HTTPS is no longer secure: says FBI

FBI warns users to be wary of phishing sites abusing HTTPS – Naked Security

The investigation bureau FBI has issued an alert warning to internet users that “HTTPS” and a padlock icon in the address bar might not be enough to prove if a website is authentic or not. It has been observed that cyber-criminals are increasingly abusing the trust in TLS-secured websites for improving the success rate of phishing attacks.

“They [phishing attackers] are more frequently incorporating website certificates – third-party verification that a site is secure – when they send potential victims’ emails that imitate trustworthy companies or email contacts.”

In 2016, a report by the Ponemon institute revealed that nearly half of all the cyber-attacks used SSL encryption to evade detection within the period of last 12 months. Two-thirds of the organizations admitted that their organization was not prepared to detect malicious SSL traffic.

For many years, there has been a push toward adopting the HTTPS protocol on the web since it ensures a secured communication between the website and user’s browser.

Most of the browsers mark websites that use HTTPS with a padlock icon which indicates that the browser traffic is encrypted, and attackers cannot access the data in the transit. These websites also display warnings in case the user accesses a non-secured website.

Google Pushes Business Websites to Use HTTPS (SSL) - Prometheus PPC

With the advancement in the security measures, attackers have also started adopting HTTPS protocol to deploy sophisticated phishing attacks since the use of this secured protocol allows attackers to psychologically trick the victim into believing that the malicious emails or links that they received in their inboxes are coming from authentic sources.

They are designed with the motive to acquire sensitive login details or other information by redirecting victims to malicious websites that looks secure due to the padlock icon.  However, only connection to these websites is secure and the HTTPS protocol is unable to authenticate the content on the website.

What is the reason behind the increasing use of HTTPS?

Graph - Increasing Graph Clip Art - Png Download - Full Size Clipart (#931804) - PinClipart

To deploy a successful cyber-attack, cyber criminals leverage the latest technology. With the number of websites that use SSL encryption, cyber attackers have started encrypting the phishing websites, making it harder for IT administrators to identify the difference between bad and good traffic. Attackers are increasingly using SSL to encrypt the communication between the compromised endpoint and command-and-control systems to hide payloads, instructions as well as other information that is being sent.

As an increasing number of attacks are using HTTPS to avoid the scrutiny by the traditional methods of cyber security, organizations should take steps to ensure that they are protected against bad traffic.

What is the solution?

Where are the people with solutions? - Reputation Today

Lack of awareness among employees is one of the major reasons for the success of such attacks. In recent years, attackers have shifted their focus from individuals to employees. Statistically, 90% of the cyber-attacks are a result of employee negligence. During the year 2018, there has been a 76% increase in the number of phishing attacks. 54% of the companies had experienced cyber-attacks that compromised with their IT infrastructure and data. According to a survey conducted by McAfee on 19,000 people, 97% of the people were unable to identify such cyber attacks.

This is where the cyber security awareness and training tool comes in handy. The tool helps in creating awareness among employees to combat real-life cyber-attacks. With the power of reporting tool TAB, employees become capable to protect the entire organization against probable cyber-attacks.

Every day the number of reported cyber-crimes are increasing. It is, therefore, important for organizations to invest in cyber security awareness and training programs which should be continuous and must be followed with the regular assessment of the employees’ knowledge on cyber-attacks.

Cost to Develop an App Like Tinder: Determine

Best dating sites for 2021 - CNET

Gone are the days when love used to happen at the first sight. Now, dating apps like Tinder are gaining popularity to fill this gap by letting you find the person of your choice. Now love is just a tap away or more like a swipe away.

While apps like Tinder give its users the chance to fall in love, it puts the parent companies on a direct route to profit and escalated growth rates. In this article, we will be looking into Tinder-like app development in greater detail with the aim to give businesses an idea of how much it would cost them to develop a dating app like Tinder.

Tinder is a social dating app that allows people to find a match for themselves and then fix a date with the match with the help of a chatting feature incorporated in the app. Logging in to Tinder requires a Facebook ID so that the location and interests can be used to find the perfect match.

Even though Tinder was in many ways the Flagship brand of the mobility dating world, a number of apps soon followed the trend that the brand created.

Market leaders in the Dating App Category

Bumble - Date, Meet, Network BetterHappn | Privacy & security guide | Mozilla FoundationRaya, the dating app Hollywood celebrities use for finding love | NewsBytesHinge (app) - Wikipedia

  • Bumble dating app is one such app that is trying to give Tinder serious competition. What Bumble does better is that it provides an immediate chatting option to users, unlike Tinder where you have to wait for weeks to chat.
  • Happn is a huge competitor of Tinder giving incredible features like finding and connecting with someone who has crossed your path. The app uses GPS to track every move.
  • Raya is for the elite. The dating app development is done in a way that users are ‘accepted’ in the circle based on their social media strength and other factors.
  • Hinge works on the basis of connections and lets users find a match that is either a friend or a friend of a friend.

While there are many more in the market but the two biggest competitors of Tinder are Happn and Bumble dating app.

Despite the competition, the application receives one billion swipes per day. There are a number of reasons behind this happening and the most prime one is the feature set that Tinder comes with.

The feature set that Tinder comes up is soon becoming the standard that all the dating app development companies are following

  • The ‘swipe’ feature is great to indicate interest in a profile.
  • Tinder also allows Instagram integration making it easy to find someone’s Instagram profile.
  • Allows chatting with a match and fixing a date.
  • Tinder has special plans like Tinder Gold and Tinder plus for users who are willing to pay extra to add on some features.
  • Tinder uses geolocation which is quite different from any dating app development.

Now that we have looked into the various features that come as part and parcel of Tinder and other social media app development costs, let us now into the one feature that drives the complete revenue of apps that function as Tinder – Potential Matches.

After learning how does Tinder work, you must be curious to know how does Tinder find the perfect match for users. This is something many users think of when they get a match. Most of the matches do have common interests, location and age group. Let us look at the ways that Tinder dating app show potential matches:

How do apps like Tinder show potential matches?

1. The attractiveness of a user

Swipe Left (Tinder Song) by Skillitmusic

On the basis of the matches that any profile gets, its attractiveness increases. The more matches a profile gets, the more attractiveness. And they are listed the first to the other users when the app is opened.

2. Activeness of an account

When an account is new, matches a shown to it on the basis of most famous or attractive profiles. This is done to get them started by swiping right on the interesting profiles. This gives the mobile app a direction to sway their users in.

When a user interacts regularly after mutual liking then that activeness is also used as a factor to show matches to profiles.

3. Facebook profile

Full Details On Facebook's Overhauled Profile Pages | TechCrunch

Facebook profile is another way through which the Tinder mobile app suggests potential matches. Some information is taken from the Facebook profile such as mutual friends or common interests and then those are used to suggest matches on the dating app.

4. Other factors

There are other ways the app finds a match for its users. Some of the suggestions that a user gets are of those profiles that have already swiped right on them and are waiting for the user to swipe right in order to get a match.

Now that we have looked into the functionality of the Tinder-like app, it is time to look into the technologies that are used in the making of one of the most popular dating apps of our time.

