Accordingly, to the SlowMist Hacked half of the year report, there were 187 security incidents in the first half of 2022, resulting in damages of US$1.976 billion. In their report, they identified that flaws in smart contracts caused the great majority of these security problems. SlowMist hasn’t released their full-year report yet, but accordingly to CoinTelegraph, the ten largest crypto hacks and exploits in 2022 represented more than $2.1 billion in assets stolen.

Knowing these flaws and security risks, checking your smart contract approvals and revoking access regularly makes sense. As this topic quickly gained traction and attention, we decided to provide Crypto Saving Expert readers with a quick tutorial on revoking Metamask approvals using etherscan.io.

Step 1

Go to your web browser and access etherscan.io. On the main page, go to the ‘More’ tab. After, check for tools and click on Token Approvals. Despite being marked as beta, the token approvals checker works fine.

Source: Etherscan

Step 2

After a new page opens, a blank space will exist where you need to insert your Ethereum wallet address.

Source: Etherscan

Step 3

A list with all active token permission will appear. A list for each ERC token will exist (20, 721 and 1155). Investors should check the license for all token variations.

Source: Etherscan

Step 4

Users must check the Approved Spender field, and this field will show who has access to your wallet. If you don’t recognise the protocol that has access to your wallet or the address doesn’t look legit, the best security practice would be revoking these permissions. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Source: Etherscan

Step 5

Investors will not be able to revoke permission immediately, however. Before revoking any access, investors must connect their wallet.

Source: Etherscan

Step 6

After clicking to connect your wallet, you can connect with Metamask, WalletConnect and Coinbase Wallet.

Source: Etherscan

Step 7

Once access is given, investors can revoke any permission. A standard wallet transaction will pop up on the right side of the screen, asking for the user’s authorisation before charging a small fee to revoke permission.

To Conclude

Revoking permissions is something that crypto investors should do with frequency, as approvals given to bad actors could result in the permanent loss of assets. We recommend that CSE readers create a routine of checking their wallet approvals at least once a month to have a good security routine.

(By Jordano M. Z.)