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This is how Bitcoin works in the cryptocurrency world

In case you don’t know, Bitcoin is a type of decentralized network cryptocurrency. In this process, transactions are based on a 16-digit encrypted address. Simply put, it’s like your social security number. In terms of security, only you can transfer funds because you have an address that supports two-factor authentication. In fact, Bitcoin consists of a network of several independent computers that are responsible for generating, distributing and verifying monetary transactions. Let’s find out more.
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How do you buy Bitcoin?

If you want to buy bitcoins, make sure you have a wallet app installed on your computer. With this app you can send and receive as many bitcoins as you want.
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To purchase bitcoins, you must deposit funds into your web wallet, which acts as a bridge between sellers and buyers.

Once the exchange has accepted your currency, your next step is to place an order, which is similar to buying a stock.
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How does bitcoin work?

Bitcoin is essentially an international decentralized peer-to-peer network. Below is a description of how Bitcoin works.
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1. First of all, bitcoins are created by using computers to solve mathematical functions. And then there is the transaction verification process.

2. In the next step, traditional currencies are used to exchange Bitcoin. In fact, it works as a gateway to the world of cryptocurrency, especially for non-miners. You can say it is similar to buying stocks using a trading app.
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3. Whether you are an individual or a business, you can create wallets to send or receive bitcoins. If you used a PayPal account, you can easily use this type of wallet as well. The good thing about cryptocurrency is that it is based on a secure network. In addition, it makes all transactions completely secure.
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Can you mine bitcoins at home?

If you are interested in mining bitcoins at home, the description below can help you get started.

Cryptocurrency mining

Cryptocurrency mining is an approach that involves confirming cryptocurrency transactions and making entries in the blockchain ledger. If you want to authorize or mine cryptocurrency transactions, you need to compete with many other minors by performing complex calculations. This type of processing requires a lot of processing power.
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Once the transaction is done, the system will reward you with bitcoins or whatever currency you mine.

Can you use your laptop to mine bitcoins?

The good news is that you can use your laptop to mine bitcoins. However, the million dollar question is, can it make you enough money? Short answer: no. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Even though you can mine with a laptop, you won’t earn more than pennies, which isn’t worth it.
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In other words, you need an extremely powerful computer with multiple graphics cards to enjoy the highest mining speed.

So, if you are interested in mining or investing in bitcoins, you can follow the tips given in this article.

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Definition of Bitcoin

Bitcoin is known as the very first decentralized digital currency, basically coins that can be sent over the internet. 2009 was the year Bitcoin was born. The creator’s name is unknown, but this person was given the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
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Advantages of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin transactions are made directly from person to person over the Internet. There is no need for a bank or clearing house to act as an intermediary. Thanks to this, the commission for transactions is much lower, they can be used in all countries of the world. Bitcoin accounts cannot be frozen, there are no prerequisites for opening them, the same with limits. Every day more and more merchants are starting to accept them. You can buy anything you want from them.
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How Bitcoin Works.

You can exchange dollars, euros and other currencies for bitcoins. You can buy and sell as any other country’s currency. To keep your bitcoins, you have to store them in so-called wallets. These wallets reside on your computer, mobile device, or on third-party websites. Sending bitcoins is very easy. It’s as easy as sending an email. Bitcoins can be used to buy almost anything.
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Why Bitcoin?

Bitcoin can be used anonymously to buy all kinds of goods. International payments are extremely easy and very cheap. The reason for this is that Bitcoins are not actually tied to any country. They are not subject to any regulation. Small businesses love them because they don’t charge credit card fees. There are people who buy bitcoins only for investment purposes, expecting them to increase in value.
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Ways to buy bitcoins.

1) Buying on an exchange: People are allowed to buy and sell bitcoins on sites called bitcoin exchanges. They do this using their country’s currency or any other currency they have or like.

2) Transfers: People can simply send bitcoins to each other using their mobile phones, computers or online platforms. It’s the same as sending cash digitally.
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3) Mining: The network is protected by individuals called Miners. They are regularly rewarded for all new verified transactions. These transactions are fully verified and then recorded in a so-called public transparent ledger. These people compete to mine these bitcoins by using computer hardware to solve complex mathematical problems. Miners invest a lot of money in equipment. Nowadays there is something called cloud mining. Using cloud mining, miners simply invest money in third-party sites, these sites provide all the necessary infrastructure, reducing equipment costs and energy consumption.

Safekeeping and custody of bitcoins.

These bitcoins are stored in so-called digital wallets. These wallets exist in the cloud or on people’s computers. A wallet is something like a virtual bank account. These wallets allow people to send and receive bitcoins, pay for things, or simply store bitcoins. Unlike bank accounts, these Bitcoin wallets are never FDIC insured.

Types of wallets.

1) Cloud Wallet: The advantage of a cloud wallet is that people don’t need to install any software on their computers and wait for long synchronization processes. The downside is that the cloud can be hacked and people can lose their bitcoins. However, these sites are very safe.

2) Desktop Wallet: The advantage of a desktop wallet is that people keep their bitcoins safe from the rest of the internet. The downside is that people can delete them when they format their computer or because of viruses.

Bitcoin anonymity.

There is no need to provide a person’s real name when making a Bitcoin transaction. Each Bitcoin transaction is recorded in a public ledger. This log contains only wallet IDs, not people’s names. so basically every transaction is private. People can buy and sell things without tracking.

Bitcoin innovation.

Bitcoin has created a whole new way of innovation. All bitcoin software is open source, meaning anyone can view it. Today, Bitcoin is changing global finance just as the Internet has changed everything about publishing. The concept is brilliant. When everyone has access to the entire global bitcoin market, new ideas emerge. Lower transaction fees are a fact of Bitcoin. Accepting Bitcoin costs anything, and it’s also very easy to set up. Refunds do not exist. The Bitcoin community will create spin-offs of all kinds.

Trading on the Forex market (foreign exchange)

What is Forex trading?

Forex, also known as foreign exchange and foreign exchange market, is where currencies are traded. Currencies are important to people all over the world.

Currencies are necessary for exchange to conduct foreign trade business. It is the largest and most liquid market in the world. It dwarfs the various markets to the extent of even stock trading systems with normal exchange valuations around.

It is a global decentralized marketplace for exchanging monetary forms. This market defines distance trading. The main participants in this market are the larger universal banks. There is a wide range of different types of buyers and sellers in this market.

The Forex trading market is unique due to the following characteristics:

A huge volume of exchange, speaking of the largest class of resources on the planet, which causes high liquidity;. A continuous task, 24 hours a day, except at the end of the week;

• Geographic dispersion;

• Continuous work 24 hours a day, except for weekends;

• Variety of factors affecting exchange rates;

• Low rate of return compared to other markets;

• Using leverage to increase profit and loss margins.

The Forex trading market is called a haven of perfect competition.

With such a huge number of experts associated with Forex trading, there are several dangers associated with it that need to be considered.

One needs to be sure that their internet connection and computer are working smoothly at all times. We all know that things like this happen: servers go down and our computers freeze or shut down depending on the current activity. This may affect transactions, so be aware that something may happen during trading.

There are also risk-free accounts that allow you to practice without losing your own money.

Pluses.

The Forex trading market is always open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It doesn’t matter your time, location, internet connection and computer, you can log in anytime to rest me trade.

It’s scalable. With this feature, the trader can control and limit the risk depending on his account.

Leverage is one of the huge advantages of the Forex trading market, where brokers allow trading up to 2% of the total contract size compared to the stock market. It is possible to use a small account for trading large amounts, where the winnings can be quite large and only small capitals are needed to obtain them.

Data and software are provided free of charge; you don’t have to pay, all you have to do is log in to your broker’s website. Download the software, the charts will be displayed as soon as you log in.

There are no commissions; well, you pay costs for spreads that depend on how much you trade.

Coins.

As an individual, you face a lot of competition, especially from huge funds associated with money, with trained traders and large resources invested in programming and hardware.

There is no centralized exchange, unlike the stock exchange. A broker acts like an exchange, making it a market maker.

You have no idea about capital exposure and how to calculate leverage, then you will suffer big losses.

Good traders start trading with only 2% of initial capital and no more.

The Forex trading market moves differently throughout the day, there are only a few peak hours that are worth your time to trade.

Risk.

Margin trading also has a high level of risk that a smart trader should avoid. Always assess your capital and the amount of risk you are willing to take when trading.

Never enter a Forex trade with an amount you cannot afford to lose.

It is also your commitment to see all the dangers that accompany Forex trading before you go for your first trade.

Leverage is one of the biggest risks in Forex trading. It can bring big profits if you win but on the other hand huge losses if you lose.

Forex trading in Islam.

According to Islamic law, this question is difficult to answer unequivocally. Trading money under certain conditions is halal, according to an Islamic expert, but there are some questions under the right conditions.

This means that any transaction that involves an element of interest is completely prohibited according to Islam. Forex trading is not permitted in Islam and is defined very broadly. The Forex retailer mirrored the market by paying or charging the enthusiasm between the two parts of any money match whose position remains open in the medium term. It would seem that this is permissible as long as it (the exchange) takes place from hand to hand. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) meant the exchange of various types of goods. This will be done between the two parties, recognizing that it is a natural aspect of trade.

Most Forex professionals have responded to demonstrate the power and weight of Islamic dealers by creating an “Islamic Forex Broker” and offering “Muslim Forex Accounts” that operate without installments.

However, “regular” Forex trading offered by Forex brokers, with same-day interest payments or fees, can get rid of the fish obstacle.

Online trading requires online exchanges for crypto currency trading. Many online exchanges help by providing strong security, fast transactions and stability. Some of them are Binance, Changelly and recently introduced Nexchange. These platforms deal in the trading of various cryptocurrencies.

Effects of social networks

Social networks

Social media is a combination of online communication channels aimed at group-oriented input, communication, information sharing, and relationships. Different types of social networking apps and websites, blogs, forums, wikis, and social bookmarking form different types of social networks. The most common types are: Facebook, YouTube, Google+, WhatsApp, Twitter, QQ, WeChat, Qzone, OLX, Instagram, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Skype, Viber, Snapchat, Pinterest, MySpace, Meetme, Meetup, Mixi, Tout, Douban, Flickr, Buzznet, Wehearit and Friendster These social sites have about 100,000,000 registered users. Although there are different types of social networks, they share many common features, such as Consumers create service-oriented profiles for the website and applications that are planned and maintained by the association. User-generated content, such as digital images, messages, videos, comments, and data distributed through Internet interfaces. All types of social networks are interactive Internet programs that allow you to develop social networks on the Internet by linking user profiles with the profile of other individuals or groups.