Tech Stack of Tinder Like App Development

  • Application & Data – AngularJS

AngularJS Query String handling using $location.search()

  • Utilities- Google Analytics, SendGrid

How to send an SMTP mail using SendGrid? | Arasu RRK5 Google Analytics Loopholes to Close ASAP

G Suite - 9to5GoogleZendesk Reviews | Glassdoor

While the above tech stack is specific to Tinder, you don’t necessarily have to rely on them for your app as well.

Now that we have seen how the app works and the ways it finds potential matches, let’s look at the money involved. There are basically four ways such dating apps make money:

How much money do dating apps make?

1. Subscription:

How to Cancel Tinder Subscription on iPhone and Android - REGENDUS

Some apps give users a trial period to use the app for free and after that period is over a subscription fee is needed to be paid to continue the usage of services. This is one of the most common ways to make money. Tinder launched Tinder Plus for users with additional features that seeing people who have swiped right on their profile. The subscription fee for under 30 years is $10 monthly and for people above 30 years is $20 monthly.

2. Ads:

Google's pestering ads get 'mute' button - BBC News

Ads are spaces for third party companies. For advertising on the apps like Tinder, which has a huge audience, advertisers have to pay a good sum of money. Although it hasn’t been disclosed officially by the app about the cost of ads on its mobile apps, a source found out that it costs $5000 and above for one ad placement.

3. In-app purchases:

What Does In-App Purchase Mean? | CleverTap

The in-app payment integration can be made by users to access certain special features such as emojis, icons, etc. This is a way of earning for apps like Tinder.

4. Premium plans:

What Is Bumble Boost? How It Works, How to Get It

When companies build an app like Tinder, they keep certain special features locked. These features can only be unlocked after paying a certain sum.

5. Others:

Dating apps have other features as well. For example, in Bumble dating app female users only see the matches for 24 hours after which the match disappears. So if the male users want females to see their request for longer, they will need to buy the extended time of 24 hours.

With this, you now know what it takes to develop an app that works just like Tinder and also the different ways you can make money off of your app. The next and last section that we are left to discuss is – How much would it all cost you before you start making profits on your app.

Let’s answer that for you.

How much does it cost to develop an app like Tinder?

Noting the features that are prevalent in the app, it can be assumed that the cost to develop apps like Tinder would come somewhere around $40,000 to $50,000. However, this is a very rough estimate. There are a number of factors that can increase or lower the mobile app development cost.

Now that you have gathered the complete understanding of not just the Tinder clone app market potential but also the answer of how to build a dating app like Tinder, along with the near actual cost estimate of the app development, it is time to use that information and contact our team of mobile app development experts and get your Tinder clone app made.

New victim in the town: Manipulated TeamViewer Attacks

TeamViewer: The Remote Desktop Software

Government agencies were in a state of shock when they realized that their systems have been compromised with the malicious TeamViewer software. The attacker who was responsible for this attack is a Russian speaking man. TeamViewer is one of the most popular tools for the remote access of desktop, desktop sharing, file transfer between systems, web conferencing etc. The motive behind the attack is probably financially driven. The software was manipulated by adding malicious TeamViewer DLL to the original software. This mala fide software can steal sensitive data and money from even government and financial networks.

A malicious email posing to be sent from the U.S. Department of State was delivered in the inbox of the government employees and had ‘Military Financing Program’ as its subject line. The email had a malicious XLSM attachment with embedded macro.

Employees were duped by the malicious email since the emails coming from the U.S. department of state are generally marked as top secret. Once the victim opened and enabled macro in the decoy document, two files were extracted from the hex encoded cells in the XLSM document. The first one was the genuine AutoHotkeyU32.exe program. The other one was the corrupted AutoHotkeyU32.ahk which is an AHK script used to communicate with C&C server and to download the additional script and execute it.

 

How did the attacker successfully deploy the attack?

Hollywood and Hacking: Into the 21st Century - Real life hackers, computer punks and Hugh Jackman dancing

There are three different kind of malicious AHK scripts including ‘hscreen.ahk’, ‘info.ahk’ and ‘htv.ahk’. These three scripts affect user’s system in different ways.

hscreen.ahk: This script takes the screenshot of the victim’s personal computer and upload it on the C&C server.

hinfo.ahk:  Victim’s username and computer information is sent to the C&C server.

htv.ahk: A malicious version of TeamViewer is downloaded, executed on victim’s system and login credentials are sent to the C&C server.

The attacker hid the genuine TeamViewer interface while the TeamViewer software with malicious ‘htv.ahk’ was being run. DLL in order to take over the control of the software. This allowed the attacker to replace the genuine TeamViewer with the manipulated version.

The attack targeted Public financial sector and government officials belonging to Kenya, Italy, Liberia, Bermuda, Guyana, Lebanon and Nepal.

Earlier in the month of January, a security researcher who goes by the name of FewAtoms found a URL containing a malicious self-extracting archive which is a spyware disguised as TeamViewer.

The researchers have found a link of an avatar connected to a Russian underground forum user known as EvaPiks.

What could have been done?

Famous Hackers and How They Got Caught | Alpine Security

  • Ensure that the AHK script is compiled with ahk2exe, which is the part of AHK distribution.
  • In order to prevent de-compilation, provide a good password.
  • Always check the extension of any attachments present within the email.
  • Organizations should implement a multi-layer defense and put mitigation protocols in place to detect intrusions and act against them.
  • Enhance settings for macro malware attached emails.
  • Ensuring the application of these methods so that the program runs normally. It will also ensure that attacker would have difficulties in modifying the program.
  • However, the most effective strategy is to empower employees against social engineering attacks and provide periodic knowledge imparting sessions.

Travel App Development Revolutionizing Tourism Industry

Travel App Development: Tips, Features, and Things You Need to Know

The travel industry is one of the most burgeoning industries and with the rapid development of mobile apps, travel companies are leveraging mobile phones to enhance efficiency as well as agility in this increasingly competitive marketplace.

Travel mobile apps are affecting the booking as well as the planning process of the tourism industry. Nowadays, a large number of travelers are using travel mobile apps for research as well as for booking their holidays. With the availability of a well-developed travel app, people no longer have to rely on maps, guidebooks and compasses for traveling.

This is because, with a good app, you can research new places, book your tickets, find good eateries and all other travel related assistance.

What Makes A Travel App Successful?

When companies get their apps developed through a travel app development company, there are certain features that must be demanded. These are the features that make travel booking through mobile apps convenient:

Smart booking

Smart Booking App | Smart Booking System

Travel app development is done for the ease of travelers and the apps should include enough features to satisfy users. The travelers should have ease of booking with features like filter, price comparison, discount offers, bookmarking, push notifications, etc.

SEO Optimized

Best SEO Services Company in Hyderabad | TheEncrypts.com

When travelers search for a particular place they should be directed to the most relevant results. When the app is SEO optimized by any travel app developers, it becomes easy for users to get proper search results on the app.

This also lets the company understand what the travelers look for and how they move through the app. This information can be used to make the next big move in the business.

Allow cab bookings

online Cab Booking System PPT Presentation

Many tourism apps have flights, buses, or train bookings, and a very smart feature to add with these bookings would be an option to book a cab or taxi. This facility would give the users the comfort of booking a cab from the airport, bus stand, or railway station.

