What is Cryptocurrency and how to buy them?

The world is evolving rapidly and so is the mode of exchange. Each country has its own currency but when the trade is to be done across borders, then there is no common currency and so the transaction has to be leveraged upon Dollars which is again the currency of the US.

Digital technologies have virtually connected the world via the internet. Blockchain is one such technology through which decentralised digital currency or virtual currency has come into existence. These virtual currencies are nothing but timestamp-based cryptographic identities generated using a very distinct algorithm. These algorithms are very secure and keep detailed traces of each transaction within Blockchain ledgers. This has made economists and technology experts rely on virtual currencies generated by Blockchain technology. 

As these virtual currencies are generated digitally using cryptographic algorithms, they are also known as Cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency that came into existence in 2009. After its worldwide acceptance, various other virtual currencies were launched with little enhancement over bitcoin. Till the end of the year 2017, there were more than 100 such virtual currencies in existence out of which few popular ones are Ethereum,  Litecoin, Ripple, IOTA and BitcoinPower.

Each physical currency has an acronym: USD for dollar, EUR for euro, INR for rupees, etc. Similarly, an acronym is also specific for each virtual currency: BTC for bitcoin, ETH for ethereum, LTC for litecoin, XRP for ripple, etc.

Similar to the stock exchange available for the stock market, cryptocurrency exchange websites also exist. Through these cryptocurrency exchange, you can buy, sell or exchange cryptocurrencies with other digital currencies or traditional currency like the dollar or euro. Coinbase, Kraken and Bitstamp are the most popular cryptocurrency exchange websites where you can create an account and start trading.

Even though virtual currencies are not yet made legal by many countries, but multinational enterprises have started upgrading their applications to accept cryptocurrencies as a mode of exchange. World giants like the US, Japan and Canada have started using cryptocurrencies for long and other countries are also working on this digital revolution to amend their taxation policy.

India has not yet legalised cryptocurrency transactions as its impact on the economy is still being analysed by experts and economists. Its government has given a clear indication that they are amending their taxation policies to restrict unauthorised inflow/outflow of funds so that such transactions can be legalised.

Though it is not necessary to start doing transactions in cryptocurrencies on an immediate basis, it is better to keep the account ready to operate whenever the opportunity grows. Here is a list of few exchanges where cryptocurrencies can be bought in Indian rupees:

• Koinex
• Ethx
• Sragy
• BuyUCoin

These are two mobile apps that can also be kept handy:

• Zebpay
• UnoCoin

Open source, peer-to-peer, community-driven decentralised cryptocurrencies are also available that allow people to store and invest their wealth in a non-government-controlled currency, and even earn a substantial interest in investment. This means anyone holding such currencies in their wallet will receive interest on their balance for helping them maintain the security of the network.

Refer to this article on how to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple in India.

What is OpenID and how it works?

Many websites offer features that are only available to users who first log-in to the system. In a typical application, user identity is confirmed ("authenticated") upon entering the username and password for the account. This approach is straightforward and works, but there are drawbacks. Users are usually required to remember a username/password for every website they use, which can be problematic.

OpenID is an open standard that defines a way that web-based applications can authenticate users by delegating the responsibility of authentication to identity providers. With OpenID, users have a single identity that can be used on any OpenID-enabled application, and they only need to remember one password.
In this article, I describe the OpenID authentication system and show how a web application built with Ruby on Rails can use OpenID to authenticate its users.

How OpenID works?
OpenID relies on the HTTP protocol to exchange messages between users and "identity providers." Consider a user named Bob, whose identity provider is my OpenID (www.myopenid.com). Bob uses the Drupal content management system that happens to be an OpenID consumer. Here's the general workflow when Bob logs into his Drupal account through OpenID:

1. Arthur visits any OpenID-driven website.
2. Arthur enters his OpenID identity URI, "arthur-id.myopenid.com," in the login form and clicks a Submit button. That's his OpenID identity URI, which looks like a website address but identifies Bob and his identity provider.
3. Arthur's web browser is redirected to a web page served by myOpenID, where he is prompted for his password.
4. Arthur enters his OpenID password and clicks a Submit button.
5. myOpenID confirms Arthur's password, and his web browser is redirected to the website he opened with automated log-in.

Arthur entered his password only on the identity provider website, and never on the consumer website. The user's password is not shared with the consumer and only needs to be submitted once by users to the identity provider, preferably over a secure connection.

The following diagram best explains how OpenID works:

Benefits of using OpenID:

OpenID is an open standard that defines a way that web-based applications can authenticate users via a single identity. OpenID provides several benefits to users and developers. Users only need to remember one username (their identity URI) and password to access multiple applications. With a simple cookie and Remember Me checkbox, an OpenID identity provider can act as a convenient Single Sign-On (SSO) solution for someone who uses multiple OpenID consumers.

OpenID identity providers are responsible for the authentication of users It's nowadays common for web apps to offer OpenID support as an alternative to traditional authentication methods, but letting experts handle password security reduces the risk of accounts being compromised.

You will be glad to know that Google also provides OpenID. Use http://openid-provider.appspot.com to know your OpenID provided by Google.

Reference: Dr Dobb's

Online Image Editors

Have you come across the situation where you need to crop the GIF image without losing its animation? Here is the answer. Below sites can be used to crop the animated image online completely free:

• Image Editor 1
  
• Image Editor 2
• Image Editor 3

The following website can be used to create a logo on the fly:

• Online Logo Maker