Users usually connect to social networks through web tools on computers or download services from online applications on their mobile phones. Through these services, users can create highly collaborative platforms through which individuals, groups, and institutions can segment, co-create, discuss, and review user-generated data or pre-generated content displayed on the Internet. They bring about significant and pervasive changes in communication between professions, institutions, societies, and individuals. It has changed the communication between people and large institutions. Researchers study these changes and new technologies are introduced as a result of these changes. It differs from traditional print and electronic media in various aspects such as reach, customer, value, reach, emergence, engagement, usage, proximity and durability. Its channels operate in a dialog mode of transmission, while the old media used a monologue mode of transmission.

Facebook is widely used in all countries, with 84 percent of young Americans using it. Almost 60 percent of teenagers have social media profiles, most people spend at least two hours on social media sites every day, and the time spent on these sites exceeds the time spent on any other type of site. The total time spent on social networking sites in the US was 66 billion minutes in 2012, now it has reached 121 billion minutes. It became a source of professional prospects and financial gains.

Social media has many good and bad effects. It provides the opportunity to connect with real or virtual groups and is a real advertising tool for businesses, financiers, charities, as well as support groups, politicians and administrations. Its significant use has also been proven to cause grief, online cyberbullying, stalking and wandering.

We cannot define social networks by their ability to connect people, according to this description the telegraph and the telephone could be their types. In fact, social networks are commonly used to pronounce social networking sites such as: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, Instagram and Wechat allows you to use them to create private profiles to share ideas, images, videos, talk to each other and inform each other one about new things, events and happenings while performing daily tasks and routine work.

A feature of social networks is that content spreads like a virus

Sometimes content posted on social media sites can spread through social media like a virus. Users will share content posted by other users on their social network, resulting in further sharing. Reports such as the detonation of an atomic bomb in North Korea, breaking news such as the news of Michael Jackson’s death crashed the internet servers as the news spread rapidly and were shared by people using social media. This is the concept of the spread of a viral disease from one infected person to another. Some individuals, groups and organizations use this viral spread of news as an effective way of publicity.

Use of cellular applications

Using a mobile phone to access sites is a big factor in the popularity of these sites. Now using social networks is easier, private and cheaper than before, the smartphone has made the Internet very “convenient” to use by the younger generation. Young people now spend more time communicating on social networks than watching TV. Any type of website can be accessed easily using a smartphone, content can be added, shared, sent, received, voice and video calls with status updates can be made more easily without using desktops or laptops. The use of Wi-Fi technology allowed all members of the family to use the Internet connection. All family members can use internet sites according to their likes and dislikes, time flexibility and privacy. Mobile applications like WhatsApp, Skype are widely used for video calling, YouTube is used for watching videos, Facebook is used for sharing videos, images, texts and status updates by mobile users. Mobile social media refers to the use of media on mobile devices such as smartphones. Mobile applications enable the creation, sharing and distribution of user-generated content. Location and time sensitivity are important factors for accessing social media from mobile devices.

Business perspective

Location and time sensitivity have given mobile devices an advantage over desktop computers, offering companies the opportunity to expand their business through marketing and advertising. Mobile dishes can be used for investigations, communications, sales promotion or concessions, and partnership expansion programs.

Electronic trade

Social sites use companionship plans, creating milestones that are equally beneficial to users, industries, and networks through e-commerce or online consumption. Users post comments about a company’s product or service with their friends and associates online. A company earns profits because it gains awareness of how its product or service is perceived by customers. Apps like Amazon.com and Pinterest are influencing the trend of increasing acceptance and accessibility of e-commerce or online consumption.

How to Buy Bitcoin – Step One

The best way to learn about bitcoin, is to jump in and get a few in your “pocket” to get a feel for how they work.

Despite the hype about how difficult and dangerous it can be, getting bitcoins is a lot easier and safer than you might think. In a lot of ways, it is probably easier than opening an account at a traditional bank. And, given what has been happening in the banking system, it is probably safer too.

There are a few things to learn: getting and using a software wallet, learning how to send and receive money, learning how to buy bitcoin from a person or an exchange.

Preparation

Before getting started, you will need to get yourself a wallet. You can do this easily enough by registering with one of the exchanges which will host wallet for you. And, although I think you are going to want to have one or more exchange wallets eventually, you should start with one on your own computer both to get a better feel for bitcoin and because the exchanges are still experimental themselves. When we get to that stage of the discussion, I will be advising that you get in the habit of moving your money and coins off the exchanges or diversifying across exchanges to keep your money safe.

What is a wallet?

It is a way to store your bitcoins. Specifically, it is software that has been designed to store bitcoin. It can be run on your desktop computer, laptop, mobile device (except, as yet, Apple) and can also be made to store bitcoins on things like thumb drives. If you are concerned about being hacked, then that is a good option. Even the Winklevoss* twins, who have millions invested in bitcoin, put their investment on hard drives which they then put into a safety deposit box.

*The Winklevoss twins are the ones who originally had the idea for a social networking site that became Facebook. They hired Mark Zuckerberg who took their idea as his own and became immensely rich.

What do you need to know about having a bitcoin wallet on your computer?

Below you can download the original bitcoin wallet, or client, in Windows or Mac format. These are not just wallets, but are in fact part of the bitcoin network. They will receive, store, and send your bitcoins. You can create one or more addresses with a click (an address is a number that looks like this: 1LyFcQatbg4BvT9gGTz6VdqqHKpPn5QBuk). You will see a field where you can copy and paste a number like this from a person you want to send money to and off it will go directly into that person’s wallet. You can even create a QR code which will let someone take a picture with an app on their phone and send you some bitcoin. It is perfectly safe to give these out – the address and QR code are both for my donations page. Feel free to donate!

NOTE: This type of wallet acts both as a wallet for you and as part of the bitcoin system. The reason bitcoin works is that every transaction is broadcast and recorded as a number across the entire system (meaning that every transaction is confirmed and made irreversible by the network itself). Any computer with the right software can be part of that system, checking and supporting the network. This wallet serves as your personal wallet and also as a support for that system. Therefore, be aware that it will take up 8-9 gigabytes of your computer’s memory. After you install the wallet, it will take as much as a day for the wallet to sync with the network. This is normal, does not harm your computer, and makes the system as a whole more secure, so it’s a good idea.

Bitcoin Qt

  • The original wallet.
  • This is a full-featured wallet: create multiple addresses to receive bitcoins, send bitcoins easily, track transactions, and back up your wallet.
  • Outside of the time it takes to sync, this is a very easy to use option.
  • Search for Bitcoin Qt wallet download to find their site.

Armory

  • Runs on top of Bitcoi Qt, so it has all of the same syncing requirements.
  • Armory allows you to back up, encrypt, and the ability to store your bitcoins off line.
  • Search for Bitcoin Armory Wallet to find their site.

If you don’t want to have that much memory used or don’t want to wait for your wallet to sync, there are good wallets that do not make you sync the entire history of bitcocin:

Multibit

  • A lightweight wallet that syncs quickly. This is very good for new users.
  • Search for Bitcoin Multibit Wallet to find their site.

Electum

  • In addition to being quick and light, this wallet allows you to recover lost data using a passcode.
  • Search for Bitcoin Electum Wallet to find their site.

After you get the wallet set up, take a few minutes clicking around. Things to look for:

o There will be a page that shows you how many bitcoins are currently in your wallet. Keep in mind that bitcoins can be broken up into smaller pieces, so you may see a decimal with a lot of zeros after it. (Interesting note, 0.00000001 is one Satoshi, named after the pseudonymous creator of bitcoin).

o There will be an area showing what your recent transactions are.

o There will be an area where you can create an address and a QR code (like the one I have above). You don’t need the QR code if you don’t want it, but if you run a business and you want to accept bitcoin, then all you’ll need to do to accept payment is to show someone the QR code, let them take a picture of it, and they will be able to send you some money. You will also be able to create as many addresses as you like, so if you want to track where the money is coming from, you could have a separately labeled address from each one of your payees.

o There will be an area with a box for you to paste a code when you want to send money to someone or to yourself on an exchange or different wallet.

There will be other options and features, but to start out with, these are the items that you should know about.

Getting Your First Bitcoins

Now that you have a wallet, you will, of course, want to test them out.

The very first place to go is http://faucet.bitcoin.st/.

This is a website that gives out small amounts of bitcoin for the purpose of getting people used to using them. The original version of this was run by the lead developer of bitcoin, Gavin Andreson. That site has since closed and this site operates by sending out one or two advertisements a month. You agree to receive those messages by requesting the bitcoins. Copy and paste your new bitcoin address and enter a phone number to which you can receive an SMS. They send out an SMS to be sure that people are not continuously coming back for more since it costs nothing to create a bitcoin address. They will also send out once or twice a month advertisement to support their operation. The amount they send it trivial: 0.0015 BTC (or 1.5 mBTC). However, they process almost immediately and you can check to see that your address and wallet are working. It is also quite a feeling to get that portion of a bitcoin. (Non-disclaimer: I have no connection with this site and receive nothing if you use them. I simply think they are a good way to get your feet wet).

Congratulations! You have just entered the bitcoin economy.

To get your feet a little wetter, you can go panning for gold. There are a number of services and websites out there that will pay you in bitcoin to do things like go to certain websites, fill out online surveys, or watch sponsored videos. These are harmless, and you can earn a few extra bitcoins this way, but it is important to remember that these are businesses that get paid when people click on the links on their sites. They are essentially kicking back a portion of what they get paid to you. There is nothing illegal, or even immoral about this (you might like what you see and make a purchase!), but they are frequently flashy and may not be completely straightforward. All the ones that I have tried (particularly bitvisitor.com) have paid out as advertised. It is interesting to experiment with these, but even with the likely rise in the value of bitcoin, you won’t become a millionaire doing this. So, unless you are an advertisement junkie, I would recommend you move on. If you would like to try, simply Google “free bitcoins” or something along those lines and you will find numerous sites.

Buying Bitcoin Hand-to-Hand

Finally, this is going to be the real test of bitcoin. Can people easily trade them back and forth? If this can’t happen, then there can’t really be a bitcoin economy because retailers won’t be able to use it. If retailers can’t use it, what earthly good is it? Fortunately, this is not really a problem. iPhone is a bit of a hold out, but many smartphones have apps (mobile wallets) that will read QR codes and allow you to send bitcoin to whomever you want. You can also display a QR code of your address, or even carry a card in your wallet with your QR code to let people send bitcoin to you. Depending on what kind of wallet you have, you can then check to see if the bitcoins have been received.