This is a great strategy but it also involves more addition of data to the app’s database. The travel app development should be done in such a way that the app can load the information without any glitches.

Include Geolocation

Using the Geolocation API in your Progressive Web App

When people are in a new place they are always afraid of getting lost but if the tourism app has the geolocation feature the travelers will move around freely. This feature is highly demanded by businesses when they go to for their tourism app development.

The feature allows travelers to find nearby places such as bars, restaurants, medical shops, etc.

Weather forecasting

Weather Forecasting: How Does Big Data Analytics Magnify it ? | Analytics Steps

The real-time weather forecast will be a great feature for traveling people. This feature will help them in making flight bookings, taking up adventure activities and also packing clothes accordingly.

Option to review

When a person wants to travel to a new place he always looks for feedback from travelers who have already been there. The option to review a place is another smart feature an app must-have.

Reviews not only give a beforehand idea about what to expect but also an option to choose whether the place is worth the visit or not.

Easy transaction

Trivago - How to Find and Compare Cheap Hotel Prices [2021]

A transaction through the app allows better and accurate storage of customer data. Apps are the new way to replace the traditional method of keeping receipts and documents.

But the travel application development process must pay attention to a load of information. That way the storing and accessing of data becomes smooth.

To create travel apps, these were the features that must be included for maximum user satisfaction.

Why are Apps your Best Travel Companion?

There is no exaggeration in saying that this increasing demand for travel mobile applications has effectively strengthened the kinship between the travel and tourism sector and the mobile app industry. There are still many travelers who are not sure of having a well-developed app, thus listed below are some ways apps can help during travel:

Useful Safety Information

A travel app keeps you informed about the current security situation of your chosen travel destination such as important notices on strikes or weather-related disturbances. Its 24-hour emergency service can help you at any time and this way you can have a safe vacation with your friends and family.

Instant Hotel and ticket Booking

What TripAdvisor's instant booking means for hotels | PhocusWire

There are many apps that offer you the list of the hotels with the accommodations prices. On the other hand, if you book your accommodation or hotel with the help of an app of that particular hotel, then you are at a higher chance to avail special discount which is generally available for few lucky travellers. Hotels have used travel app development agency to develop apps for their chain of hotels. Such apps give you complete description about the rooms with spectacular views. This way you can find the best room at the best price.

Apart from travel apps will let you know about the lowest airfare of a particular airline so you can book. In addition, you can find the best seats in the plane and it gives you the chance to make the booking of your taxis to and from the airport in a hassle-free manner. Apart from taxis, finding other public transport can also be easily done.

24/7 Accessibility

When you have an app, then you can use it anytime to acquire any kind of information and from anywhere. In other words, you can use it at your convenience and there is no need to worry about the issues of time zone. The apps developed by travel app development companies have special features that are added from a travelers point of view.

Best Way For Networking And Sharing

5 Easy Ways to Transfer Files Between Computers on the Same Network

With apps, you can stay connected with your chosen communities and you can easily share photos, videos and even exchange notes with your friends and relatives. Hence, there is no exaggeration in saying that this improves the experience of your travel.

How does App Help Travelers?

There is no doubt that mobile applications have changed the life of users. The tourism industry is a big scope for tech companies and hence we see many companies specializing in travel application development. Tourism apps help travelers in numerous ways. Let us look at the most important ones:

IoT based decisions

Improve Your Decision Making Using IoT and ML | by IoT Sense | Medium

Many travel app developers use IoT-based solutions for tourism apps such as geolocation. This feature helps users know and understand a new place without any confusion.

Travel cashless

Cashless Payment in Japan: Is It Widely Available? | LIVE JAPAN travel guide

One of the most important motive of tourism app development was to make traveling a cashless affair. With the use of one app travelers can book hotels, flights, cabs, buses, trains and even tickets to museums and plays. All this has become possible only because of the app technology.

Special services

The benefit of using mobile application for business is massive for business as well as for users. The travel app development procedure must have storage of data as priority. This is because apps store the record of users and hence allows businesses to determine which users are eligible for special offers and discounts.

Customised apps

With the increase in use of tourism apps, travel mobile app development companies have started getting demands for custom made apps to beat the competition and stand out.

When users give feedback, the companies use it as a guide to improve their applications which lets the business retain its customers and improve user experience.

Traveling as a community

5 Holiday Travel Tips from our Community | American Migraine Foundation

When travelers want to know about a certain place they look for feedback from other travelers who have been there already. This creates a social community for travelers who help each other by sharing important information such as things to not miss, precautions (if any) and any extra detail not mentioned to the travelers beforehand.

These are some of the benefits of travel apps and by witnessing all these advantages, it can be said that apps in travel industries are very advantageous because such apps have minimized the hassle of travellers with great instant service. Apart from helping tourists, it plays a pivotal role in generating a lot of revenue in the travel sector. Travel mobile app development companies are seeing success like never before and the reason is the vastness of mobile application and travel industry as a whole. So, to create travel app, has become a must-have for both commuters and travel companies.

However, all apps cannot be the same and thus, you should do a little research before downloading the app for enhancing your travel experience. You have plenty of options in app stores, but when it comes to choosing the best one, there is a need to check the rating of the app and also reviews about that particular app. So, do some thorough research and find the best app that suits your requirements.

Biggest cases of data breach in the first quarter 2019

Cybercrime cases rose between 2014 and 2017: Ravi Shankar Prasad | Business Standard News

2019 has been a good year; not for many; but definitely for cyber-criminals. While we might still be coping-up with the news of a data breach incident that would have occurred two days ago; we hear another case of an organization’s infrastructure being breached. Let’s hit the ground zero.

1. Google Chrome cast Hack

How to Fix the ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED Error in Chrome (9 Tips)

It was almost a normal day of the winters of January, when thousands of people who had been using Google’s Chromecast streaming dongles, Google Home smart speakers as well smart TVs with built-in Chromecast technology; got their systems hacked. Hackers left a display pop-up to inform users that their systems are exposed to public internet. However, the odd thing about this hack was that attackers forced people to subscribe to the YouTube sensation ‘Pewdiepie’.

2. Germany’s Biggest Cyber attack

Twitter down, suffers worldwide outage - BNO News

Around the same time, Germany was hit by the biggest cyber-attack in its history. Hackers hacked into the twitter accounts of more than hundred German politicians and accessed their highly sensitive personal information including email addresses, phone numbers, private chats, photographs of victims’ ID, bills as well as the credit card information. Attackers leaked the data on a twitter account called ‘@_0rbit’. German federal police dived into an investigation and soon, a 20-year old local student was arrested.

3. Ethereum Classic lost $ 1.1 million to hackers

Ethereum Price Forecast: ETH prints bullish pattern, preparing for colossal upswing past $4,000

While German police was celebrating its victory, popular cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Ethereum Classic, experienced one of the worst days in its history. People who were using its services were forced to pay twice the coins for any of its services. This resulted in the loss of around $ 1.1 million Ethereum Classic digital currency. This resulted in the immediate fall in the prices of the digital currency. Hours later, Ethereum Classic accepted that there were almost ‘51% successful attacks’ with multiple block reorganization. Attackers are still under the cover and Ethereum Classic is still investigating.

