8 Tips for Choosing the Right Crypto Trading Laptop

[This week we have a special guest post on the BDN Content blog courtesy of TechWarn.com! This article looks at some recommended factors to consider when choosing the right crypto trading laptop.]

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People hold cryptocurrencies for different reasons today.

For some, it is a means of exchange with which they can anonymously and seamlessly make payments for goods and services over the web. For others, it is a speculative asset that they hold in hopes of a pump in price after which they dispose of the coins they have.

There is, however, a third group that trades cryptos.

If you are a day trader too, your choice of hardware can make all the difference. That is why we have put this piece up today – to help you find the right crypto trading laptop.

How Important Is the Hardware on Your Crypto Trading Laptop?

Trading requires a unique skill set and mindset to happen – every trader worth their salt knows this. From the knowledge of fundamental and technical analysis to the mastery of emotions, a trader is always on his or her toes.

However, all of that will not count for much if the trader does not have the right tools to digitally express their skills.

Combing through the news feeds from a couple of weeks ago, a recent launch from HP caught my eyes.

To many, this is just another flagship computer from a globally-known brand, but it was so much more than that to me. In fact, it stood out as a laptop that held much promise for not only crypto traders but enthusiasts too.

How?

Choosing Your Hardware Well

Whether you will be going with the HP Spectre x360 13 or any other pick, ensure these requirements are met.

1 Brand Recognition

This is the first thing I consider when making a crypto trading laptop purchase.

Brands that have been in the market for longer tend to have established a reputation of service and product efficiency, so I know what I’m working with. While I am not against giving the new guys a chance, I would rather stick with what I know to work than what I think would be a great idea too.

Of course, this is one of those things that will come down to personal preference. However, think of the ease of repair and servicing you would get with a known brand over the hassles and hoops you would have to jump for a relatively unknown company’s product.

2 Size

The majority of crypto traders are digital nomads. Thus, they need the freedom to move from one location to the other without feeling weighed down by the mass or sheer size of their units.

At 13 inches, this laptop is just the right size – not too small, neither too big – to be shuffled around with you. In fact, HP shaved off about 13% size of the last unit in this line-up to make this current device. In other words, you are promised an even smaller unit with more powerful configurations.

To buttress the whole point, the small size doesn’t steal screen real estate from you. Seeing as the bezels are cut to be as minimal as can be, you don’t have to worry about getting your charts and candlesticks all cramped up.

3 Disk Type

Even if not for trading, I have always been conscious of the kind of disk drive that’s on my laptop.

There was a time when Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) were the in-thing. They did serve their purposes, but their physical form came with its own limitations.

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

For one, they are slow – much slower when compared to the Solid-State Drives (SSDs) – and that is something I would not settle for in this time and age. Knowing how important every minute can be to entering or exiting a trade position, you want something that gives you all the speed you can get.

Likewise, SSDs are at a lesser risk of crashing than their HDD counterparts, making SSDs the better choice for a crypto trading laptop.

On the off-chance that you like to save a lot of files on your devices too, SSD doesn’t have to be the dealbreaker here. After all, the HP Spectre x360 13 comes with up to 1TB SSD.

4 Graphics

Speaking of charts, candlesticks, and patterns, you need as much clarity as you can get to read them very well. That’s just what you get with a laptop that can achieve as much as 1000 nits of brightness on a 4K OLED screen, all the while featuring an Iris technology display.

All that doesn’t sound like English, so here’s the translation: the screen can get really bright, and the visuals are about as clear as the things you see with your eye.

5 Battery

Battery life is a very important aspect of any laptop, smartphone or other battery-powered gadgets. When trading crypto, the volatility of the market means you don’t ever want to be caught out with a flat battery when you should be entering a position, exiting it, modifying your stance or being on the ground to make winning analyses.

In short, every hour you lose being outside the market can lose you money.

Photo by Hilary Halliwell from Pexels

While you should always plan for a backup power source in case your mains fail, you should also be able to trust your laptop to keep going. With as much as 22 hours of battery backup on the HP Spectre x360 13, you are guaranteed close to a day of constant usage without having to reach for the power cable.