A couple of things to note:

  • When you set up your wallet, if you click around a bit, you will see an option to pay a fee to speed transactions. This money becomes available to a bitcoin miner as he/she/they process bitcoin information. The miners doing the work of creating blocks of information keeps the system up to date and secure. The fee is an incentive to the miner to be sure to include your information in the next information block and therefore “verify” it. In the short term, miners are making most of their money by mining new coins (check the section on What Are Bitcoins for more information about this). In the long term, as it gets harder to find new coins, and as the economy increases, the fees will be an incentive for miners to keep creating more blocks and keep the economy going. Your wallet should be set to pay 0 fees as a default, but if you want, you can add a fee to prioritize your transactions. You are under no obligation to pay a fee, and many organizations that process many small transactions (like the ones that pan for gold described above) produce enough fees to keep the miners happy.
  • In clicking around your wallet, on the transactions page or linked to specific transactions, you will see a note about confirmations. When you make a transaction, that information is sent out into the network and the network will send back a confirmation that there is no double entry for that bitcoin. It is smart to wait until you get several confirmations before walking away from someone who has paid you. It is actually not very easy to scam someone hand-to-hand like this, and it is not very cost-effective for the criminal, but it can be done.

Where can you buy bitcoin like this?

  • You may have a bitcoin Meetup in your area.
  • You can check out localbitcoins.com to find people near you who are interested in buying or selling.
  • Some are trying to start up local street exchanges across the world. These are called Buttonwoods after the first street exchange established on Wall Street in 1792 under a buttonwood tree. See if there is one, or start one, in your area.
  • See if you have any friends who would like to try bitcoins out. Actually, the more people who start using bitcoin, the larger and more successful it will be come. So please tell two friends!

Some people ask if it is possible to buy physical bitcoins. The answer to this is both a yes and a no. Bitcoin, by its very nature, is a digital currency and has no physical form. However, there are a couple of ways that you can practically hold a bitcoin in your hands:

  • Cascascius Coins: These are the brainchild of Mike Caldwell. He mints physical coins and then embeds the private keys for the bitcoins inside them. You can get the private key by peeling a hologram from the coin which will then clearly show that the coin has been tampered with. Mike has gone out of his way to ensure that he can be trusted. These are a good investment strategy as in the years to come it may be that these coins are huge collector’s items.
  • Paper Wallets: A paper wallet just means that rather than keeping the information for your bitcoin stored in a digital wallet, you print the key information off along with a private key and keep it safe in a safe, in a drawer, or in your mattress (if you like). This is highly recommended and cost effective system for keeping your bitcoin safe. Keep in mind, though, that someone could steal them or if your house burns, they will go with the house and there will be no way to get them back. Really, no different than cash. Also, as with Casascius Coins, they will not really be good for spending until you put them back into the computer.

* There is software to make printing your paper wallets easier. bitcoinpaperwallet.com is one of the best and includes a good tutorial about how to use them.

* The bitcoins are not actually in the wallet, they are still on the web. In fact, the outside of the wallet will have a QR code that will allow you ship coins to the wallet any time you like.

* The sealed part of the wallet will have the private key without which you cannot access the coins. Therefore, only put as many coins on the wallet as you want to be inaccessible. You will not be able to whip this thing out and take out a few coins to buy a cup of coffee. Rather, think of it as a piggy bank. To get the money, you have to smash it. It is possible to take out smaller amounts, but at this point the security of the wallet is compromised and it would be easier for someone to steal the coins. Better to have them all in or out.

* People who use paper wallets are usually security conscious, and there are a number of ways for the nefarious in the world to hack your computer. Bitcoinpaperwallet.com gives a lot of good advice about how to print your wallets securely.

Some people have also asked about buying bitcoins on eBay. Yes, it is possible, but they will be far overpriced. So, selling on eBay might seem to be a better option given the extreme markup over market value you might see. But, as with anything that is too good to be true, this is too good to be true. As I will explain in the next section, selling bitcoin this way is just way too risky.

How Not to Buy Bitcoin

In the next section, I am going to explain a couple of key points about buying from Bitcoin Exchanges. Before I do, let me give you a warning.

A short history lesson: When people first started setting up actual business based on bitcoin, they used all of the tools available to any merchant. They sold by credit card and PayPal. The problem with this business model was quickly spotted: bitcoin transactions are not reversible by anyone except the recipient of the money. Credit cards and PayPal have strong buyer protection policies that make it relatively easy for people to request a chargeback. So, nefarious individuals realized this and began making purchases of bitcoin and then sooner or later requesting a chargeback. And, since bitcoin is a non-physical product, sent by new and poorly understood technological means, the sellers were not able to contest this. Because of this, sellers stopped accepting credit cards and PayPal.

This was a big problem for the currency: How to move money between buyers and seller? Some business emerged that would credit you with bitcoin if you wired them money. Very often these businesses would give addresses in Albania, Poland, or Russia. The fact is that many of these did work and there are a lot of stories on the forums of people who bought bitcoins this way. But it took a lot of time and in the meantime the buyer just had to bite his or her fingernails wondering if they would get their bitcoins or kiss their investment goodbye.

I expect that as bitcoin becomes more acceptable and valuable, we are going to see a version of the Nigerian Prince scam. So the warning is this: we now have exchanges and other businesses that allow for moving money easily onto and off of exchanges. Never wire money for bitcoin. It was a short-lived, and well-forgotten, moment in the history of bitcoin.

Next, I will be talking about how to buy from a bitcoin exchange and give a review of the some of the best known exchanges.

Forces and Trends in Business

The corporate environment is characterized by a number of variables: competition, dynamism, turbulence, complexity and change. All organizations must develop ability to continuously and consciously transform themselves and their contexts. Such contexts include restructuring for optimum effectiveness, reengineering key processes and streamlining functions that are able to provide a source of competitive advantage. The aim is to adapt, regenerate and most important, survive. (McLean, 2006).

For a company to thrive today, strategists must find ways to increase the organization’s ability to read and react to industry and market changes. They must know their goal to boost the company’s strategic flexibility by recognizing disruptions earlier and responding faster.

Strategic flexibility or adaptability can be defined as the organization’s capacity to identify major changes in its external environments, quickly commit resources to new courses of action in response to such changes, and to recognize and act promptly when it is time to halt or reverse existing resource commitments. Being adaptable means leaders must not get stuck in a too-rigid way of looking at the world. The organization must view change as an inevitable and essential part of an organization’s growth, in order to achieve this adaptability.

When there is uncertainty or unpredictability in the environment, managers tend to focus almost all their energy on successfully executing the current strategy. What they also should be doing is preparing for an unknown future. Flexibility stems from the ability to learn; managers tend to overlook the negative and emphasize the positive. They need to understand not only what led to the positive outcomes but also what led to the negative ones. This will optimize their learning experience. According to Ford (2004) four points to foster and maintain adaptability include challenging complacency, giving all employees a voice, encouraging participative work and driving fear out of your group.

The companies chosen for this task vary by industry: a famous automobile manufacturer (Ford) a bank going through a merger (Compass) and a start-up software company (DawningStreams). Ford and Compass have been in business for a long time; it is likely they have changed their strategic plan based on changing forces and trends. DawningStreams is new (established in 2005 and incorporated in 2007). Even though they have not had their first sale and have no staff, the owners have devised several iterations of their strategy.

There is a diversity of stakeholders all that are interested in the activity of business organizations. Emphasis must be placed on their adaptability in strategic analysis and their adaptability in strategic management of business organizations. The organization must have a strategic management model.

Each company might scan the same areas, but for different reasons. Considering technological advances, Ford would prepare itself to lead the market by having various electronic equipment in their vehicles, as well as robotic equipment with which to build them and the supply chain technology to keep all in check. Compass Bank is going through a merge and expanding globally; therefore they will need to keep abreast of communication technology. DawningStreams is a software company; they will need to monitor those companies who would be their competition to ensure their product offers better functionality. All three companies would make sure potential customers would be able to get good information from internet websites and advertisement, which encompasses yet another area of technology the organizations may need/want to scan. In this instance, many members of the organization must be enrolled: upper management and finance, who will determine budgetary factors; the IT department, who will be responsible for the implementation and maintenance of some of the technology; the staff who must be trained to use the technology; a sales force who will sell the technology.

To the outside observer, it may seem unnecessary for any but Ford to scan the (actual) environment when it comes to issues such as emission control, fuel efficiency and hybrid cars. That is true however; Compass Bank and DawningStreams can plan a strategy to be friendlier to the environment (and their pocketbooks) by practicing paper reduction (through the aforementioned technology). Lastly, DawningStreams’ product may be useful as a file sharing service to environmental groups.

With regard to the legal environment, all three must be acutely aware of laws, which affect their respective industry among others. To Ford, legal applies, among other areas, to environmental protection laws and department of transportation safety laws. To Compass Bank, they would abide by the rules of the Federal Reserve (www.federalreserve.gov) and the Federal Insurance and Deposit Corporation (www.fdic.gov). DawningStreams must follow laws as they pertain to the transfer of files, which have intellectual property and also the export of products, which have algorithms. All three companies are global and will need to monitor those laws in other countries, which could effect the strategic planning.

At one company after another–from Sears to IBM to Hewlett-Packard to Searle, strategy is again a major focus in the quest for higher revenues and profits. With help from a new generation of business strategists, companies are pursuing novel ways to hatch new products, expand existing businesses, and create the markets of tomorrow. Some companies are even recreating full-fledged strategic-planning groups. United Parcel Service expects to spin out a new strategy group from its marketing department, where strategic plans are now hatched. Explains Chairman Kent C. Nelson: “Because we’re making bigger bets on investments in technology, we can’t afford to spend a whole lot of money in one direction and then find out five years later it was the wrong direction.”

In such a world we need a planning model that allows us to anticipate the future and to use this anticipation in conjunction with an analysis of our organization–its culture, mission, strengths and weaknesses–to define strategic issues, to chart our direction by developing strategic vision and plans, to define how we will implement these plans and to specify how we will evaluate how well we are implementing these plans. The fact that the world is changing as we move forward in the future demands that the process be an iterative one.

Ford Motor Company – Socio-cultural

Ford Motor Company embraces the socio-cultural changes taking place to allow the company to move in the right direction with respect to attitudes in the society. Two areas that stand out in terms of socio-cultural attitudes would be that of fuel economy and smaller cars. The growing concern by the public for better fuel economy has influenced the company’s introduction of the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid. The organization is committed to the hybrid to improve fuel economy as a global strategy to meet customer demands. The increased demand in society for such environmentalism has assisted in the decision for Ford Motor Company to look forward to adding the hybrid feature to the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan and continue in such a strategic planning direction.

The customers that use these vehicles get a substantial break on their insurance in many states and a tax credit as well while enjoying the increased mileage of a vehicle that runs on gasoline and capabilities for 100 percent electric power. The environmental scanning by Ford Motor Company has allowed the company to be knowledgeable of the fact that the people in the United States are buying more small cars today than any other type of vehicle segment. The lifestyles changes have been monitored and there is good data that shows that such a trend will continue in this direction and the expected growth in this segment will continue. The company has redesigned the inside and outside of the Ford Focus to set the car apart from the competitors in the small car segment while increasing upgrades and features to experience positive outcomes. The direction that the company is taking is based on a competitive advantage and being a leader in the industry. The vehicle line has both a sedan and a coupe to attract targeted markets including younger buyers at an entry level to build upon brand loyalty and customer retention. Ford Motor Company will continue to use the socio-cultural factors to drive the business and enjoy future success.