4. Australian Parliament Cyber-attack

10 Different Types of Cyber Attacks & How To Recognize Them | InfoSec Insights

In the beginning of February, Australian parliament faced one of the biggest cyber attacks with its server being hacked by what the Australian parliament referred to as ‘the work of a sophisticated state actor’.

5. Leaked Database of Chinese citizen found online

fyi... the linkedin password database is now on pastebin : sysadmin

In January 2019, cybersecurity experts discovered a huge unsecured database worth 854.8 GB; lying openly on the internet. The database  was stored on an instance of MongoDB and consisted records of approximately 202 million Chinese citizens who were apparently job candidates. Soon the database was taken off, however, MongoDB has displayed the list of dozen of IP addresses that have accessed this database.

6. Wiping out VFEmail.net 

VFEmail Review 2021 | How secure is VFEmail? - ProPrivacy.com

U.S. based email service ‘VFEmail.net’ informed its users that all their data as well as backup worth two decades of data was lost. It was discovered that the attacker’s IP address was 94[.]155[.]49[.]9 and the username was “aktv,”, apparently registered in Bulgaria.

7. Attackers were selling the information on dark web

Information products: how to create and sell info products online

In one of the shocking instances, it was revealed that attackers were selling information of approximately 747 million accounts on the dark web. These accounts were stolen from 24 very popular websites. Most of these websites had no idea that they were compromised with, however, a few have confirmed that they suffered from data breach.

8. Indane gas breach

India's state owned gas company Indane exposes millions of confidential Aadhaar numbers

LPG gas company, Indane, became the victim of yet another case of data breach, where Aadhar number of approximately 6.7 million customers were leaked.

9. Aadhar details leaked 

Aadhaar: 'Leak' in world's biggest database worries Indians - BBC News

MongoDB is once again the talk of the town. A database known as GNCTD worth 4.1 GB in size, has been found on MongoDB instance. The database consisted of approximately 458,388 individuals’ Aadhar and Voter ID numbers along with references as well as email addresses with “transerve.com” domain for users who were registered with “super admin” and “senior supervisor” designations.

10. 1 million ASUS systems affected by massive supply chain attack

WordPress Supply Chain Attacks: An Emerging Threat

Taiwan based world’s fifth largest PC maker, ASUS, revealed that approximately 1 million systems were affected by massive supply chain attack known as ShadowHammer.

11. Bithumb suffers the loss of $19 million

Top 5 Cryptocurrency Exchange Bithumb Suffers Major Data Breach | Digital Trends

On March 30th, the news of a humungous $19 million theft from the South Korean, Bithumb cryptocurrency exchange, fell into the ears of people. Hackers had compromised Bithumb’s hot EOS as well as XRP wallets and transferred approximately 3 million EOS (~ $13 million) and 20 million XRP (~ $6 million) to the newly-created accounts.

12. Georgia Institute of Technology suffers data breach

Georgia Institute of Technology: William Smith talks about his job as director of Georgia Tech's Office of Emergency Management and Communications – India Education | Latest Education News India | Global Educational

Georgia Institute of Technology was hit badly by cyber-criminals when a data breach led to the theft of the personal information of around 1.3 million current as well as formal faculty members, student as well as the applicants. According to the university, outside entities gained access to the web application of the university’s database.

What is the reason behind the success of these attacks?

The first quarter of the year has seen a number of data breaches that have targeted big organizations. Attackers are learning, adapting as well molding their modus operandi with the changing time. On the other hand, organization are still being old school.

Procrastination:

Procrastination Isn't a Time Management Problem, It's an Emotional Problem

2019 took a start with Google Chromecast devices being hacked. This happened because a group of attackers exploited a bug that was lying down for five years like a ticking time bomb. Evidently, Google was aware of this vulnerability but kept on ignoring the bug.

Being Ignorant to the details:

The pleasures of being ignorant

In most of the cases, organizations are unaware of the fact that they are undergoing a cyber-attack. ASUS is one such victim since the attack was ongoing during the second half of 2018 and the company had no clue.

Lack of proper cyber-security measures:

How the COVID-19 Pandemic is Impacting Cyber Security Worldwide - IEEE Innovation at Work

Many a times, the data travelling in the forms of packets is not well encrypted and thus data can be easily stolen away by attackers. Indane Gas was victimized because of a vulnerability that was present in its mobile application.

What should organizations do in order to safeguard themselves?

29,165 Safeguard Stock Vector Illustration and Royalty Free Safeguard Clipart

Organizations can employ preventive cyber-security measures in order to safeguard data security and ensure that the network as well as the infrastructure of the organization is free from vulnerabilities and loopholes. Cyber-security companies ensure the same with a number of managed security services such as vulnerability assessment and penetration testing, web application testing, network penetration testing, server security testing etc. Anteelo is one of the fastest growing cyber security start-ups in the country. With its team of expert pen testers, the company has provided managed services to a number of businesses to industries like Healthcare, banking, insurance etc. These services have enabled organizations to conduct businesses without worrying about various issues related to the cyber security of the organization.

Determine Cost To Develop A Chat App Like WhatsApp

Best Chatting app Development Company for Android or iOS

It was the year 1990 when the concept of instant messaging first hit the mainstream of the world. Fast forwarding 20 years, the year was 2009 when the impossible happened. A former Yahoo employee and his partner started working on an application that would become a revolution in instant messaging. The name was – WhatsApp, named to sound like ‘What’s up?’ Here’s a story of how getting rejected for a job at Facebook led two friends to make an application that they would sell to Facebook for a fortune worth $19 billion. And an evaluation of how much will it cost to create a social media chat app like WhatsApp. WhatsApp is the brainchild of two friends – Brian Acton and Jan Koum. In August 2009, with the release of WhatsApp 2.0, the number of active users suddenly spiked to 250,000 and it was then that WhatsApp had its first taste of success. It had discovered the nuances of getting viral.

Starting from there, WhatsApp now carries the crown of being the most uninstalled application and has a total of over a billion users. In the present day, WhatsApp has reached a Million mark in terms of daily active users (DAU) and the numbers here speak for themselves. Not only that, these numbers are only expected to grow manifold, as per industry expert.

Timeline of WhatsApp:

WhatsApp Status daily active users 2019 | Statista

Through this timeline, we can see the tremendous growth that WhatsApp has shown over the years. When it entered the world market, there was no application on par with WhatsApp. Its Southeast Asian counterpart apps, such as WeChat, Viber, etc., were incredibly successful with their target audience, but the western world was untouched.

Traditional messaging was all that was there during those years, but with the innovation of Wi-Fi and other Internet services soaring high, there was a gap that could be filled in the world of instant messaging and WhatsApp was the first one to move forward in that direction.

One of the key reasons why WhatsApp was such a hit that it urged Facebook to acquire it as one of Facebook’s most expensive acquisitions was its sophisticated, all-covering, simple techstack that gave so much room for improvement while being at the top already.

