• When you open an account with a bank or exchange, they create an account for you in their system.
• The bank keeps track of your personal information, account passwords, balances, transactions and ultimately your money.
• The bank charge fees to manage your account and provide services, like refunding transactions when your card gets stolen.
• The bank allows you to write a check or charge your debit card to send money, go online to check your balance, reset your password, and get a new debit card if you lose it.
• You have an account with the bank or exchange and they decide how much money you can send, where you can send it, and how long to hold on a suspicious deposit. All for a fee.

• When you create an account on MyEtherWallet you are generating a cryptographic set of numbers: your private key and your public key (address).
• The handling of your keys happens entirely on your computer, inside your browser.
• We never transmit, receive or store your private key, password, or other account information.
• We do not charge a transaction fee.
• You are simply using our interface to interact directly with the blockchain.
• If you send your public key (address) to someone, they can send you ETH or tokens. 👍
• If you send your private key to someone, they now have full control of your account. 👎

• The blockchain is like a huge, global, decentralized spreadsheet.
• It keeps track of who sent how many coins to whom, and what the balance of every account is.
• It is stored and maintained by thousands of people (miners) across the globe who have special computers.
• The blocks in the blockchain are made up of all the individual transactions sent from MyEtherWallet, MetaMask, Exodus, Mist, Geth, Parity, and everywhere else.
• When you see your balance on MyEtherWallet.com or view your transactions on etherscan.io, you are seeing data on the blockchain, not in our personal systems.
• Again: we are not a bank.

Because we need you to understand that we cannot...

• Access your account or send your funds for you X.
• Recover or change your private key.
• Recover or reset your password.
• Reverse, cancel, or refund transactions.
• Freeze accounts.

You and only you are responsible for your security.

• Be diligent to keep your private key and password safe. Your private key is sometimes called your mnemonic phrase, keystore file, UTC file, JSON file, wallet file.
• If you lose your private key or password, no one can recover it.
• If you enter your private key on a phishing website, you will have all your funds taken.

• Because that is the point of decentralization and the blockchain.
• You don't have to rely on your bank, government, or anyone else when you want to move your funds.
• You don't have to rely on the security of an exchange or bank to keep your funds safe.
• If you don't find these things valuable, ask yourself why you think the blockchain and cryptocurrencies are valuable. 😉
• If you don't like the sound of this, consider using Coinbase or Blockchain.info. They have more familiar accounts with usernames & passwords.
• If you are scared but want to use MEW, get a hardware wallet! These keep your keys secure.

• Install EAL or MetaMask or Cryptonite by Metacert or the MyEtherWallet Chrome Extension to block malicious websites.
• Always check the URL: https://www.myetherwallet.com.
• Always make sure the URL bar has MYETHERWALLET LLC [US] in green.
• Do not trust messages or links sent to you randomly via email, Slack, Reddit, Twitter, etc.
• Always navigate directly to a site before you enter information. Do not enter information after clicking a link from a message or email.
• Install an AdBlocker and do not click ads on your search engine (e.g. Google).

• If it is too good to be true, it probably is.
• Research before sending money to someone or some project. Look for information on a variety of websites and forums. Be wary.
• Ask questions when you don't understand something or it doesn't seem right.
• Don't let fear, FUD, or FOMO win over common sense. If something is very urgent, ask yourself "why?". It may be to create FOMO or prevent you from doing research.