Ford Motor Company – Legal –

Ford Motor Company with regard to the Environmental Protection Agency adheres to the legal aspect of environmental scanning. Ford Motor Company accepted an award in March 2007 from the Environmental Protection Agency called the Energy Star 2007 Partner of the Year Award in Energy Management. The company is the first automaker to have ever been awarded the award two years in a row. The award has come to be presented due to the commitment made by the company to increase energy efficiency and to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from all of the facilities in the company.

The organization is committed to the responsible use of resources and energy efficiency. The leadership realizes that the environmental protection laws are of great importance and use the environmental scanning to move in the right direction to obtain future success in the company. In 2006 alone the company has improved the energy efficiency in the United States operations by five percent and saving approximately $25 million with enough energy saved to equal 220,000 homes. The effective energy management protects the environment and reduces the greenhouse emissions. Some of the actions taken by the company include replacing lighting fixtures that use 40 percent less energy and using different low-energy, long-lasting compact fluorescent lamps in the properties to include the plants, corporate offices, distribution centers, and research and development campuses. Due to the environmental scanning that takes place at Ford Motor Company the company will use the information that is collected and continue in this direction. New projects for the company include Fumes-to-Fuel that is a system that converts paint fumes into electricity that is being performed with Detroit Edison along with attempting to consolidate the application of primer, base and clearcoat paint applications into a single application to eliminate the need for separate applications and ovens. In addition to the paint booth emissions Ford Motor Company will continue to rely on alternative energy sources such as landfill gas and wind and solar technologies to power their manufacturing facilities.

Ford Motor Company – Technology –

Another environmental scanning tool that Ford Motor Company monitors and uses would be the technological portion. The company has invested $1 billion in the latest technology for flexible manufacturing. The technology that is involved is in many forms to include wireless technology that is installed on the delivery trucks with supplies to the plant as a monitoring status and improved efficiency to reduce inventory. The flexibility of products in the same plant allows the organization to use the same machinery and process for all areas from body assembly, paint facility, and final assembly. The improved efficiency at the manufacturing facility allows for several vehicle platforms to be built on the same line to produce multiple models and quickly change the vehicle mix, the volume, and options based on customer demand.

The technological changes that are being embraced by Ford Motor Company through environmental scanning enables the company to experience huge cost savings through new product launches and 50 percent reductions in cycle changeovers along with waste reduction. Robots are among the technological changes that are being experienced within the organization to include the 400 from the project that are used to weld and assemble the metal body of the vehicle for stamping and assembly. Artificial intelligence in the form of advanced visions systems and laser tracking systems are used to ensure quality through accuracy and dimension abilities. A multi-million dollar training facility is used to ensure that the workforce has the knowledge, skills, and ability to reap the benefits from the new technology that is being used by the company. The training that is administered includes the new servo-electric weld gun system that identifies the perfect center for welding that has replaced the older and loud air-powered system that used a less sophisticated spring system. The environmental scanning of technology that is performed by Ford Motor Company has allowed the company to have positive outcomes in efficiency while remaining a competitive company in the industry through cost savings and continuous improvement.

Compass Bank- Political –

On February 16, 2007, Compass Bancshares, Inc., the parent company of Compass Bank, announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE: BBV Madrid: BBVA) (“BBVA”) will acquire Compass for a combination of cash and stock. Compass will become a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of BBVA and will continue to operate under the Compass name. The transaction is expected to close during the second half of 2007, pending customary closing conditions, including necessary bank regulatory approvals in the U.S. and Spain and the approval of the stockholders of both Compass and BBVA.

BBVA, which operates in 35 countries, is based in Spain and has substantial banking interests in the Americas. The transaction will facilitate BBVA’s continued growth in Texas and will create the largest regional bank across the Sunbelt. Upon completion of the transaction, Compass will rank among the top 25 banks in the United States with approximately $47 billion in total assets, $32 billion in total loans and $33 billion in total deposits. In addition, the combined company will rank fourth in deposit market share in Texas with $19.6 billion in total deposits and 326 full-service banking offices.

Compass is a $34 billion Southwestern financial holding company that operates 415 full-service banking centers in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico and Texas. Compass provides a broad array of products and services through three primary lines of business – Corporate Banking, Retail Banking and Wealth Management. Compass is among the top 30 U.S. bank holding companies by asset size and ranks among the top earners of its size based on return on equity.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, which has been approved by the board of directors of Compass and the relevant bodies of BBVA, Compass will become a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA. After closing, BBVA intends to merge its U.S. based banking affiliates – including the former operations of Texas Regional Bancshares, State National Bancshares and Laredo National Bancshares – with Compass.

The aggregate consideration is composed of a fixed number of approximately 196 million shares of BBVA common stock and approximately $4.6 billion in cash. The merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including necessary bank regulatory approvals in the U.S. and Spain and the approval of the stockholders of both Compass and BBVA. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2007.

The merger between both companies will be determined by the political factors ranging from implications of laws and regulations to the state of world politics including the consideration of wars which may be going on in different parts of the world. New laws, regulations, tax programs and public policy create forces and trends, which may provide challenges and barriers or opportunities for any company or organization.

Compass Bank – Technology –

Ford is in the process of implementing a laser marking system on its production line to ensure the highest standard on each transmission assembled. The system will be checking for quality on different points on the assembly line. Ford is teaming up with a company called MECCO to implement this process and a trial run of the new system will last for 3 months. MECCO is a leader in its industry when it comes to laser technology. The decision to implement this new laser marking system came because it is more cost- effective and safer than previous ways of marking checkpoints for quality.

Although this process at Ford has not officially been implemented yet, Compass Bank can learn a few different things. It may be a good idea for Compass Bank to do a short trial of online cell phone banking to see how popular it becomes and if it worth all the time and effort, being spent to get it launched. Compass Bank should also consider investing into a company who is the best at what they do, is in the same time zone, and can meet their demands in a timely manner, not simply because they may be cheaper. Finally, Compass Bank can learn that they need to consider what will be most cost-effective and in the best interest of the company over time. Organizing a time line and a list of costs and potential risks would also be beneficial to Compass Bank so they know what to expect and when with the implementation of online cell phone banking.

When completing the global scan one looks for emerging new technologies which may impact any business in any industry. At one time the emergence of the Internet was a technology that was becoming an emerging trend across all industries. Today very new technologies are used to develop information systems at a fraction of the cost and time of processes that were used five years ago. Wireless is a telecommunications technology that may have moved from a trend to a force in revolutionizing the way information is stored, accessed and used across all industries around the world. Some, if leveraged by a company within an industry before competitors use it, may even provide a competitive advantage.

Compass Bank – Competition –

Although mergers may be costly and rather difficult, the value it creates in the end is the desired outcome companies seek. The eagerness to merge is based on several beliefs, those beliefs are, that the performance gains are greater, expenses are reduced, market power is increased, and shareholder’s wealth is also greater than before. The value of a merger is enhanced when the overall benefit is more valuable than the aggregate of two separate pre-merger companies.

In the end, both John and Bernard should consider this before finalizing a decision. When Zion’s purchased Stockmans, there overall value increased by 43 branches. These branches will help performance and brings much more power to the financial market. In the Journal of Money article, Pilloff states “Companies are more willing to acquire others to avoid being acquired themselves.” Keeping this in mind, companies must figure out a cross border strategy.

As part of the broad environmental scan, it is important to identify the internal capabilities of the organization. There are various models for defining capabilities. Most focus on the broad set of intangible assets such as brand, human capital, organizational capital and even relationship capital. Others include the more concrete assets such as available capital, the organization structure, current technologies and information technology infrastructure. In addition to doing a broad environmental trend, Compass Bank needs to do a more detailed capability assessment using any of the models available.

DawningStreams – Competitors –

Business activities are becoming more and more complex to manage, because of distance, time zones, number of parties involved in projects, number of tasks to achieve, multiple prioritizations, lack of general synchronization, insufficient secure and confidential communication channels and growing complexity of IT infrastructures. The use of task list managers has become very common. It is becoming more difficult to keep teams synchronized, to follow and to implement new business processes and to exchange sensitive information confidentially. The DawningStreams software application is aiming at increasing the practicality of daily executive activities. The types of business, which will most probably be interested in our product, are construction (size of network), consulting (need for synchronization), pharmaceutical research (secure exchange of information) and the software industry (complexity of manufacturing).

Many companies have already developed software applications that enable secured communications and file sharing. However, most, if not all, are relying on Microsoft technologies, which prevent them from expanding to Mac or Unix users. DawningStreams is developed in Java, which can be used on any platform, including Mac and Unix. Microsoft has acquired the Groove Company and has released a new version of the product, which can perform many of the functionalities of DawningStreams, but not generic activities (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/groove/default.aspx). This is our closest competitor by far. More recently, we found, merely by accident, a company called Shinkuro (www.shinkuro.com), which offers the file sharing aspects of DawningStreams but lacks other capacities.

Although DawningStreams will face competition from many existing players, the fact that it will combine a super-set of functionalities in one application, for a very reasonable price, will give it some leading edge over other competitors. If the US patent is granted, the position of DawningStreams will become a niche. Even if the patent were not granted, it would take a profound architectural redesign of Groove (or other competitors) to include generic activities and match the offer of DawningStreams. As a strategy we will monitor the activities of those companies’ websites and understand what they offer in terms of similar functionality and try to ensure we match or best those functionalities to the best of our ability and resources

DawningStreams – Political –

Maintaining the secrecy of information is the fundamental function of encryption items. Persons abroad may use such items to harm US law enforcement efforts, as well as US foreign policy and national security interests. The US Government has a critical interest in ensuring that persons opposed to the United States are not able to conceal hostile or criminal activities, and that the legitimate needs for protecting important and sensitive information of the public and private sectors are met. Since 2000, US encryption export policy has been directed by three fundamental practices: technical review of encryption products prior to sale, streamlined post-export reporting, and license reviews of proposed transactions involving strong encryption to certain foreign government end-users and countries of concern. US encryption policy also seeks to ensure that American companies are not disadvantaged by the European Union’s “license-free zone.” (Bureau of Industry and Security, 2007).

DawningStreams will contain cryptographic functions. Any reliable and efficient cryptographic system requires a central authority to avoid identity theft. Cryptography is a key functionality of DawningStreams. All specialists insist on designing systems using well-studied algorithms and fully tested protocols; novelty is considered a source of risk. The cryptographic layer of DawningStreams will rely on a dual public-private key system. The private key encryption system will implement Rijndael, the Advanced Encryption Standard (http://csrc.nist.gov/CryptoToolkit/aes/rijndael/), the public key system will implement RSA (www.rsa.com) and the hashing function will implement the 256 bits version of the Secure Hash Algorithm (http://secure-hash-algorithm-md5-sha-1.co.uk/ ).

