Smartphone Security Startup Lookout Tops One Million Users

Lookout, a company that offers security data backup services for smartphones, has reached a significant milestone: the startup now has one million users for its security application after only six months in operation. Lookout, which just raised $11 million from Accel, Khosla and others, says the growth in smartphone adoption, mobile app downloads and increased consumer awareness of mobile security threats have helped make the offering a popular and necessary option for users. While smartphone use is growing rapidly, there are security risks associated with the increased data and application usage on these devices. Similar to a PC, users need to protect their phones from malware, viruses, data loss and more. Lookout’s web-based, cloud-connected application indentifies and block threats on a consumer’s phone. Users simply download the software to a device, and it will act as a virus protector much like security software downloaded to a computer. For now Lookout, which is on more than 400 mobile networks in 170 countries, is only available for BlackBerry, Android and Windows Mobile devices. Lookout has over 80% of its users on Android and BlackBerry with the remaining users on Windows Mobile. And 70% of users are in the US. Over the past six months, Lookout has seen the number of malware and spyware threats per hundred devices double to nine in every 100 devices being affected annually. Lookout has helped find more than 130,000 lost or stolen phones, backed-up over 87 million photos, and backed-up over 300 million contacts. Lookout’s CEO tells me that the next step for the company is to start looking at monetization angles with product development. While the application is free, Lookout sees potential in offering an enterprise version of its software. CrunchBase Information Lookout Information provided by CrunchBase

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Smartphone Security Startup Lookout Tops One Million Users

Antique Dealers Learn to Spot Trends in Consumer Buying

Tastes, style and needs change and in the antiques business dealers who don’t learn to spot trends may be left behind, trying to sell things no one wants.

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Antique Dealers Learn to Spot Trends in Consumer Buying

Foursquare Fixes, Responds To “Who’s Been Here” Privacy Hole

Yesterday, Wired published a report detailing an issue with Foursquare privacy, whereby a program could effectively harvest Foursquare checkin data by constantly refreshing venue pages and looking to see which users were showing up in the “Who’s Been Here” section, which shows a grid of users who recently checked in at that venue. According to the article, white hat coder Jesper Andersen was able to log around 70% of all check-ins in San Francisco — or 875,000 checkins — over the last three weeks. Today, Foursquare has addressed the report with a post on its official blog outlining the issue. As data breaches go I’m not sure this one was especially “sophisticated”, as Foursquare keeps calling it, but they apologize and explain what they’ve done to fix it. From the Foursquare blog: A little over a week ago (on Monday the 21st), our developers were alerted to a problem that enabled sophisticated users, by continuously scraping venue pages from our website through anonymous gateways, to capture private check-in information that users didn’t intend to share with the general public. Three days later, our team began rolling out a number of solutions to this problem. First, we ensured that any user that had opted out of appearing in the “Who’s Here” lists no longer appeared in the “Who’s Been Here” photo mosaics on our site (this fix went live last Thursday). Second, we updated the language on our “Settings” page to clarify what opting into the “Who’s Here” feature entails. Third, we randomized the order of the photos being posted under the ”Who’s Been Here” headings on our venue pages to prevent anyone from scraping this data to try to estimate check-in times of various users. This won’t be the last time we hear about privacy issues with location-based services, where security and privacy are going to be key. That said, the privacy concerns for Foursquare, where users are explicitly checking into venues, are less worrisome than if this had happened with one that constantly monitors your location, like Google Latitude. And privacy hasn’t really been Foursquare’s big selling point, either — don’t expect to see much of an uproar from its users over this. CrunchBase Information Foursquare Information provided by CrunchBase

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Foursquare Fixes, Responds To “Who’s Been Here” Privacy Hole

52 Apple Alternatives – For Those who are Anti-iPhone, iPad, iPod …

Apple Alternatives – In a seemingly Apple-obsessed world, there are those who refuse to pray at the church of Steve Jobs–non-conformists who are desperately searching …

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52 Apple Alternatives – For Those who are Anti-iPhone, iPad, iPod …

Online Finance Startup Wesabe Heads To The Deadpool

Wesabe , an online personal finance site that looked to help users better keep track of their spending trends, is shutting down. The startup’s homepage now consists of a letter to Wesabe users instructing them to download their account information by July 31, at which point nearly all of the service’s features will be taken offline and data deleted. The lone feature that will remain online indefinitely is the site’s ‘Groups’ page, where members can trade advice about their finances (this part of the site is being taken over by one of Wesabe’s current customers). In the letter, Wesabe CEO Marc Hedlund writes that the site has been operating on a shoestring budget lately, which has led to both some poor customer experiences and the potential for security issues, which is why they’re pulling the plug: In recent months Wesabe has been operating on a shoestring budget, with support from some of the developers and operations people who made up our core team. While the site has remained online and we continue to hear from people who find it helpful, we have not been able to provide the support people need to use it for something so central as financial management. I’ve felt especially terrible that some members have a good initial experience but then hit a problem, often after investing many hours, and aren’t able to get help with it. That’s obviously a bad experience, and not what we want to offer. Also, because Wesabe stores such highly sensitive data, continuing to operate the service with shoestring operations and security staff is not acceptable, and we do not want to continue accepting new accounts if we cannot guarantee the security level we believe our service requires. Wesabe was showing some growth in April 2009 when it launched its iPhone app, but traffic has dropped steadily since then. The site has largely been overshadowed by competitor Mint , which launched at (and won) TechCrunch50 and later went to on be acquired for $170 million by Intuit. We’ve been covering the site since 2006 . In Feburary 2007 it raised $700,000 from O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, and later that year raised $4 million in a round led by Union Square Ventures. Wesabe has been added to the Deadpool . CrunchBase Information Wesabe Information provided by CrunchBase