It makes use of Ejabberd server for enabling features such as,

  • One-on-one Message
  • Store and forward (offline messages)
  • Contact List and Presence
  • Group chat – Multi User Chat (MUC)
  • Message Archive Management (MAM)
  • Personal event protocol (PEP) and typing indicator
  • Privacy settings, simple blocking extensions

Let us look at the rest of the stack for a better understanding of WhatsApp’s success.

  • Language- Erlang
  • OS- FreeBSD
  • Virtual Machine- BEAM
  • Servers- Ejabberd, YAWS(Multimedia storage)
  • Stack- LYME/LYCE
  • Database- Mnesia
  • Offline database- SQLite

Apart from the technical specification, WhatsApp success stories lie in the fact that after the launch of a basic model with real-time messaging, it went on adding features to the service which made WhatsApp become an indispensable part of 1.5 billion users worldwide which are still growing in number. Let us look at all of those features and the development costs associated with each one, as we go.

Basic WhatsApp Features and the Time It Takes to Develop Them

  • Registration

WhatsApp: registration process | Download Scientific Diagram

For registration on WhatsApp, once the user enters his/her credential, i.e., the name, country and phone number, the application sends a message of authorization. In the Android version of the app, WhatsApp reads and submits the verification code automatically. Once the registration is done, the app syncs all the phone book contacts automatically to display the ones available on the WhatsApp messaging platform.

Development Time :  50-55 hours.

  • Real time messaging – One on one, group chat and Broadcast messages

Broadcast a Message to Multiple WhatsApp Contacts Individually at the Same Time « Smartphones :: Gadget Hacks

Since you’re willing to create your own WhatsApp-like app, it’s indisputable to incorporate a messaging feature, which can be one on one chat or a multi-user chat. WhatsApp developers use customised XMPP (eXtensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) which enables message delivery.

Also, WhatsApp chat enables Emojis, Stickers and GIF files.

Development Time : 210-220 hours (Both frontend and backend development)

  • Voice Calling

WhatsApp gets a new update for voice calls

WhatsApp’s free calling feature was added last year in January to attract more users to it. It uses Internet traffic to call rather than your data plan minutes or your money. WhatsApp uses the PJSIP library to implement Voice over IP (VoIP). This is an open source multimedia communication library written in C. The library uses high-level API by combining the SIP (signaling protocol) with a multimedia framework and NAT traversal functionality.

Development Time : 200-220 hours (Both frontend and backend development)

  • Video Calling

WhatsApp Video Calling Is a Good Effort That Needs Some Polish | NDTV Gadgets 360

Any mobile app developer can tell you how important a video calling feature is for any social media or social messaging application today. Those applications that did not have video calling features in their business plan are also looking at the possibility of adding them, like Instagram. And the video calling feature for WhatsApp is an important one for the field.

Development time : 180-220 hours (Both frontend and backend development, depending upon Android or iOS development)

  • Multimedia sharing

How to Make and Share a WhatsApp Status Video - Animoto

With WhatsApp, we can also share Voice notes, video files and photographs. To create a chat app like WhatsApp, you can add such features too, as they were part of the basic model of the application. The transmission procedure is performed by uploading a multimedia file to be delivered to the HTTP server (YAWS), then sends a link to the content together with its Base64 encoded thumbnail.

This is nothing a well established mobile app development company doesn’t know of.

Development Time : 40-50 Hours

  • Settings Column

WhatsApp privacy features: Enable these settings now to keep your chats safe

The settings part of WhatsApp consists of Privacy settings, account settings and profile settings. Where users can switch off or on the read receipts, change their profile picture or profile name, manage blocked contacts, delete their accounts, change status, change numbers, customise profile settings like chat notifications, etc.

Development time : 110-120 hours

  • Contact Sharing

Share WhatsApp Contacts on Android and iPhone

This is a small feature where the users can send and receive contacts from their phone memories directly with each other. It adds on to the convenience of the app. The procedure for contact sharing is identical to the message delivery; the XMPP protocol is also engaged here. Hiring the best mobile app development company takes the load off your shoulder and give you an application worth your investment in the end.

Development time : 70-80 hours

  • Location sharing

How to share live location in WhatsApp? | TechRadar

The geolocation feature can be integrated into the app to share your current location or the location of any place. Besides this, your live location can also be shared with another person for a designated amount of time. To display maps in your apps, Google Maps Android API is a way for Android developers; the Map Kit framework is offered to iOS developers by Apple.

You should hire a right mobile app development company who knows his way with all the necessities of mobile app development. A mobile app development company with an inhouse team of mobile app developer and UI/UX app designers is the best way to go.

Development Time : 25-30 Hours

  • Notifications

WhatsApp doesn't show usernames on notifications - Ask Different

On WhatsApp, the user is notified about a personal chat message or a group message through mobile app notifications. They can even enable the feature where they receive a chat-on-screen pop-up when the phone is locked. This feature can be incorporated through Google Cloud Messaging or Apple Push Notifications.

Development time : 15-20 hours

Summarizing:

This is an estimation for the stated features. This may vary for different mobile app development companies or Mobile app developers. Besides, there are a number of other, more advanced features that WhatsApp is going on adding to its application, such as, Whatsapp web, Camera filters, WhatsApp upi payment, end to end chat encryption etc. which have raised the bar high for other such applications. In fact, the team has also made it possible for mobile app developers to verify users on WhatsApp rather than on traditional SMS application.

It’s critical to put a dollar value to the entire development process of such an application in the first step. Although, WhatsApp’s MVP cost would be in the range of $40,000 to $50,000. However, this is a very rough estimate. And as the number of features alter, the mobile app development cost will alter accordingly.

Now that you have convened the complete understanding of not just the clone app for WhatsApp but the entire market potential and also the answer to how to create a chat app like WhatsApp, along with the near actual cost estimate of social media app development like WhatsApp , it is time.

It is time to use that information and contact our team of social media mobile app development experts and build a WhatsApp clone of your own or just to get a clearer estimate of the actual cost.

Reasons Behind Successful Phishing Attacks

How to Protect Your Business from Phishing Attacks - Abacode

Phishing is one of the most infamous cyber attack vectors that is widely adopted by attackers for luring victims to reveal their sensitive and confidential information. Phishing attacks are generally carried out through the medium of emails.

Attackers forge fake emails with malicious links. Once the link is clicked and the victim submits its credential, the attacker gains unauthorized access by misusing those credentials. Hence, the victim gets phished.

History of the Emergence of Phishing Attacks

The history of phishing is quite old. It has been prevalent since the good old days of the 90s. America Online (AOL) was one of the top internet service providers during the mid-90s with millions of visitors every single day.

Attackers or ‘Phreaks’ (yes! That’s what attackers used to call themselves. Fancy, right?) started trading pirated software over AOL and formed a ‘warez’ community.

6 Form Error Message Mistakes Almost Everyone Makes

This community stole AOL users’ passwords, created random credit card numbers, and spammed users.

This process was automated with the help of windows software AOHell. Once discovered, AOHell was shut down by America Online.

There are many cases that have been reported and even more that have not been reported. On average, 1.2 million phishing attacks occur annually. According to security research, phishing attacks almost doubled to 482.5 million from 246.2 million in the year 2017. Statistics show that phishing accounts for 91% of all cyber attacks.

Why do Attackers Use Phishing Attacks?