6 CPU and GPU

Crypto-based apps and platforms are usually graphics intensive. They will task your computers and systems as much as they can, but you won’t notice any lags at all if you are prepared for it.

Honestly, a 4GB RAM CPU will get you through most, if not all, of the trading platforms we have around today. However, that is not the ideal situation, and you would not exactly be future-proofing your trading process. Thus, I recommend starting with 8GB of RAM.

Unless you intend to do mild to heavy gaming on the same laptop, I don’t recommend having a dedicated graphics card. If that unit will be your entertainment console too, though, you should not trade that dedicated graphics card for anything.

7 Online Protection

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Cryptocurrency scams are growing by the day, and they are happening in numerous ways.

For some, it’s the High Yield Investment Programs (HYIPs) promising insane returns only to cart investors’ monies way. For others, it is the hackers always snooping around for sensitive wallet details so they can illegally access and wipe out funds.

The biggest downside to all of this is that cryptos are decentralized, so you would not even know where your money went.

That said, this is the biggest reason why the HP Spectre x360 13 caught my attention.

Apparently, HP shared the spotlight with ExpressVPN when developing this unit. This partnership means that the laptop comes with system integration of ExpressVPN Windows software aimed at improved user protection.

Thus, you are covered against the dangers of public Wi-Fi networks (remember that coffee shop network you love), insulated against all of data monitoring and tracking, and can keep yourself from being deanonymized over the internet.

If that is not something crypto enthusiasts and traders need to look into, I don’t know what is.

8 User Privacy

Photo by Scott Webb from Pexels

Beyond online protection, user privacy is also important when dealing with such sensitive assets as those held on a crypto trading laptop. A unit like the HP Spectre x360 13 comes with:

• Microphone mute button – which kills the mic unit on the laptop so hackers can’t listen to what you are saying. Considering the fact that many users have labeled ad agencies being guilty of this, it is not surprising that hackers can use it to their own ends too.

• Webcam kill switch – designed as a physical button that takes the webcam out of the computer’s electrical components until you need it again. This makes access to the webcam, either onsite or remotely, impossible till the switch is toggled off. That helps put the numerous fears about webcam spying and snooping in check.

• Secure view – a feature that allows you to dim the screen’s brightness such that anyone looking over your shoulder doesn’t see what’s on your screen. Functionally, this is a great way to execute your trades, check your wallets, login and access sensitive data without the fear of being watched.

Crypto Trading Laptop Conclusion

Doesn’t sound like a bad choice anymore, does it?

Those are my honest thoughts about the latest introduction by HP which shows how much the company is working towards bettering user privacy and security. If you have any other choice laptop for trading, do let me know about it in the comments. Don’t forget to tell why you love that pick so much too.


What do you think? Would you consider the HP Spectre x360 13 for your crypto trading laptop?

*Legal Disclaimer*: This article does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any product or security. I am not a financial advisor or an electronics expert and this article shall not be taken as advice on what computing equipment you should purchase or what cryptocurrencies, assets, or securities you should buy, sell, or trade. I do not know the details of your specific financial situation, therefore I am not in a position to give you advice on what purchases or investments you should make. Consumers and traders must conduct their own research in order to conclude for themselves what products and investments are best suited to their needs. 

4 Simple, Easy, Effective Ways to Increase Online Security

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In today’s technological era, all of our most important information exists in cyberspace. This is the case for individuals, small businesses, and transnational corporations alike. A breach of sensitive data can create myriad problems for a company, such as:

·       Damaging the credibility of an organization and making its management look incompetent or careless (a PR nightmare)

·       Scaring away customers who are mindful of online security and privacy

·       Giving competitors an unfair advantage (corporate espionage)

·       Distressing budgets and cash flow due to dealing with the aftermath of a hack

·       In the case of ransomware, directly draining profits

And many more problems that you might be dealing with for a long time.