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Online Finance Startup Wesabe Heads To The Deadpool

The Social Currency CrunchUp And 5th Annual TechCrunch Summer Party

It’s summer and that time of year that August Capital graciously hosts us on on their fabulous deck so we can throw a roaring party that sends the VCs running from Sand Hill Road for the month of August. Actually, this year marks our 5th annual summer outing at August Capital and we can’t thank David Hornik and the other August Capital partners enough for keeping the traditional alive. It’s also time for our summer CrunchUp, a one day conference held before the party. We started putting these together when we realized that people were traveling in from around the country just to attend a party. We decided we wanted to spend the whole day with entrepreneurs. First it was the Mobile Web Wars , then the Real Time Stream . This year, we’re really excited to announce that Stanford’s Arrillaga Alumni Center will host our conversation. This summer, we’re hosting the Social Currency CrunchUp. As early adopters of technology, we’ve all grown accustomed that our opinions and product uses are not indicative of the average consumer. So what happens when we hit an inflection point and the masses matter? Do we really know what local merchants / SMBs need to support their businesses? What do we need to know about consumer psychology so our digitally delivered discounts resonate with consumers? What retail rules of the road do we need to honor to close a sale? How do we blend the best of virtual and real currencies to entertain consumers? That’s what we’re going to explore at the Social Currency CrunchUp. We’re going to mix up real-world consumers and traditional retailers and marketers alongside the hottest new startups to shake things up and debate the future. The CrunchUp event during the day will max out at around 500 people. The party is for a larger crowd but sells out extremely quickly. CrunchUp attendees also get a pass to the party. About the Social Currency CrunchUp: July 30, 2010 9 am – 4:00 pm Arrillaga Alumni Center, Stanford University 326 Galvez Street, Palo Alto, CA 94305 Get CrunchUp-Party Combo Tickets Now @ Eventbrite: $295 INCLUDES admission for one (1) to the August Capital party and expedited fast-pass door entry. You DO NOT need to purchase a separate August Capital Party ticket if you purchase a CrunchUp ticket. Tickets are non-transferrable, based on availability. Capacity limited to 500 attendees. All details here . Please contact Jeanne Logozzo or Heather Harde for sponsorship opportunities to help support one of the most popular tech fests of the summer. Contact Laura Boychenko to request a press pass. We’ll release the first batch of August Capital summer party tickets on Friday at 9 am pst. The August Capital summer outing is 5:30 – 10:00 pm on Friday, July 30. Tickets will be released weekly in batches. Stay tuned, they sell out quickly. Photo credit: SiliconValleyBlog.

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The Social Currency CrunchUp And 5th Annual TechCrunch Summer Party

Is Move Networks Trying To Pull A Veoh?

A bizarre Tweet sent by video streaming technology company Move Networks have prompted many to wonder if the company is close to shutting down. The Tweet reads: “Want some slightly used company assets and some amazing video streaming IP rights? $150,000,000 and it’s yours! Foosball table included.” NewTeeVee reports that the company’s CEO Roxanne Austin, the former president and COO of DirecTV, is resigning and that the majority of Move Networks’ entire staff was laid off. Move Networks allows broadcasters to deliver live and on-demand high-quality video to PCs and other web-enabled devices. As of early last year, Move powered HD video streaming for a number of major media properties, including ABC, Fox, the Discovery Channel, and Animal Planet and even acquired Inuk Networks. It’s unclear what went wrong at Move. The company has raised a considerable amount of money, over $90 million, from prominent investors such as Steamboat Ventures, Cisco and even Microsoft. While the company also suffered from layoffs last year, many startups were forced to trim the fat due to the recessionary economy. As NewTeeVee reports, Move has lost a number of big clients over the past year and failed to raise a significant amount of funding. And it could be hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow troubled video startup Veoh, which was sold to Qlipso earlier this year. From the Tweet issued today, it looks like Move wants to sell its assets completely in addition to folding. While Veoh and Move have very different businesses, both models reside in the online video space, which seems to be changing rapidly. Update: Move Networks has confirmed that it is exploring the sale of its business, the change in management and that it suffered layoffs. Move Networks, a global provider of comprehensive solutions that deliver live, multi-channel television over the Internet, announced today that it intends to retain a financial advisor to assist the Company in evaluating strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the Company. No timetable has been set for completion of the review and there can be no assurance that any transaction will occur. During this process, Move remains committed to supporting its IPTV customers in the U.S, Europe and the Middle East….In order to conserve cash on hand during this evaluation process, Move announced a reduction of its workforce. CrunchBase Information Move Networks Information provided by CrunchBase

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Is Move Networks Trying To Pull A Veoh?