Large User base

Topic 1: Online participation & digital literacies – New learning about education

One of the biggest reasons for the success of Phishing attacks is the widespread use of emails. At present, there are around 2.6 billion email users and this number is expected to cross 4.2 billion by the year 2022. Susceptibility rate of phishing attacks is quite high as attackers can easily find out email addresses, send phishing emails, and there, it’s done.

Humans are the weak link

Cybersecurity pros: Are humans really the weakest link? - TechRepublic

The other big contributor to the success of phishing attacks is the victim itself. These days, social media has become a huge part of people’s lives. People are putting out their entire lives online. Attackers can easily access the personal information of the victim through a social networking platform that helps in creating personalized phishing attacks (also known as Spear Phishing).

Lack of awareness 

Lack of awareness of Help to Buy ISA | Mortgage Introducer

Lack of security awareness among employees is also one of the major reasons for the success of phishing. Organizations should be aware of how the benefits of security awareness training can secure their employees from falling victim to phishing attacks.

In recent years, attackers have shifted their focus from individuals to employees within the organization. Statistically, 90% of the cyber attacks are the result of employee negligence. During the year 2018, a 76% increase in the number of phishing attacks was observed.

54% of the companies had experienced one or more attacks that compromised their IT infrastructure and data. According to the survey done on 19,000 people, approximately 97% of the people are unable to identify such attempts.

Leniency in the adaption of security measures

clip-art-waking-up-876950 | Clipart Panda - Free Clipart Images

The leniency in the adaptation of security measures is one of the biggest reasons for the success of phishing attacks. Studies have shown that organizations lag in spending money on the implementation of cybersecurity measures. During the year 2018, 51% of the organizations have made no change to the budget allocated to ensure cybersecurity.

These reasons play a huge role in the success of such attacks. Therefore, it is extremely important for organizations to implement cybersecurity practices and understand the benefits of following security measures properly. Cybersecurity companies like Anteelo , ensure that your network and infrastructure are secure from cyber attacks. Anteelo offers industry-leading cybersecurity solutions and tools such as cyber attack simulation and awareness tool, email authentication and anti-spoofing solution; anti-phishing, fraud monitoring & take-down solution; phishing incident response, VAPT and secure code review.

 

Startups Invest In Android App Development-Reasons

How can a mobile application development services startup get investment? - Quora

You as an entrepreneur would only want what’s best for your business in the long run, right? Well, one piece of advice that we could venture you in is to go for the most popular mobile app development platform globally – Android. One has to take into consideration several benefits of Android apps for business growth to conjecture why it is the right choice. Ipso facto, we should better get started with the statistics proving as a solid cornerstone to our argument on why Android apps for business are a viable option. With Android 11 getting prepared to offer its set of benefits to the businesses, the time is all the more of the essence here for choosing Android as a go-to approach for mobile app development for startups.

Since numbers work the best when calculating profitable pursuits for businesses, this graph below representing the market share of OS platforms is evidence enough. It is clear that Android has more voraciously captured the global market and has become the first choice of many hardware companies as well as users in general.

Mobile OS market shares | world

More statistics such as Google Play made almost 3x more first-time app installs in the third quarter of 2019 than the App Store, amounting to $21.6 billion during the quarter – a change that accounted for an 11% YoY increase from Q3 2018, are what make people invest in Android.

Mobile App Download and Usage Statistics (2021) - BuildFire

In fact, according to Sensor Tower reports, the Play Store generated $7.7 billion in revenue in Q3 2019, an increase of 24% YoY from $6.2 billion in Q3 2018 – a reason that justifies the android app development cost across genres.

What Makes Android The Best Choice for Mobile App Development for Startups

If you are still skeptical and unsure as to why develop an Android app for your startup then, here are some reasons that might convince you to firm your decision:

1. Greater user base

What startups should know about Monthly Active Users (MAU) - Baremetrics

Today, most users across the world are using android mobiles. And from what we have read so far, this is surely the truth. The majority of users globally use Android-powered devices as compared to its contenders, which gives you a large pool of potential users.

Moreover, not having an android app for business means losing limitless business opportunities. No business can afford such a loss, especially when there’s a cut-throat competition going on in the market. Thus, it is advisable to look for Android application developers to convert your website into an app.

2. Easy availability of resources

What Is Resource Management & Why Is It Important?

Android application development services are primarily based on the base language Java. The programming language, one taught at the graduate level as a compulsory subject, makes it extremely easy for every android app developer for startups (even freshers) to adopt and learn.

For a startup, the fact that they have to spend less time and money on developers’ training makes Android the best choice for their app needs.

3. Open-source platform

The Top 9 Open Source Development Tools and Platforms

Android is an open-source platform. That implies Google doesn’t charge any fee for using this platform. In fact, Google provides Android app development tools and technology for free. Hardware device manufacturers such as Samsung, Xiaomi, etc., all use Android as their default OS. This is because the Android code is open-source and hence free.

This allows Android to capture the majority of the market. This also acts as a great factor in cutting the cost of the entire project. Although the android app development cost does vary from company to company depending upon multiple factors, the more devices you connect with the operating system, the greater would be the overall cost that your android app startup ideas will have to bear.

4. Compatibility with multiple devices

One of the biggest advantages of choosing an android app over iOS is that there’s no restriction on devices to be used for building an android app. You can build an app on Windows desktop, Mac as well as on Linux system. The fact that Android allows you to expand your brand across devices and systems makes it a go-to platform for all the sectors with interoperability needs.

As a matter of fact, Google provides application development tools and technologies for all. Moreover, submitting apps to Play Store is easier and the subscription fee of Google – $25 (one time) is much lower than that of iOS – $99 (per annum).

5. Faster deployment

Faster Deployment - Computer Network - Free Transparent PNG Download - PNGkey

The duration of deployment for iOS apps stretches up to weeks whereas making an android app live on the Play Store takes only a couple of hours.

This is why most android app development companies recommend choosing android as a platform. The android app development process must be a fast affair because the sooner the app is developed, the quicker the business will bloom.

6. Build a customizable app

Another interesting fact or rather a primary pro of choosing android application development services is that it allows the android app developers to customize the apps as per the business requirement. This means your business app development will get done with the right requirements which might not have been possible with any other platform.

In a nutshell, no matter whether you are a product-based company or a service-based company, having an Android app for business is a must. It will act as a channel to reach maximum customers and hence improve your sales.

7. Incredible graphics support

GeForce RTX™ 3080 GAMING OC 10G Key Features | Graphics Card - GIGABYTE Global

Another reason for choosing Android mobile app development for a startup is because it offers amazing graphics support by providing incredible features. In fact, this is what makes it a perfect choice for Game app development, and apps that will be more centered around the graphics. The platform also provides support for 2D and 3D graphics.

8. Easy integration

In terms of integration, Android is a great choice indeed. Ask any android app development company and they will tell you how easy it is to integrate third-party APIs with your Android app. The ease, in turn, positively impacts the total cost and time of the app development towards a downward way.

9. Heavy device fragmentation

Though it is true that fragmentation can lead to up to increased development cost and testing time, however, it has its own benefits to offer. The variety of devices that the Android ecosystem is made up of: smartphones, TV, home assistant devices, wearables, etc. inevitably points towards the big market all ripe and ready for you to target with your application. Unlike iOS, your app won’t be limited to just a set of devices.