Encryption products can be used to conceal the communications of terrorists, drug smugglers, and others intent on harming U.S. interests. Cryptographic products and software also have military and intelligence applications that, in the hands of hostile nations, could pose a threat to U.S. national security. The national security, foreign policy, and law enforcement interests of the United States are protected by encryption export controls. These controls are consistent with Executive Order (E.O.) 13026, which was issued on November 15, 1996, and the Presidential Memorandum of the same date. (Bureau of Industry and Security, 2007).

DawningStreams also plans to be an international company, as offices now exist in the Netherlands and the US. As part of the strategy, we will ensure we remain compliant by registering our product with any necessary agency and allowing those agencies access to the processes if they feel there is a threat. We will be responsible to monitor (as best as we can) our client base and to put the proper verbiage in our contracts that illegal activities will not be tolerated. We will continue to monitor the BIS site mentioned in previous paragraphs and also sites in the European Union such as the Crypto Law website of legal expert Bert-Jaap Koops (http://rechten.uvt.nl/koops/)

DawningStreams – Technology/Intellectual Property –

The management of organizational strategy requires a comprehensive assessment of the macro environment of the business. Intellectual Property (IP) refers to the original ideas and innovations evolved by an organization in order to haul up its systems and processes. Creation of ideas requires large investments. This necessitates the protection of IP. Benchmarking is the continuous process of measuring products, processes, and systems of an organization against those that are rated best in the industry. It helps in uncovering weaknesses and flaws in the organizational systems, processes, and products. (Watson, 2003)

The study of the global research conducted by McAfee Inc. and MessageLabs Ltd. on security threat in small businesses in the U.S. reveals that 80 percent of small-and-medium-sized businesses (SMB) believe that an information technology (IT) security failure would be damaging in attaining their business priorities. Yet, only few are courageously making steps to fight against infringements due to resource limitations from other business related priorities. The research implies that company size plays an essential part in the way senior management views security. Among the challenges that SMBs face include keeping up-to-date with security solutions and keeping costs low. Small-to-medium businesses’ behavior towards security is very tactical and meets only immediate requirements. (unknown, 2007)

DawningStreams’ relevance to these forces is two-fold. We are a software company—there is an opportunity for us to lose the intellectual property by those who would download and attempt to modify the code. We have competitors who offer functionality similar to ours, however we offer an additional functionality the others do not. It is this ‘specialty functionality’ for which we applied for a patent the United States Patent and Trademark Office. If the patent is granted, there is less likelihood of software piracy or the loss of our IP. Environmental scans should show us if there are other companies trying to do this.

The functionality, which most resembles our competitors’, is the ability to share files. That brings in a different concern with intellectual property- the possibility someone else’s IP could be sent from one of our users to another, as this could seriously damage our reputation, as what happened with Napster. (www.napster.com).

Conclusion

At one company after another–from Sears to IBM to Hewlett-Packard to Searle, strategy is again a major focus in the quest for higher revenues and profits. With help from a new generation of business strategists, companies are pursuing novel ways to hatch new products, expand existing businesses, and create the markets of tomorrow. Some companies are even recreating full-fledged strategic-planning groups. United Parcel Service expects to spin out a new strategy group from its marketing department, where strategic plans are now hatched. Explains Chairman Kent C. Nelson: “Because we’re making bigger bets on investments in technology, we can’t afford to spend a whole lot of money in one direction and then find out five years later it was the wrong direction.”

In such a world we need a planning model that allows us to anticipate the future and to use this anticipation in conjunction with an analysis of our organization–its culture, mission, strengths and weaknesses–to define strategic issues, to chart our direction by developing strategic vision and plans, to define how we will implement these plans and to specify how we will evaluate how well we are implementing these plans. The fact that the world is changing as we move forward in the future demands that the process be an iterative one.

References

Bilek, E. (n.d.) Compass Bankshares to be Acquired by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A.,

Investor Relations. Retrieved from the Internet on March 31, 2007 at

http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/77/77589/bbvarelease.pdf

Cole, Jim. Zions makes small deal, cites growing Arizona market. American Banker, 171(175), 1-1. Retrieved March 31, 2007 from Proquest Database.

Ford Motor Company (2006). Ford Motor Company. Retrieved March 2007,

from the World Wide Web, Web Site: [https://ford.com]

Ford, S. (2004) Adapted from 13 Skills Managers Need to Succeed, Harvard Business School

Press. Retrieved March 31, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

Hockenberry, Todd. (2006). Ford implements advanced laser marking. Industrial Laser Solutions, 21(4), 6-7. Retrieved March 31, 2007, from EBSCOhost database

Jacobs, P. (2005) Five Steps to Thriving in times of Uncertainty. Negotiation (p.3) Retrieved

April 1, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

McLean, J. (2006) We’re going through changes! British Journal of Administrative Management

54. Retrieved March 30, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

Pearce, J. & Robinson, R, (2004). Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. The McGraw-Hill Companies. Retrieved March 2007, from the University of Phoenix, Resource, MBA 580-Strategies for Competitive Advantage Course Web Site: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp

Author Unknown, Strategic Planning, After a decade of gritty downsizing, Big Thinkers are back in corporate vogue. (2006) Retrieved from the Internet at http://www.businessweek.com/1996/35/b34901.htm

Unknown (2007) 80% of Small-to-Medium Sized Firms Fear a Security Threat. Computer Security Update 8 (4). Retrieved March 30, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

Unknown (2006) Strategic Planning, After a decade of gritty downsizing, Big Thinkers are back

in corporate vogue. Retrieved from the Internet at

http://www.businessweek.com/1996/35/b34901.htm

US Department of Commerce (2007), Encryption (ch.10, section 742.15). Retrieved March 27, 2007 from the Bureau of Industry and Security Website at http://www.bis.doc.gov/news/2007/foreignpolicyreport/fprchap10_encryption.html

Watson, G. (2003) Business Environmental Scans for Intellectual Property Strategy (PowerPoint Presentation). Retrieved March 28, 2007 from the Oklahoma State University website at http://www.okstate.edu/ceat/msetm/courses/etm5111/CourseMaterials/ETM5111Session3Part2.ppt#260,1,Business Environmental Scans for Intellectual Property Strategy

The Most Dangerous Threat to Your Staff and Business Survival

Being involved with technology solutions professionals see things that could be a real threat to you, your staff or even your business; while the internet can be seen as a wonderful tool (cloud based communications and solutions for example) and all of the other great achievements that the internet has created there is a far darker side to it all; of that there is no doubt and it can be a real threat.

And factually you have in your business nowhere to run or nowhere to hide; sooner or later it becomes a high odd’s bet that employee, you or your company will suffer and in severe cases the effects could even close your company overnight.

Don’t believe this? Read on where examples of actual major threats are shown below. Not worried? You should be!

It’s so dangerous that Deloitte opened a cyber threat hunting service!

But on an everyday level to ordinary SME’s just like your business there really is no amount of anti virus this or anti malware that available that is really going to help; the examples below show you exactly why; things these days have moved on exponentially to levels that you may not believe, but some are revealed that are actual examples highlighting just how bad these threats have become. There will be casualties no doubt but you don’t want to be one of them!

Email has been a driving force that has moved forward communications between every aspect of business that anyone could imagine, from sales, customers, support, management, publicity and many more important areas; but it’s obvious that the underlying technology of email servers are flawed and because it’s now a worldwide transport for communications that’s hard to fix; these communications channels have to be compatible with every other email server in the world and that creates massive inherent vulnerabilities.

In almost every town, city or country, government bodies are working towards combating fraud and other nasty things from many areas, but email is one of the most widely abused platforms there is because of the ease of abuse by non-experts. And if you’re not an expert it does not take long to learn how to be one!

One organisation in the UK is Action Fraud operated by the police and while they handle other areas of fraud, email scams are very high on their list.

But here’s where things start to get nasty. Since the advent of cryptocurrency worldwide fraud has increased exponentially. And in the USA SEC Rejects Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund because they are very concerned about investor losses in Bitcoin.

However, this article is specific; Bitcoin is being used fraudulently and in both of the cases shown below Bitcoin is clearly involved in the transportation of monies to the perpetrators of these illegal demands on you, your staff or even your business. It’s no joke and anyone ignoring these really bad potential harms to their organisation will sooner or later come unstuck in maybe a really big way. The results could be catostrophic.

The first example shown below included personal details of the recipient that have been removed for security reasons. But this email (that passed every check through a company’s infrastructure) is threatening the life of an employee and should never be ignored.

Note that bitcoin and email addresses are edited for security purposes throughout this article.

HERE IS EXAMPLE ONE VERBATIM:

“From: kristin*********

Sent: ******

To: *********

Subject: How to save themself

Read this warn carefully, since it can be the last in your life.

People are by nature envious. Given the fact of successful development of your business, people (your contestant ) paid me 30,000 Pound Sterling for your head on a stick.

It’s not the first time I’ve done this kind of work, but I’m already tired of these envious bastards and your life will be the last one I’ll take or will not do, it’s up to you.

Under normal circumstances, I would just do the work for which I was paid without going into the details, but I’m going to get away from it and go on a long-awaited vacation.

You have 2 versions for deciding this problem.

Adopt my proposal or refuse.

You pay me 5 thousand GBP for safe your life and you receive all the information about the customer with whom you apply to the police and thus you save your life and the lives of your relatives.

The second option is you ignore my proposal and turn to the police, but by the same token you will only postpone your judgment day, even if I can not do the work, then somebody else will do it, not within a week and say in a month or half a year, but order for your head will be fulfilled sooner or later.

Thus, you will be afraid of every rustle, walk around looking and thinking that you are being persecuted.

If you want such a life, your choice, but if I were you, I would think very well.

Tickets to England have been taken for July **, and you have exactly 3 days to transfer money to an anonymous account bitcoin 1QJNjRmon3iD3RwdjaGomFLHs25B******.

I can check the last time receipt of money before the flight to you, on the **th

In the event of receiving a reward, I will not come to take your life, but will also pass all the information about your customer (Let the bastards get what they deserve) and you can protect yourself, otherwise you know the consequences.

The well-being of the future life depends on your choice.

Think about your life, you family.

on all will of Allah”

END OF EMAIL MESSAGE ONE

The above email is unedited except for recipients details and Bitcoin account numbers. It can be clearly seen in this email that there is a threat on the life of the recipient. While some recipients would simply brush this type of email off, others become extremely concerned; it’s easy to see exactly why. Indeed some recipients will go and pay the demanded money and not think twice. Imagine that a key employee received this email and they completely believed its contents? The resultant downfall of the employee could be extreme. This email threatens the recipients life and mentions their family etc.

