Now, let’s get back to MetaMask.

MetaMask (https://metamask.io/) is a browser extensions that lets you run dApps without being part of the Ethereum network as a Ethereum Node. Instead, it lets you connect to another Ethereum Node called INFURA (https://infura.io/) and run smart contracts on that Node. MetaMask manages your Ethereum wallet, which contains your Ethers (or money), and allows you to send and receive Ethers through a dApp of interest. It is a pretty neat tool.

How to install MetaMask.

MetaMask is a simple browser extension that can run on many browsers. To install, you first visit the following link above and install the browser extension with the cute 3D fox image. Once installed, you see a fox on the right top of your browser. Once you click on it, you can now accept their terms of use as seen below.

Now you can create a new Ethereum account to send and receive Ether and also to run dApps. After creating an account, you get a list of 12 words that can be used to retrieve your account when you forget your password. MAKE SURE to save this somewhere SAFE where no one can see.

Now you have your own Ethereum wallet! You can use the main network, which will use real Ethers that cost REAL money, or try some dApps out on test networks such as Ropsten Test Network.

Let’s select Ropsten Test Network and visit https://faucet.metamask.io/. This site will give you free Ether to use on the Ropsten Test Network. After clicking on request 1 free ether, you will find that your account now has 1 ether to use for any dApps! (Again, this is not real ether, think of it as monopoly money.)

Now you can use this to run dApps that exist online. You can search for Ropsten dApps for the latest list of dApps to test. Once you feel pretty comfortable with dApps, you can then start running dApps on the main Ethereum network. You should be VERY VERY careful that you are now spending real Ether. I will try to cover in a separate article some cool dApps that run on both types of network.

I hope you now have a brief understanding of what distributed web, blockchain, Ethereum, and dApps are and how you can play around with them using MetaMask. Feel free to explore the large space of dApps and have fun, but most importantly be safe and responsible!

(Please feel free to ping me for corrections, questions or general comments!)