History has shown that no company is immune to the threat of a cyber-attack. For example, a number of high-profile hacks have happened in the not so distant past.

The Yahoo hack occurred in 2013 and involved over one billion user accounts being compromised, making it the largest data breach to-date.

Hackers have also breached a number of high-profile retail companies such as Target, Sears, Home Depot, and more.

Add to this a long list of cloud-hosting companies such as Cloudflare and Dropbox being compromised, and it’s not hard to see that increasing your online security is now of the utmost importance.

4 Ways to Increase Your Online Security

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You may be wondering how to prevent a cyber attack. Of course, it is a complex matter involving a large number of variables.

That said, there are some affordable, common-sense actions that any organization can take in order to defend themselves from a significant portion of potential cyber-attacks. Here are four ways to increase your online security.

Use Reliable Detection Methods

When a cyber attack occurs, it’s vital that you be made aware of it as soon as possible. Hacks can often go undetected for weeks or even months. Most companies do not understand this.

To be alerted to intruders opening files in your system, all you have to do is use a free and easy tool called Canary Tokens.

Photo from StationX.net

Created by online security company Station X, these tokens look like regular files – PDFs, Word Documents, emails, photographs and more. In reality, however, they are hacker traps. When anyone accesses the canary token file, you will instantly be sent an email notification.

Detection is not a preventative measure per se, but it can mitigate further damage once a breach has occurred. Being able to shut systems down or isolate vital infrastructure can help limit the destruction caused by an attack.

Install Anti-Malware Software and Firewalls

One of the most important features that can keep hackers out is a firewall. Your entire network should have a firewall (network-based firewall), as should each device within it (host-based firewall).

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Premium versions of most anti-virus programs also provide real-time scanning capabilities that can detect and prevent malware the second it invades your system. Many quality software options exist.

You will have to consult with an expert and decide which program is best for your organization. Some of the most well-known and reputable services include names like Malware Bytes, Avast, and Clam XAV for Mac (no affiliate links here – I’m not an affiliate marketer).

It may be necessary to hire a full-time professional online security expert to customize and maintain your firewall, anti-malware programs, detection methods, and so on.

Conduct Routine Software Maintenance

This might be the most important and simplest solution of them all.

According to the second annual Nuix Black report on online security, most all high-profile data leaks did not occur due to some sophisticated hacking method. Instead, they happened because someone in the company failed to conduct routine maintenance. Simply neglecting to install a software upgrade or patch can have catastrophic results.

The solution, as you might have guessed, is simply to make sure you update all operating systems, web browsers, firewalls, anti-malware programs, and so on as soon as any updates are made available.

Educate Employees On Common Phishing Tactics

Up to 88% of all hackers claim they use phishing tactics to gain information about a target before they attack it, according to the same report. That means that avoiding phishing tactics could decrease the odds of falling victim to a successful breach by as much as 88%.

Our Threat Intelligence team started seeing phishing emails that are using evolving tactics. Stay current on #Emotet and get some help from our Emotet Emergency Kit: https://t.co/CaObVSQeAt pic.twitter.com/iEcZfmfsK2

— Malwarebytes (@Malwarebytes) October 15, 2019

For employees who conduct any business on your network, phishing avoidance education should be a mandatory part of their training. They must be able to react appropriately to threats such as phishing emails, malicious links, phony sites, and callers impersonating authority figures.

These social engineering tactics are often used by hackers for a reason – they are simple, cheap, and effective. No amount of online security can prevent a naïve employee from giving an intruder confidential information or even direct login credentials.

Implement These Methods Today to Prevent Cyber Attacks

Note that three out of these four methods cost nothing to implement – educating employees, conducting routine software maintenance, and using Canary Tokens. Using these in addition to installing premium anti-malware programs and firewalls and hiring an online security expert will go a long way toward preventing cyber attacks and increasing your online security.

Brave: A New Dimension of Privacy-Focused Browsing and User-Driven Content Rewards

Somehow, privacy has become somewhat of a controversial concept in recent years.