Notice that the spelling is incorrect for English on this example (undisclosed but its in the content) and somehow the writer suggests that the email is the ‘will of Allah’. Probably not. But the user identified the recipient was in ‘England’ likely from the email address so the recipient could believe some of the contents.

The above email passed numerous checks throughout the receiving companies infrastructure. Now it’s easy to see if you are tech savvy, but most email users are not. And if you’re a small SME then things could happen that could literally create very serious effects on your business even though the email targeted an employee. But if you’re not tech savvy and a company owner, would you believe the above? and send money? Many will have and that ‘feeds’ the criminals for millions of pounds or in this case $US.

Bitcoin in the above example is used because Bitcoin CANNOT be traced to the ultimate recipient of the payment. This is a major flaw in crypto currency and one reason (irrespective of some suggesting it’s an easy way to make money) you really should have nothing to do with it. Criminals use Bitcoin all the time.

As suggested, you just might not believe the above email if you received it, but there is no doubt that you might well believe the next example because it has information in it that is only known by you!

HERE IS EXAMPLE TWO VERBATIM:

From: “Gloriana Feany”

To: *********************

Date: *********

Subject: (HERE WAS THE USERS NAME AND THEIR PASSWORD)

I know ****** is your password. Lets get right to the purpose. You may not know me and you are most likely thinking why you are getting this email? Nobody has paid me to check you.

actually, I actually setup a malware on the X videos (porn material) web site and you know what, you visited this site to have fun (you know what I mean). While you were viewing videos, your web browser initiated operating as a RDP that has a key logger which gave me access to your display and webcam. Immediately after that, my software program gathered every one of your contacts from your Messenger, social networks, and emailaccount. And then I created a video. First part displays the video you were watching (you’ve got a fine taste hehe), and 2nd part displays the recording of your web camera, yea it is u.

There are two different possibilities. Let us take a look at each one of these options in details:

1st alternative is to skip this message. In this case, I most certainly will send your very own video clip to all your your contacts and visualize concerning the humiliation you will see. Moreover if you happen to be in a committed relationship, how it will affect?

Next choice should be to give me $3000. We are going to call it a donation. In this scenario, I most certainly will quickly remove your videotape. You will continue your way of life like this never took place and you will never hear back again from me.

You will make the payment through Bitcoin (if you do not know this, search for “how to buy bitcoin” in Google search engine).

BTC Address: 18PvdmxemjDkNxHF3p3Fu9wkaAZ********

[CASE sensitive, copy & paste it]

In case you are thinking about going to the law enforcement officials, very well, this e-mail can not be traced back to me. I have covered my actions. I am also not trying to charge you a lot, I simply want to be rewarded. I’ve a unique pixel in this e-mail, and at this moment I know that you have read through this email message. You have one day in order to pay. If I don’t get the BitCoins, I will certainly send your video to all of your contacts including family members, colleagues, etc. Having said that, if I receive the payment, I’ll erase the recording right away. If you really want evidence, reply Yup! then I will send out your video to your 7 friends. This is the non-negotiable offer, and thus please do not waste my personal time & yours by responding to this e mail.

END OF EXAMPLE TWO EMAIL:

This is an entirely different threat. The recipient picked this email up because of a multitude of reasons that were simply incorrect and not representative of their actions on the internet; however, the stated password was about 80% shown (and it would be reasonable to assume the perpetrator knew the rest of the password). This could be seen by many as a factual document and it’s credibility is created in the recipients mind by the inclusion of the password in to the threat.

Imagine owning a SME business that might indeed be a larger business, the threat demanded much more money and the recipient had viewed what was suggested in the email? People do. It could be seen as likely or at;east a possibility that the recipient might well pay the money to the perpetrator through Bitcoin. And again Bitcoin rears its ugly head.

Again in this second email instance shown the email passed all checks and tests in the company where the email was received. So these are real threats to individuals or business.

But consider this; how did the perpetrator get the recipients password? (it was an old password but nevertheless was mostly valid). The perpetrator suggested key logging on a site known for pornographic video and images. But that is most likely not where the perp got the details from.

When reading about companies like Facebook, TalkTalk, Dixons Carphone Warehouse, Equifax, Adobe, AOL, Apple, AT&T, British Airways, Mastercard and Visa, Compass Bank, Dominos Pizza, DVLA UK, Dropbox, Kmart, Hewlett Packard, eBay, Experian, Trump Hotels, Gmail, Vodaphone, Walmart, Morgan Stanley, NHS, Ofcom, SnapChat, Adidas, Macys, Sony Pictures (and the list goes on) is it really no wonder that most personal details of importance (even financially) of individuals and businesses are all over the internet. There is a Wikipedia about these breaches of data that is extremely concerning reading as these breaches involve all kinds of information that will no doubt be available to buy on the internet. With the incredible reductions in share prices at Facebook maybe that might be the start of a mass exodus from those sort of ‘social media’ sites; but of course Facebook is merely one of the very long list of companies that have let you down through not protecting your data properly as the list above clearly demonstrates.

Its easy to see why GDPR has become law and countries will continue to pass GDPR legislation accordingly. Thank all of the companies mentioned above and many more for allowing this ridiculous situation that could be the start of the downfall of the internet as it is known today.

But is it time to go back and retrospectively fine each and every company involved in the dispersal of personal details? Are those companies any less ‘guilty’ now? It seems for many companies that the only thing they understand is when they are faced with very large fines; and even the fines might be irrelevant to organisations like Facebook and Google because large fines seem to be ‘petty cash’ to some of those companies. But shere price reduction wakes them up.

If anyone is concerned about a ‘key logger’ from the above email example getting your information Kaspersky latest offering of internet security includes software that stops key loggers from logging your information as you type.

A third example of fraud covered in this article relates to a company that received an email pro-forma invoice to pay from one of its regular suppliers. One day the finance department received a pro-forma invoice that needed to be paid immediately. The email address and the invoice itself looked entirely unremarkable. The sending company advised the finance department that they had recently changed banks and that the new details were on the invoice attached. Finance paid the £60,000+ ( $US 80,000) invoice.

The only problem was, that the invoice was completely fraudulent, the email address did read correctly unless you looked close (instead of wonderful.com it was wonderfull.com (just made up example to illustrate the methodology used) and the recipient in the finance department saw and read what they were used to seeing. The real question is, how did the perpetrators get all that information about what an invoice should be like, the real suppliers details, etc., their website and email addresses and more; it’s food for thought and make no mistake it can be so easy to allow one of these scams through your business; the chances are pretty high and the consequences could be dire and even bankrupt your business if taken to the extreme.

There is no doubt that the underlying email systems are no longer fit for purpose in general and have not been for some time. Notice that in the first example the scammer sent mail from ‘mail.bg’ and the second one (even more concerning) was from ‘outlook.com’. While the sending email addresses can be ‘replaced’ with any email address upon examination those two shown emails seemed to be real; indeed one of the perps even used Google to advise how to use Bitcoin for payment. But there are multiples of very large companies that every day offer a service but allow their email servers and systems to send out such threatening emails to users. Maybe it’s time to pressure these organisations (outlook.com, gmail.com and there are multiples of others) to actually filter their emails properly as well as the sendersbefore these sort of threats go out and create serious harm that these sort of messages could easily do.

Of course there are millions of other examples of fraud through an outdated abused email system (and other related internet technologies) that could be shown here, but the aim of this article is to educate readers so that they don’t fall foul to these sort of appalling scams.

One company, Network Systems has seen many of these sort of internet related issues and offers a cybercrime service to SME’s to help to create a safe environment for empolyees and business as they work on the internet today.

Hopefully this article will at least make the reader think very hard about how they are going to ensure protection of employees and their company and if nothing else that is a wothwhile objective. Using specialist companies will always help more than by just trying to put solutions in place created by someone without experience in this area and could actually save your company.

How to find out if someone is an entrepreneur

One thing defines an entrepreneur – constructive action.

They tend to be sales people – doing *anything* to get people to buy their stuff. We all have an image in our head; a “wheeler trader”, picking up any opportunity to try to exploit (and other people) for profit.

Indeed, the term “entrepreneur” seems to have changed in today’s lexicon, from “something you’ve done” (usually to improve people’s lives) to a mix of “crazy hustler” and “someone who doesn’t ‘follow the rules'”. .

The reality of modern meaning cannot be further from the truth.

Entrepreneurship does not appear vocation or work. It’s not a label you put on yourself to make yourself more endearing to a certain party or clientele… it’s the way to do things.

Many “entrepreneurial” types do have jobs. They never recognize themselves as “entrepreneurs”, although they display all the traits of entrepreneurs. The question is, what are these traits and whether they exist you have them – or someone you know.

What is an “entrepreneur”?

Entrepreneur is a word that comes from the French language, generally describing “one who solves problems.”

Although its meaning has changed over the years, the premise remains – an “entrepreneur” is someone who creates a “widget” and has the ability to encourage other people to buy it.

That this “widget” may be a commercial product, service or an idea.

It’s really interesting…some of the greatest “entrepreneurs” in history really have nothing to do with money. They were completely focused on developing a specific “outcome” and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to its realization.

Whether that meant conquering the Persian Empire (Alexander), developing the light bulb (Edison) or creating stable PC systems (Gary Kildall), conquering the Aztec Empire (Cortes), the term entrepreneur indeed denotes one who wants to build something.

THE BIG difference between the “original” entrepreneurs and the new age group of idiots (who usually reinforce a hedonistic lifestyle + seem to be into “crypto”) is that the former were usually in one profession and managed to “leverage” that through the development of increasingly ambitious “projects”.

These projects could be anything…but they are everything was the main “reason” for existence. It was the reason that pushed the creator to keep trying and keep going even when it was questionable whether it was even “possible” or not. Obviously, the reason we remember them is that they not only discovered that it was “possible” but that it was completely doable…hence their success.

How to tell if someone is single

A typical sign – they will surprisingly things…

  • interest in esoteric ideas

  • the pursuit of interests not directly related to the accumulation of wealth

  • strong manifestations of passion for certain subjects

  • an exciting character with different ideas (trying to recreate historical events, etc.)

The thing is, REAL entrepreneurs usually don’t care about money in general.

Their main concern is the creation of “things”. What that is is determined by either their character or their interests… but in everyone For example, when a person has achieved great success, he has been completely and utterly focused on doing “his” thing, no matter what.

This is actually important.

It seems that in today’s world, every 18-year-old male wants to be an “entrepreneur” – like it’s a badge of honor or something. If you don’t “grow” you “die”… right?

The truth is that our society has become so focused on convenience that most of these money-grabbing idiots have no business at all, even if they consider themselves “entrepreneurs”.

