Review on MetaMask by Helen Cheb

All transactions and all wallet balances are stored in the blockchain, and the owners of private keys have the right to access them. Metamask stores these keys in encrypted form on the user's device and allows them to dispose of cryptocurrency.



Transactions are signed and sent to the blockchain on the user's computer, and the wallet can be connected to decentralized applications.



How safe is Metamask

There are polar opinions about the security of the Metamask, but my opinion is that security depends more on the "digital hygiene" of the user, and not on the developers of the wallet. It is always necessary to take into account what software is used on the device, who is its developer and what accesses are open for this software. Also, do not forget about the applications themselves to which the Metamask is connected, some of them may request unlimited access to tokens stored on the wallet and in case of malicious intent or hacking of the application, all coins may be lost.



For additional security, Metamask can be used with hardware wallets, for example with Ledger, in this case Metamask acts as an external interface, and all the user's private keys are stored on the hardware wallet and transactions are signed there. Even if attackers gain access to the computer, the user's funds will be securely protected.



How to use Metamask

For setup and use, I have a detailed article-instructions can be viewed here, below I will describe the beginning of work in a thesis:



install the extension in the Chrome browser from the official website or Google store;

select "Create a new wallet";

we keep the LED phrase in a safe place;

the wallet is ready to use.

Attention! Always take a responsible approach to storing the LED phrase from your Metamask, with its help you will be able to restore your wallet if you lose access to the device.



All networks for the Metamask wallet

Metamask was originally developed for the Ethereum network and tokens that are issued in its standard – ERC-20, but it also supports operation in all networks that are compatible with the Ethereum Network Virtual Machine (EVM). That is, networks of different standards can be added to the Metamask, for example, the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) network, after adding this network, all tokens issued in the BEP-20 standard can be transferred to the wallet address.



Below I have compiled a list of networks that Metamask works with:



Ethereum Network (ERC-20) – available by default;

Binance Smart Chain (BSC) BEP-20 network – see installation instructions here;

Polygon network (MATIC) – see the instructions for adding it here;

the second-level Arbitrum network;

the second-level network of Optimism – see the instructions for adding it here;

Moonriver Project Network;

Avalanche network – instructions for adding here;

Harmony;

TomoChain.

This is not yet the whole list of available networks, if you have not found the right network – write in the comments, I will sort it out.



How to add tokens to Metamask

By default, the wallet has an Ethereum network and a wallet address in this network, but the wallet itself supports all tokens issued on the basis of this blockchain, and to receive any token in the ERC-20 standard, you need to use an Ethereum address.



In order for the sent tokens to be displayed in the Metamask, they need to be added to it, this is done once, after that the tokens will always be displayed. To add a token, you can use the address of its smart contract, but it is more reliable to add it through websites CoinMarketCap.com or CoinGecko.com



For example, I will add the USDT token in the Ethereum Main Net to the Metamask.



To do this, I go to the website CoinGecko.com , I'm looking for Tether (USDT) in the search and go to the token page.