Some people say if you have nothing to hide, then privacy should be of no concern to you. But can the issue be reduced to such a binary perspective?

As journalist Glenn Greenwald explains in the Ted Talk below, privacy is an important and fundamental right for everyone. He poses a simple question to those who proclaim that privacy concerns are only for the paranoid. 

He asks them for usernames and passwords to all of their email accounts.

Of course, no one ever agrees to this. And yet, many people have no problem with websites tracking their browsing habits with cookies, search engines logging their searches, email clients archiving their messages, and intelligence agencies collecting and storing almost every piece of virtual information available.

We won’t dive into the ethical, legal, or political implications of privacy concerns here. But we will discuss one piece of software putting browsing back into the hands of users via blockchain technology.

Brave is a browser unlike any other.

Browsing the web is a necessity for most everyone these days. You’re using a web browser right now to read this article. 

But what do you know about your browser and the company who created it?

Did you know your browser has a “fingerprint” that can be used to track you, regardless of your apparent IP address? 

Ever see ads for something you just searched for or clicked on? Thank the cookies stored in your browser for allowing companies to better target you with advertisements. This kind of browsing experience is broken, since ads become ubiquitous and ad revenue gets gobbled up by a small group of megalithic corporations. 

By contrast, Brave is “on a mission to fix the web.” Brave describes itself as:

“Much more than a browser, Brave is a new way of thinking about how the web works. Brave is open source and built by a team of privacy focused, performance oriented pioneers of the web.”

Brave has features no other browser to date has ever incorporated, including:

– Built-in TOR functionality (more on this below)

– One-click anti-tracking mechanism (shields)

– Reward system based on the Basic Attention Token (BAT)

In Brave, users can open a new tab with TOR (short for The Onion Router, TOR anonymizes web traffic by routing your requests through a series of servers located in different countries around the world).

Even without using TOR, Brave users still enjoy a degree of privacy that users of other browsers do not. 

“Shields up” means that you are protected from a variety of ad trackers and third-party fingerprinting attempts. Because this may break the functionality of some sites, you can “lower your shields” with a single click and turn off the privacy-enhancing features of the browser.

But wait, there’s a problem. 

If advertisers can’t track you in order to market their products and services, and websites can’t host those ads for affiliate revenue, how will any site remain profitable in this new internet? 

Creator Rewards: How it Works

If you’re not yet impressed, just wait. The coolest and most revolutionary feature of Brave is the built-in Basic Attention Token (BAT) wallet. This wallet enables users to send BAT to creators of sites they enjoy.

Do you own a website? Consider registering with Brave Rewards. Once you’re set-up, users who visit your site while using Brave can send you BAT if they like your content.

This system has been created in an attempt to overthrow the existing online revenue model of users having to tolerate advertisements so that websites can be profitable. Sacrificing privacy becomes a necessity in that model, as ad trackers embedded in your browser cache enable companies to target you with user-specific advertisements (not to mention even more intrusive tracking methods like browser fingerprinting). 

Because websites can be rewarded with BAT instead of having to rely on ad revenue, the entire paradigm changes. 

The Basic Attention Token is listed on major exchanges like Coinbase and Poloniex. Although getting website creators and internet users to participate in the BAT ecosystem is a core goal of Brave, using the built-in BAT wallet is optional. 

And as you might imagine, most sites have yet to register with Brave rewards. But don’t let that stop you from sending them BAT — the tokens will be stored in a wallet and waiting for them until they do decide to register.

Be Brave When Browsing: Download the App

You can download the Brave app on your phone and get Brave on your desktop to enjoy this new browsing experience. 

Personally, when it comes to browsers on mobile, I don’t use anything else anymore. Brave is so fast that it’s too painful to use anything else. And avoiding ads without even having to install a browser extension is quite convenient. 

Brave is slowly starting to integrate more browser extensions into its software as it matures, grows, and transforms. One day the browser may be even more user-friendly than its competitors.

At that point, Brave’s mission to “fix the web” will be almost complete.