They have no experience, no skills, and they are only latching on to the latest “fad” to escape the mediocrity that has overtaken Western consumer culture.

Entrepreneurship usually follows YEARS of interest in a particular topic. This usually involves a HUGE investment of time and energy in developing a skill set, experience and “involvement” in a particular space.

The most important thing – entrepreneurship – is to do something “your own way”.

Stay away from today’s idiots

THE BIGGEST problem I see all the time with crowds of idiots is that they ALL follow a “book” or some other “rule” of “how” to be an entrepreneur.

I see it everything time… boys are reading everything biographies, neural studies, the latest books of the big rich fat cat all try to discover the “secret” of massive success.

The ironic thing is that all these things only work on the “outside” side of the problem – the same people who read all the “stuff” end up asking the ONE and ONLY questions… “what am I selling?”- “how do I know will I make money from the product?” – “what secret get rich?”

  • If you have to ask “what am I selling”, you are not an entrepreneur.

  • If you have to listen to what a “successful” person has to say about a topic, you are not an entrepreneur.

  • If you have to follow all the “rules” put forward by others, you are not an entrepreneur.

The fact is that today’s world is full of wannabe losers. Even the “successful” ones aren’t really successful – they may have made a ton of money, but what are they really to achieve? The answer is relatively little (or even nothing).

The truth is, if you want to “be” an entrepreneur, you need to put in the work.

EVERYONE has their own job. Some are models. Some football players. Some of them are programmers. Some are artists.

The “trick” is to do ANYTHING to move the industry forward; if necessary, wash the floors.

Once you start making progress, the “entrepreneurial” stuff comes along the use of leverage any progress made in it is either to build and sell the product or to help the market better appreciate the potential of another device/product.

Traits of “real” entrepreneurs

  • Quietly (or at least reserved)

  • Fully capable hugging failure (actually using it as an incentive to change/adapt)

  • Works constantly on different elements in their “industry” (again, each has a place)

  • Not afraid social constructions (just because someone said it wasn’t true)

  • Laser focused on ‘them’ want to do (do you want to bring sustainable agriculture to Africa? That’s what a “real” entrepreneur would actually do)

  • Not afraid to give freely (most “entrepreneur” types are not tied to money at all… usually don’t have much until they achieve commercial success)

If you haven’t worked it out, the bottom line is the goal.

In today’s world there is very little focus on goals; rather, it is performance oriented.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but it robs most people of their passion. That’s good for GDP and McDonald’s – but bad for the creativity hidden in so many people.

If you want to adopt “entrepreneurial” traits, the key is to set yourself up for a specific “purpose” – through which you can invest your whole of life.

If you just look at a Ferrari and think “I want to get rich” – entrepreneurship won’t do it. This is a very a difficult path, where only the most persistent and hardy survive.

You need to put in the work, and only then will you discover hidden opportunities where you can apply your knowledge, experience or network to build something of real value to the world. This real value is then absorbed by the market, which will either pay handsomely for it – or abandon it. This is largely what determines whether someone can be considered an “entrepreneur” or not.

Open Sesame – Password Security

“Open Sesame!” probably the most famous password in literature. This gave Ali Baba access to vast treasures. In the realm of technology, computer passwords also provide access to valuable treasures: valuable business and personal data.

Information about your personal life, shopping habits, credit score and lifestyle is valuable to those who can profit from it. For a corporation, information is even more valuable. More than half of the value of a modern enterprise is not brick and mortar, but intangible assets such as intellectual property, customer lists, market strategies, pricing and compensation.

All of this personal and business data is likely in a database somewhere and accessible with a password. In fact, passwords are the most common means of logging into any system. They are also recognized as the most vulnerable places for security.

“Weak” or cracked passwords are the easiest way for hackers to gain access to your system.

Simple or short passwords can be easily found using “brute force” or “dictionary”

attacks that concentrate intensive computer power to crack a password. A two-letter password, for example, has only 676 combinations. An eight-letter password provides greater security with 208,000,000 combinations.

Ideally, the password should be 8 or more characters. They must also contain

a mix of upper and lower case letters, symbols and numbers. “A$d3B5i9X” will

be an example. Microsoft Security encouraged the concept of a “passphrase” as an alternative. A phrase like “The last good book bought was $25!” has all the necessary elements and is also easy to remember.

Human factors or social engineering contribute to password cracking. Employees are supposed to share their password eight times a year. Passwords can also be coaxed from untrained or naive workers. The standard rule is NEVER share your password.

Remember the cliché “Six degrees of separation”. You can’t know who will end up getting your password and owning it.

To deal with these challenges, many leading firms are adopting a defense-in-depth strategy, using three elements to better protect their information

The three levels of authentication consist of:

What you know…

A strong password or passphrase

What do you have…

Crypto key, smart card or token

Who are you…

The biometric aspect, such as fingerprint, hand or retina recognition

The use of these three safeguards will increase dramatically in the future as people seek to prevent ever-increasing threats to their private and personal information.

Many companies will introduce them as an important part of security.

practices to safeguard an extremely valuable asset: their valuable data.

© 2004 Terence F. Doheny

Random Number Generators: True Randomness

I. Introduction:

Random (adj): a: lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern. b: made, done, or chosen at random c: relating to, having, or being elements or events with definite probability of occurrence. d: being or relating to a set or to an element of a set each of whose elements has equal probability of occurrence. [Oxford English Dictionary]

Before commencing deep discussion of the art of “true randomality”, it must first be made clear that true randomness is theoretically impossible by the defining principals of our universe. The definition above clearly defines the paradox that surrounds the concept of randomality when subject to probability. In essence we will claim that “truly random” is the state in which for a given set A, for any i, element in A, i if chosen at random, has a probability of [1/|A|] (where |x| denotes cardinality of the set) of occurrence. This is how we judge the “randomness” of a Random Number Generator (RNG(s)), by its ability to exploit probability; given a set A, a perfect RNG will not repeat an element before the set is exhausted; described as the period of a generator, its point of repetition.

It must be noted that defining a choice as random is a classification that relies on pure ignorance of the causes and events that result in the ultimate choice. With that aside, the philosophical discussion of “true randomness” will be left behind. The remainder of the discussion will judge “true randomness” as stated above; perfect probabilistic distribution over a given finite field. Although such distribution has never been possible with the various algorithms being discussed, (meaning such a distribution could not be perfect on every occurrence of a specific algorithm) relatively good distribution suffices.

I.i Various Uses of Random Number Generators:

Random numbers have a multitude of applications. Of particular interest to this study and intended future studies by the author is Cryptography. Many cryptographic protocols make use of RNGs, particularly, public key cryptography (RSA) and some implementations of symmetric ciphers (DES, Serpent). Besides cryptographic function however, RNGs are used in Simulations, for the realistic recreation of “natural” occurrences; in this case, computer games are qualified as simulations, in which RNGs are heavily used in conjunction with probability weights (Gaussian). They’re also used for integrity testing on various computer applications during development, even hardware tests, such as GPU to memory pipelines on AGP based graphic cards. Among those mentioned are many other uses and purposes for the development and “perfection” of making truly random choices.

I.ii Brief Algorithm Introduction:

Random number generating algorithms come in multiple flavors; these can be separated into two main groups, linear number generators (LNG(s)) and non-linear number generators (NLNG(s)). Each group contains multiple types of RNGs and each of these, have their purpose and uses. It is important to know that although not all generators are made equal, good generators have purposes for which other good generators are not suited to perform.

I.ii.a Linear Number Generators:

Linear Congruential Generators (LCG(s)) deserve first mention purely on the basis of ubiquity. LCGs and their various spawns and modifications are used in various applications. The LNGs in their purest form are nearly as predictable as the Fibonacci Sequence. These are seeded generators that make their “choices” – if that can be said – linearly in the given finite field, based on their seed. The come in more flavors that most other generator types, no doubt, due to the simplicity of modifying the algorithm for specific purposes.

I.ii.b Non-Linear Number Generators:

The Inversive Congruential Generator (ICG(s)) and the Explicit Inversive Congruential Generator (EICG(s)) are the two main focuses in this category. These generators are non-linear (as implied), and therefore are not predictable the way that LNGs are. Also mentioned in the non-linear group is the Linear Feedback Shift Register (LFSR(s)) generator. This generator, although linear, as implied by its name, carries the principles of Non-Linear Generators in its implementation; so much so, that LFSRs closely resemble their non-linear counter parts, Non-Linear Feedback Shift Register generators. The details of the history of Feedback Shift Registers go slightly beyond the scope of this paper however a brief introduction to the principals of feedback functions and shift registers is given in parallel with the LFSR discussion.

II Linear Congruential Generators:

LNGs ultimately generate a sequence of integers between 0 and a given modulus, for the equation Ij+1 = aIj + c (mod m). In this equation, m is used as the modulus, a is a multiplier, and c is an increment. The sequence will repeats within a period of m, where m is usually prime.

The advantage of the LNG is immediately noticed by the equation above; its fast, requiring one multiplication, one addition, and one modulus. This immediately lends itself to explaining its wide uses. This type of generator is used in a multitude of applications for which the nature of the random sequence doesn’t matter, only that it be a different sequence from execution to execution; Monte Carlo simulations for example. The speed and simplicity of the algorithm has also led to the amount of flavors developed for different applications. For instance, the equation above is the same equation that the ANSI C/C++ committee has dubbed for use with these languages, given appropriate values for a, c, and m. Besides the linear equation, there are also:



Quadratic LCG:

Xn = (aXn-12 + bXn-1 + c) mod m

Cubic LCG:

Xn = (aXn-13 + bXn-12 + cXn-1 + d) mod m



There are also polynomial LCGs, Truncated LCGs, etc; each of which work on the same principle and are generally predictable and breakable. For example, the standard LCG was first broken by Jim Reeds, and Quadratic and Cubic Generators broken by Joan Boyar.

It should be noted that most modifications to LCGs simply yield worst generators. Since linear generators can only be judged based on their progression through a linear field, and not on a probabilistic survey of a given set, the period of a LCG is of paramount importance, more so than other Congruential generators, even in non-linear fields. There are multiple methods for extending the period of a given generator, however many attempts, unpredictably yield shorter periods. Computing history, both hardware and software, is filled with the “botched” attempts to improve LCGs. Notably, early IBM mainframes with the RANDU routine, using a = 65539, and m = 231 producing a n – dimensional plot in only 11 plane dimensions. There’s also the problem of seeding the generator; each sequence is only as unique as its seed. The Netscape browser’s security was a one point compromised due to the predictability of the chosen seeds in it LCG for which it created crypto-keys.

It is possible to force an LCG to be probabilistically correct, by creating uniform deviations. The problem with focusing on the deviation of an LCG is that a well deviated LCG will have an extended period, but its complexity increases, due to the deviation, sometimes beyond the useful range of LCGs. It is also possible to use deviations normalized in a given interval, such as Gaussian deviations, where the period is lengthened such that every integer in the given field is selected.

