In order to avoid this, it is just best not to interact with your Metamask wallet in areas with risky connections (Better to be safe than sorry).

Metamask Danger #3 - Connecting to malicious websites

This, while entirely the user's fault, is very much a danger to a Metamask wallet. As many have said before me, connecting your metamask wallet to a malicious website is a one way ticket to having your Metamask wallet hacked and drained of funds. Although it is completely up to the user to avoid these malicious websites, it can very challenging to do so at times (because there are some websites that fall into the gray area). One good way to avoid this is to make alternative wallets with little-no funds and connect them to the somewhat suspicious website and use the alternative wallet to complete all the necessary transactions.

Solution to the Metamask dangers:

If all these dangers seem very stressful and make you even fear the concept of even having a non-custodial wallet, there is good news. Fortunately for everyone, there is one simple way to keeping all your funds secure and that is through the use of a hardware wallet. The hardware wallet can include a Ledger, Trezor, or any other trusted hardware wallet brand (Make sure that the hardware wallet isn't modified though). With a Ledger, you can even connect it to metamask, which will allow users to use their Ledger account more efficiently while at the same time having the security of a Ledger rather than Metamask. However, the end all be all danger for all wallets is how you store your seed recovery phrase. If you store your seed recovery phrase in a vulnerable place or area, your wallet may be compromised regardless if it is a hardware wallet or not.