10. Multiple network distribution

Damen Shipyards Selects TCS' for Greater Scalability and Agility

If you look at the advantages of the Android mobile app development for startups, you will find that the apps are not just limited to the Play Store. Meaning, you can publish your app on other app stores as well, namely Samsung Galaxy Store, MI store, and so on.

11. Higher ROI

Since you have such a wide market to target, the return of investment on your android app development for business would be instant and always on a higher end. From the time you publish your app on the store, there is a big pool of potential users you can tap into. All you need to do is devise a robust marketing and promotion strategy and follow best practices to get your app featured on the Play Store – processes that a sound android app development company can help you with.

12. Greater scalability

What is Company Scalability – Really? - Mirus Capital Advisors

This is another strong reason why businesses aim for becoming Android based startups. The platform is not limited to just smartphones, but can also be integrated into devices running on other technologies like IoT, AR, and VR. This provides a larger scope of scalability for businesses. It is this versatility that shows why businesses across the globe are looking for skilled android app development companies for startups.

Though it is true that Android and iOS are tough competition for each other, and deciding which to choose can be difficult since they have their own benefits to offer to businesses. However, even if you choose the benefits of android apps for startups over iOS, you can always try cross-platform development to target multiple platforms for expanding your reach.

Impenetrable Security: Securing People, Process & Technology

What Is Internet Security? | Free Internet Security Suite For PC

Securing people, process & technology and having an Impenetrable security posture in an organization has been a major concern for businesses since years. Organizations have been investing massive amounts in next-gen security technologies such as antivirus, firewalls, full disk encryption and data loss prevention.  The investment in cybersecurity solutions has risen from $3.5 billion in 2004 to $75 billion in 2015, and forecasted to reach $170 billion by 2020! Though these solutions are considered as the epitome of security, they fail to secure one very important aspect of cybersecurity, which is the People. In the current era of technology, People, not technology, are becoming the key to securing organizations.

 

Why do we need to have an impenetrable security posture addressing the human element?

Cyber attackers are well aware that employees in an organization are considered to be the least resistant or in other words, the weakest link for any security breach. As a result, attackers are intruding technology using cyber-attacks like Phishing, Smishing, Ransomware attacks, removable media etc. The solution to mitigate it is quite simple, just as organizations are investing in creating a secure IT infrastructure, they’ll also need to start investing on a security-conscious workplace, also known as a human firewall, in order to obtain an impenetrable security posture.

Past Conferences and Webinars in Information Security | The Information Security Report

 

However, this can only be achieved if they are able to raise the awareness amongst the people to such an extent that they at least become a strong firewall against potential cyber threats. The best way to incorporate awareness is to gamifying the training part in order to create employee interest in the subject. As for many of them, the idea of cybersecurity ignites the same emotions that air travelers experience when witnessing the flight safety presentations during the start.

To create a secure culture and behavior amongst the people, organizations need to establish a long-term security awareness approach. An approach, where the employees should be tested for their behavior, and how they are reacting against the top potential online attacks. Where the workforce will be engaged in knowledge imparting and regular security assessments as building a strong line of defense is not a one-time security training, it needs to be a continuous process. This will at least make the employees think like security professionals, or at least be vigilant enough to think twice before reacting to cyber scams.

Also, we cannot completely blame the employees when it comes to data breaches, for example, if a user commits a mistake and clicks on an email that causes a breach, we often think that it happened because of the user’s negligence. But it is not actually the case, the organization was already under attack when the attacker sent the email before it was even clicked or opened! So having a powerful security infrastructure is equally important when it comes to incorporate People, Process, and Technology.

 

What are the possible consequences of not having a cybersecurity awareness training program for employees?

Organizations Are Embracing Cyber Security Awareness Training as the First Line of Defense Against Hackers - CPO Magazine

Given that 91% of the data breach attacks include phishing, if your workforce is not prepared to identify and ignore these attacks, the risk of a successful cyber attack, such as ransomware is greatly increased. Small businesses are affected the most as they can be extremely fragile, and the cost of a breach is always high in terms of money. Also, depending on what loss is incurred and how it impacts the customer base, a data breach can do significant damage to your brand reputation as well.

Companies need to harmonize security and convenience when talking about security awareness to their employees. The goal should be to lower the risk to an acceptable level. Awareness training is an emerging trend, and organizations should always look out for upcoming trends in employee compliance and new tools, in order to improve cybersecurity awareness.

 

Some people are still on the fence about investing in employee cybersecurity, what should be the driving factor for them?

Employees' Role in Cybersecurity | The Cyber Security Place

Here the answer will be simple, a big YES! It is considered an essential practice to incorporate impenetrable security involving employee security measures in organizations. The employees need to keep in mind that everyone has a role in keeping a company and its stakeholders protected. Companies might consider spam filters, firewall, IPS, SIEM, app whitelisting etc. to be effective against cyber scams, but the only way they can make these tools effective is by involving the users in cyber defense.

Every organization across the globe has data which is valuable to the attackers. Data such as customer records, email accounts, employee data etc. are all sought after and can make your organization a high-value target. Organizations should have a highly maintained security management approach which should include high-quality employee protection program, documented patching process, identity, access and password management and an incident response plan. Dedicated cybersecurity firms like Anteelo , solely work on People, Process, and Technology agenda, providing customized VA-PT (Vulnerability Assessment- Penetration Testing) services and employee risk assessment tool, that helps organizations in reducing the overall threat posture to up to 90%.

 

Mobile Apps Revolutionizing the Entertainment Sector

Media & entertainment sector now at Rs 1.26 lakh cr: FICCI-KPMG Report 2017 | Business Standard News

From news updates to live streaming, entertainment apps have got everything a person needs to sit back, relax and enjoy. All the things you need at the touch of your fingertip. Mobile applications are being used in every industry but the entertainment industry is taking advantage of this technology the most. The entertainment sector is all about engagement, content, and a massive audience.

It is very clear that the entertainment industry majorly depends on mobile applications and thus many mobile app development companies are focusing on entertainment app development.

Mobile app development agencies should keep few things in mind while entertainment app development: attractive designs, various sources of information, easy sharing options, and an option to interact.

Entertainment software development companies have taken this new path of entertainment app development where the market is highly profitable and has a bright future. A study shows that among the top 10 most used applications, entertainment apps take the first 5 positions.

In this article, we are going to look into the uprise of apps for entertainment in the mobile industry – the top apps and the reasoning behind their growth before looking into the features set that back their popularity.

  1. Trending apps in the media and entertainment industry
  2. How have mobile applications revolutionized the entertainment industry?
  3. Feature-set that makes entertainment apps engaging
  4. Future of mobile apps in the entertainment industry

Trending Apps in the Media and Entertainment Industry

Entertainment applications are a necessity today. We can always spot someone who is engrossed in such apps while commuting or having lunch at their desk. That is how media app development is done so that it can attract a massive audience. Some applications have turned into a trend now and we simply cannot do life without them. Let’s take a look at these rockstar trending apps in the entertainment industry:

1. NETFLIX

Netflix Has 45% Fewer Movies (and 400% More TV Shows) Than it Did in 2010 - TV[R]EV

Netflix is an entertainment app that has an unlimited list of movies and sitcoms. The app can be used to connect to any TV and gives a high-definition experience to the viewers. This has completely changed the satellite TV game and has won the market. By revenue, Netflix is the world’s 10th largest company.

