Category: Apps

The company’s data compression could also make the social network more friendly to the wallet experience.

Facebook has just announced another acquisition, this time involving a startup from Tel Aviv called Onavo, which has apps that include services that are designed to compress and monitor mobile data.

This could help Facebook to improve on two very meaningful levels.

As Facebook has been honing its mobile credentials to attract the spotlight, the services from Onavo apps could prove to be very helpful as it could help to encourage more marketers to shed their doubts and give the social network a try.

Equally, these apps could help to enhance Zuckerberg’s efforts with Internet.org.

The compression technology might assist the Internet.org program’s attempt to bring internet connectivity into regions that are out of reach for other forms. It could also make Facebook a realistic option within regions of the developing world where data consumption is considered to be a costly luxury. Moreover, it would shrink the roaming charges that would be applied to consumers in the rest of the world.

Beyond having been adopted as a new Facebook subsidiary, Onavo will also be converted into a Facebook satellite office in its home town in Israel, which will become the first time that the social network has had a direct presence in that country. At the moment, no information has been revealed regarding the amount of money that was involved in the acquisition, but there have been speculations ranging anywhere from $100 million to $200 million.

Onavo expressed in a blog post that “We’re excited to join their team, and hope to play a critical role in reaching one of Internet.org’s most significant goals – using data more efficiently, so that more people around the world can connect and share.” They also went on to add that “When the transaction closes, we plan to continue running the Onavo mobile utility apps as a standalone brand. As always, we remain committed to the privacy of people who use our application and that commitment will not change.” It has also been speculated that the tech will be integrated into the Facebook mobile applications in order to make them more efficient in terms of data consumption, as well.

The release revealed that cybercrimes have cost Canadians $3 billion over the last 12 months.

According to the latest Norton Report regarding mobile security, cybercrime in Canada has cost $3 billion over the last year, which is an increase of more than double over the $1.4 billion that had been recorded over the previous year.

The software security maker, Symantec, reported that more than 7 million people have been victims.

The U.S. based company shared in its 2013 security report that more than 7 million people in Canada have been cybercrime victims in the last 12 months, alone. The average cost per victim of these various types of digital crime is approximately $380 percent.

The cost of mobile security crimes per victim has also increased for victims globally.

It has risen to $113 (USD) over the last 12 months, which means that it cost each victim just over $300. The authors of the report conducted a survey of more than 13,000 people in approximately 24 countries around the world. What it determined was that mobile security, cyber attacks, and the sharing of sensitive information are becoming increasingly common.

This increase in cybercrime is occurring throughout many different channels. It involves issues such as mobile security breaches, unauthorized computer access, open Wi-Fi networks issues and identity theft. The report attributes the rapid growth rate to the rise in the use of smartphones and tablets particularly over open Wi-Fi networks.

According to Lynn Hargrove, the director of consumer Solutions at Symantec Canada, “The move to mobile is really one of the core findings that we’ve seen and as people have tablets and smartphones, that’s where the cybercriminals are going.” She also pointed out that people just don’t seem to be taking this mobile security risk as seriously as it really is. She stated that people aren’t securing their smartphones and tablets as widely as they do their desktops and laptops. Computers are far more likely to have antivirus programs than smartphones.

The online and mobile security report indicated that 60 percent of device users in Canada don’t even realize that there are security programs that are designed for use by their tablets and smartphones. Only one in four smartphone users have some level of free security software and 32 percent of them have experienced a cybercrime in the last year.