OpenID is an open, decentralized standard for authenticating users which can be used for access control, allowing users to log on to different services with the same digital identity where these services trust the authentication body. OpenID replaces the common login process that uses a login-name and a password, by allowing a user to log in once and gain access to the resources of multiple software systems. The term OpenID can also refer to an ID used in the standard.

In simpler terms, it is to get rid of having multiple logins and passwords for various websites, by replacing it with just one OpenID

So who uses OpenID ?

Several large websites including AOL, BBC, Google, IBM, Microsoft, MySpace,Orange, PayPal,Verisign,LiveJournal,Yandex,Ustream, and Yahoo!

So how do you get an OpenID ?

You might already have an eligible OpenID if you have account with  one of these services. Your Open ID url is

Google : https://www.google.com/accounts/o8/id    * Note : DO NOT replace the ‘id’ with your google username

Blogger :<your id>.blogspot.com

Myspace : www.myspace.com/<your login id>

LiveJournal : <your id>.livejournal.com

Wordpress : <your id>.wordpress.com

AOL/AIM : openid.aol.com/<your login id>

If you do not have an account with any of these services, you can either open an account or sign up for your Open ID at https://www.myopenid.com/

How to use your Open ID ?

1. Select the option of using Open ID on the website you are trying to log in.

2. Enter the url of your open ID, for example https://www.google.com/accounts/o8/<your login id>

3. You are redirected to Google.com where you provide your Google account password and accept the terms that your details would be used by the original website

4. You are redirected back to the original website where you are logged in.

If you are still confused, here is a video

How to use OpenID

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