What’s Missing From ‘Social Media Day’

Just 22 days ago, on the 8th of June, the minds over at Mashable.com decided we needed Social Media Day , a special day on the Gregorian calendar celebrating social dialogue and the tools and platforms enabling the “revolution” (Mashable’s word, not mine). And they decided that day would be today. While I’m all for raising awareness of social media, it seems to me that the vast majority of businesses would be better off celebrating Social Media Strategy Day . As Tac Anderson of Waggener Edstrom points out in The 3 Types of Social Media Strategy , what’s missing from most social media strategy is the actual strategy part. That’s a bingo! In my experience, far too many companies launch themselves into the web’s socially enabled ecosystem with nary a clue as to how their efforts relate to business strategy and ultimately, the bottom line. We all know of businesses that have a Facebook Business Page or Twitter account, give it the old college try for the first month or so, and by day 90–when they’ve either become sidetracked by other areas of the business or don’t see a social media-related impact on the bottom line–throw their hands up in the air and arrogantly proclaim that social media marketing doesn’t work. Well, duh. If you don’t have a business-aligned strategy to guide your efforts in the first place, social media marketing isn’t going to work for your business. In fact, according to the folks at Digital Brand Expressions , nearly 60 percent of businesses today don’t have a strategic media communications plan to guide their social media efforts. With numbers like those, it’s no wonder so many company blogs, Facebook business pages and business-related Twitter accounts either sit dormant for weeks on end, or contain little more than ill-advised advertisements or “deal of the day” posts. If your business has a social media presence and you operate without a business-aligned social media strategy, you’re going in through a series of heavily trafficked and fast closing “out” doors . . . wearing a blindfold. Do yourself a favor (and not just because today is supposedly Social Media Day), address exactly how word-of-mouth, social media, and social networking relates to your businesses top line goals. Decide who or what department in the organization “owns” the effort (versus who serves as a “vendor”). And then determine how all of this shows up in your communications strategy.

Microsoft Puts Down The Kin

We have made the decision to focus exclusively on Windows Phone 7 and we will not ship KIN in Europe this fall as planned. Additionally, we are integrating our KIN team with the Windows Phone 7 team, incorporating valuable ideas and technologies from KIN into future Windows Phone releases. We will continue to work with Verizon in the U.S. to sell current KIN phones. These words from Microsoft serve as the epitaph for the Kin series of socially-oriented handsets and their ecosystem. It’s been less than two months since the handsets and service were announced, and rumors of incredibly low sales had us questioning the lifespan of these little guys not long after. Add to that the weird interface and inexplicable pricing , and it’s clear in retrospect that the Kins never had much of a chance. In fact, we heard the project was canceled before it was even officially announced. Continue reading…

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Microsoft Puts Down The Kin

Google News Gets Biggest Overhaul Since 2002, Adds Trending Topics And Personal News Stream

After months of testing, today Google News is unveiling “the biggest redesign since the beta launch in 2002,” says director of product management Ben Ling. The main new elements of the page include new navigation by trending topics in the left pane, a personalized news stream in the middle pane, and localized news and weather in the right-hand pane. The whole idea is to make Google news more personal and relevant. The trending topics, which Google calls topic links, will sit under Top Stories and be tied to keywords related to hot stories of the day. We spotted these trending topics in the wild earlier this year during the beta test period. And yes, that is similar to a very popular discovery feature on Twitter. But these topic links will also appear just above headlines and if you click on them you get a stream of related stories. The biggest change, though, is shift to a personal news stream. One of the sections on the main page is now called “News For You.” It shows all the sources and topics which you tend to read. News can be viewed in a section view or a new list view, which is basically a reverse-chronological stream (like a blog or Twitter/Facebook stream). There is also be a new tool available under “Edit Personalizations” which lets you specify which news sources you trust the most. News items from those sources will be given extra weight in the “News For You” column. Go ahead and select TechCrunch. (We’ll wait). Local news and weather, as well as news somehow deemed relevant to you, will be in the lower right hand corner. I think of that as the Geo section. Social sharing is quickly becoming a key way that news travels. Google News also has new sharing options. Every story can be shared via Gmail, Google Reader, Google Buzz, Facebook, and Twitter. You can not only share stories, but entire story clusters. Google is boosting the sharing features across its products, so this one was a natural. The Spotlight section, which is like an Editor’s pick collection of longer-form and longer-lasting stories, is getting more prominence on the main page. Finally, Google News is adding keyboard shortcuts such as “n” for next story, “p” for previous, “/” for search, and “s” to star a topic. In many ways, Google is learning what Yahoo and others learned long ago. Making the news personal, makes people come back more often. But Google is wrapping this personalization in the new vocabulary of social streams and sharing. The new design will begin rolling out in the U.S. today. CrunchBase Information Google News Information provided by CrunchBase

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Google News Gets Biggest Overhaul Since 2002, Adds Trending Topics And Personal News Stream