III Inversive Congruential Generators and Linear Feedback Shift Registers:

Defined as our non-linear generators, ICGs and EICGs, developed by Eichenauer and Lehn (1986, 1993) are defined by the following congruence:

yn+1 = ayn + b (mod m)

Where, for practicality, m is also chosen as a prime number in parallel to LCGs. These two generators are most notable due to their speed and period efficiency compromise. They produce relatively long periods, in (5 – 10x average) more time, than LCG.

III.i Linear Feedback Shift Registers:

LFSR generators are of more relevance here, as a suitable alternative to LCGs for cryptographic applications. Shift registers work on the concept of generating on the bit level, instead of in a base 10 finite field. They address the problem of creating uniform distribution of single random bits, with 0 and 1 equally probable.

LFSR generators are made up of two parts, the shift register and the feedback function. The shift register is the bit sequence, in which the size of the shift register is determined by the length of its bits. When bits are needed, the register is shifted 1 bit to the right, and the left bit is computed based on the remaining bits in the register. The simplest method of representing LFSRs feedback function is the XOR of key register bits. The method used by the feedback function is called tap sequence.

It’s obvious, that an n-bit LFSR can be in 2n -1 states; noting that the size of the register denotes its length. Therefore, a 4 bit register (1111 would be called a 4 bit register, based on the cardinality of the register, rather than the value of the high order bit, base 10) would yield 24-1, or 15 unique states. With an output sequence of the least significant bits following the shifts, the size of the register defines a period or 2n – 1 bits before repetition, therefore yielding a base 10 value of 22**n -1 as maximum value, and period. In order to reach this maximum period, a primitive polynomial must be formed by the tap sequence, where the degree of the polynomial yields the length of the shift register.

III.i.a Primitive Polynomials in Linear Feedback Shift Registers

A primitive Polynomial is defined as an irreducible polynomial P of degree d in [Z/p[x]] (denoting finite field of p[x] in Z) is primitive if P divides xd – 1 but does not divide xi – 1 for any integer i with 0 xn = 1 mod P

but,

xi != 1 mod P for 0

It is not necessary to check all smaller exponential values than d, but only possible values from the divisors of degree d.

There is no easy method for generating primitive polynomials modulo 2 for a given degree. Therefore, choosing random polynomials and testing if its primitive is the most used method.

III.i.b Maximizing and Reaching the Period of an LFSR

As stated above, the period of any LFSR is based on the size of the shift register; the size of the shift register is based on the degree of the polynomial, therefore the period of the LFSR is determined by the polynomial used. Primitive polynomials are necessary here because if the polynomial used is not primitive, the period will be shortened, and there may be bad states which may shorten the period further. Therefore choosing a primitive polynomial is of dominant importance to any LFSR.

Given the polynomial, x8+x4+x3+x2+x which is primitive modulo 2, a maximal period can be produced. The first exponent is the length of the shift register, and all exponents except 1 and 0 are used to specify the tap sequence by the feedback function, where low degree terms correspond to the left most register bits. Therefore, in a given 8-bit shift register, a new bit is generated by XORing the 8th, 4th, 3rd and 2nd bits of the register together. The LFSR that results from this polynomial will have a precise period of 28-1.

Linear Feedback Shift Registers are found in many places, such as in Ueli Maurer’s Fast Prime Generation routine, but most commonly in the stream-cipher domain of cryptography. Therefore the propagation of primitive polynomials is important to success of such ciphers. The polynomial used in LFSRs is as important as the seed used in a LCG. Just as LCGs are cracked by deterministic seeds, LFSRs are also cracked by many organizations, based on the use and reuse of deterministic primitive polynomials. It should also be noted that the algorithm itself is completely linear when sequential bits are taken into account, however its implementation in software makes in non-linear. By running simultaneous LFSR applications (32 for a computer with a word size of 32) nonlinear sequences can be produced; rather, seemingly nonlinear, described as a large linear complexity.

IV Discussion:

The Linear Congruential Generators we presented here for an ease into the concept of random number generation, and for study of a variety of methods of generation. However, in the domain of cryptography, LCGs are all but irrelevant. LFSR, and their “cousins” Non-Linear Feedback Shift Registers are of more relevance to the authors interest. Besides the methods described above, another interesting method of generating random numbers are also worth brief mention.

Symmetric block ciphers are also capable of producing randomality. Beginning with block product ciphers like LUCIFER and DES, the use of block ciphers to produce random bits, although many times slower than LCG and even LFSR, yields considerably random bit sequences. The more recent successor to DES, AES (Rijndael algorithm) and even the runner up contender to AES, Serpent, have also been used for the generation of random bits.

Essentially, the philosophical debate of the concept of randomality displays the obvious difficulty in constructing a truly random algorithm. The fact that most random generation algorithms are based on random sequences, be they number sequences or bit sequences, undermines the term random from the very first line of code and comments justifying its feasibility. However, random sequences are frequently used, and make amply use of the ignorance factor. As long as new methods of seeding and new primitive polynomials are found, for which we have an infinite supply, the number generators above will remain in use. The possible existence of a truly random number algorithm is questionable, but with many algorithms and sequences still remaining unbroken and uncharted, that existence cannot be denied.

Latest trends in cloud computing in 2020

In today’s corporate industry, the use of cloud computing has become the unspoken norm. Almost everyone has heard of it, and its benefits are far-reaching and wide–saving costs, increasing efficiency, helping you get work done faster, etc. In various market studies conducted over time, the results have shown that this trend of using cloud computing by business and technology companies is bound to increase in the coming years.

There have been some noteworthy changes in cloud computing so far, and it will be important for companies to take a look at them as they invest their time and capital into cloud computing.

quantum computing

Quantum computing literally translates to tasks that once took hours will now take exponentially less time, seconds to be exact. This means that computers and servers will now process information much faster than usual, increasing the speed of the network in the near future. It must be remembered that today’s networks are based on cloud computing, which means that cloud computing is bound to undergo significant technological changes due to the development of quantum computing.

Using Blockchain

Blockchain technology has led to the development of faster network systems. Many businesses, especially financial technology, have increased their use of blockchain in their cryptocurrency analysis and validation. At the heart of it all is cloud computing, which can host crypto trading, initial coin offerings, among other things.

Enhancing digital literacy-

As the new workforce gains employment over time, we find that they are much better versed in the technological advancements of new technologies, especially cloud computing. In doing so, companies will see that they have two types of workers – technologically advanced and those who are not so technologically advanced. Companies will need to provide various training programs and coaching to keep the older generation up to date with digital technologies.

Labor mobility –

Based on the increase in digital knowledge among workers, a trend is soon catching up with new workers, which is related to the mobility of workers and their work. With cloud computing, workers do not need to be present in their offices and cubicles every time they work. They can work from anywhere, from any device, and get the job done. Any company that doesn’t offer them mobility won’t have loyal employees.

Limit Calculus –

Edge computing means “bringing computing closer to the data source.” Thanks to this, the connection between the network and the data source is significantly minimized, increasing the speed of calculations and significantly reducing costs. How does this happen? With can calculations. Such technology is used in modern devices such as smart refrigerators, smart speakers, cars, etc., and it is only possible because of cloud computing.

AI (Artificial Intelligence): A New Groundbreaking Invention –

Artificial intelligence is considered the future of digital automation. The automation tools it offers companies have surprised even the most optimistic people, and even with its criticism, people have begun to understand how useful artificial intelligence can be. With AI, we are expected to see a rise in the number of devices that use edge computing, which means that its foundation lies only in cloud computing. Artificial intelligence is something every business needs to pay attention to.

Serverless Computing –

It is a newly developed model of cloud computing in which a dynamic backend system helps to increase and decrease the usage according to the usage of your application or service, instead of using predefined servers. This technology is also considered futuristic and is supported by people like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Open source serverless computing providers will gradually emerge, thereby reducing the need for server providers that you must contact to obtain their services.

Data Center Ecosystem –

By combining the power of machine learning, cloud computing and data processing with quantum computing, we will soon see software become a service rather than a subscription-based commodity, easily consumed by companies and business organizations with these newly developed technologies. So the time to complete the project will be reduced, costs will be reduced and we will see a reduction in redundant processes. It could be seen that the way data is viewed today will be revolutionized, with cloud computing technology at its core.

In conclusion, today’s advances in cloud computing are just a glimpse of what’s to come. It’s just a base. Driving all of this will be many new innovations and technologies that will revolutionize everything we do.

How Bitcoin Works

Bitcoins are a decentralized form of cryptocurrency. This means that they are not regulated by any financial institution or government. So, unlike a traditional bank account, you don’t need a long list of documents like an ID to create a so-called Bitcoin wallet. A bitcoin wallet is what you will use to access your bitcoins and send bitcoins to other individuals.

How to set up an account

You can purchase a Bitcoin wallet from a Bitcoin broker such as Coinbase. When you open a wallet through a certified broker, you are given a Bitcoin address, which is a series of numbers and letters, similar to an account number for a bank account, and a private key, which is also a series of numbers and letters, which serves as your password.

How Bitcoin works as an anonymous payment processor

You can do 3 things with bitcoins: make purchases, send money to someone anonymously, or use it as an investment. More and more merchants are accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment. By using bitcoins instead of cash, you are essentially making this purchase anonymously. The same goes for sending money, based on the fact that you don’t need to send a mountain of payment to establish bitcoin anonymously, in fact you can send money to someone else anonymously.

How Bitcoin Works as an Investment

The price of Bitcoin fluctuates from time to time. For a larger overview: At the beginning of 2013, the average price of Bitcoin was approximately $400 per Bitcoin, but by the end of 2013, the value of Bitcoin had exceeded $1,000. This meant that if you had 2 bitcoins worth $800 at the beginning of 2013 and you kept them as an investment until the end of 2013, those two bitcoins would be worth more than $2000 instead of $800. Many people hold bitcoins because their value fluctuates.

Bitcoin casino and poker sites

Because of Bitcoin’s anonymity, the gambling industry has adopted Bitcoin as a payment method. Both bitcoin casinos and bitcoin poker sites are coming alive and offering their players to make deposits, play with bitcoins at the table and withdraw money directly to their bitcoin wallet. This means that there are no taxes or opportunities for government control. Just like a regular Nevada casino where you don’t need to register anywhere and all your transactions are anonymous.

How do you send Bitcoin

To pay for goods and services or send bitcoins to an individual, 3 things are required. Your bitcoin address, your private key, and the person’s bitcoin address. From now on, you will host 3 pieces of information through your bitcoin wallet: input, balance and output. The input refers to your address, the balance refers to the number of bitcoins you intend to send, and the output is the recipient’s address.