2. TED

TED - Apps on Google Play

TED has over 1400 videos that have inspired millions of people in the world. The videos on this app can be accessed from any mobile device. TED also has its own radio that runs on demand. The app has videos from various successful people who give their best life advice on this platform.

3. BOOKMYSHOW

BookMyShow Rejigs Leadership Team - BW Businessworld

Bookmyshow is an app that lets you book tickets for movies, concerts, stand-ups and theatres in India. It will also tell you about the upcoming shows according to the location that has been set. Almost every Indian uses this app to conveniently book tickets online to avoid the rush at ticket counters.

4. SPOTIFY

How Well Does Spotify Know You? - Digital Innovation and Transformation

Spotify is a music service app that allows you to legally listen to music and save many of them offline as well. With a user base of 24 million, this app is trending in the music section. You can browse through songs as per artists or genres. The recently updated app allows you to save up to 3000 tracks offline.

5. 9GAG

9GAG: Go Fun The World

9gag is a Hong Kong-based company. They run an application based on their web content that allows users to upload funny videos, GIFs, and images that are user-generated. The app has more than 10 million downloads on Google Play with a 4.6 rating. 9gag has seen a huge rise in its base audience since it launched its own mobile app in 2012.

How Have Mobile Applications Revolutionized the Entertainment Industry?

1. Tracking the trends

Tracking The Trends In Globalization | BizEd Magazine

The primary way mobile apps transforming entertainment is through making trends tracking easy. When social media wasn’t around, tracking the trends was quite difficult. But ever since social media got a grip on society, there is a new trend every day. Multiple social media applications have one complete section dedicated to the most trending topics on the application.

When it comes to the latest movies, games, music, and series, entertainment apps keep them on the top or trending section of the app so that users can learn what’s liked by the majority.

Entertainment is no more limited to time slots and closed doors. It is now available anywhere, anytime, and for anyone. Media software development companies are working progressively to improve the user experience by optimizing the applications.

2. Spreading and gathering information

Immunizing the public against misinformation

Applications like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. have become a great source of authentic and detailed information. From the latest news to life hacks, everything is available on these applications.

Entertainment app development is done keeping in mind that the users can exchange every form of media and information on the platform that is authentic and useful.

Youtube is another platform for sharing information through creative videos. There are multiple Youtube-based news channels, travel vlogs, and classes for the audience.

3. A Complete platform

Top four platforms for entertainment on the go- The New Indian Express

Entertainment applications are capable of forming a whole new platform for movies, music, gaming, live streaming, etc. This opportunity has given rise to many artists to showcase their talent and create a follower base.

Earlier making videos, music, or developing games was only done by professionals because they had access to platforms that launched these products but now application development is not as complicated as it used to be. Many platforms even pay the real talents for the influencing work they do.

4. Promotion Capabilities

A mobile app for the entertainment industry can prove to be an efficient method of promotion of an entertainment agency or of influencers looking to make it big in the sector. The fact that the majority of the people are always on their smartphones, the chances of high engagement with the app and in turn the brand is very high. Entertainment marketing is one of the easiest ones in the app industry to make popular – especially since the celebrities who are a part of the content on your application do half of the work of making your app popular among their fanbase.

Now that you have looked into the reasons that make mobile entertainment apps a right move for the media and entertainment industry and the popular entertainment apps, let us now look into the features set that are present in all the different types of entertainment industry incumbents.

Feature-set that Makes Entertainment Apps Engaging

1. Content flow

Entertainment applications have allowed the easy flow of content throughout the globe. Any creator can put their content on these applications and receive attention from audiences from all over the world.

One such example is Quora. An app that allows you to answer multiple questions as well as ask questions yourself. Another application is Wattpad which has given a platform to writers so that they can publish their books, journals, or short stories.

Other entertainment applications have allowed the free flow of content such as articles, blogs, videos, etc. Reading interesting content on the go is a facility that mobile applications provide and the users’ demand.

2. Gaming and music

The Crossover Between Music and Gaming – perunegro.org

Gaming is the most popular section in the entertainment industry. Not only have mobile applications made it possible for players to carry their games in their pockets but also have enabled real-time multiplayer options so that gamers can play together from all over the world.

This feature connects many players around the world via the internet and even has features like chatting and voice call. This is how mobile applications are reinventing the gaming experience. Even if your entertainment application is not a whole and sole gaming application, you can still use the feature to make your app experience more immersive and engaging. In fact, shareable micro games can be a great way to make your app popular in the market.

Music was only limited to cassettes, radios, and websites but not anymore. Applications like Spotify, Wynk, iTunes, etc. have given the opportunity to the audience to choose to listen to any music, anywhere and anytime. Some of these apps have free access to music as well.

3. Engagement features

Entertainment apps attract a huge audience because of their interesting features, type of content, and curiosity in each other’s life. The most-followed people on applications are celebrities since they have a huge fan base.

Mobile applications give fans a chance to interact with their idols and also keep a track of what’s going on in their life. This also helps businesses interact with their customers and attend to their needs and demands.

Engagement is the most important feature of entertainment mobile applications. Features like push notifications make it extremely easy for the users to remain updated on the new content launch on the application, in addition to any change in their subscription status.

4. In-app purchase capabilities

In-App Purchase - Apple Developer

In-app purchase features tend to be one of the most important feature sets of an entertainment application. Your users should be able to start, modify, or stop their subscriptions from within the app through the app of a secure payment gateway that has been designed to keep their financial information secure.

5. Social media integration 

One of the most common ways people find the next content to stream is through social media posts. This implies that in addition to having a solid social media campaign, you should also give your users the functionality to share the content that they like on their social media channels along with the provision of tagging your brand.

When integrating social media, it is extremely important to ensure that you make the experience as seamless for the users as possible  – meaning in your entertainment apps for mobile don’t ask them to log in multiple times simply to share the content online.

6. Content moderation facility

With history as our witness, even the most popular of the entertainment apps have come under scrutiny for posting content that hurts viewers sentiments. To safeguard your users’ interest, it would be beneficial to have a content moderation practice in place that would ensure that nothing pirated or hurtful gets live on your application without raising a red flag within your application.

7. Intuitive search functionality 

This Trick For Movie Lovers Will Change The Way You Use Your Netflix Account

What separates an average entertainment application from the one that ranks on top in the stores in the intelligent search functionality. Talk to your media and entertainment app development company in the USA about the integration of artificial intelligence addition in the application. This would help you give your users recommendations on what they should watch next – on the basis of what people who viewed the content they did watch next.

Future of Mobile Apps in the Entertainment Industry

Mobile phones are used for more than just calling. It has become a source of information, a necessity, and something without which human life doesn’t seem to be easy.

Applications are literally solving our daily problems from food to clothing to entertainment. Mobility is the future of technology and entertainment is going to be an unbeatable industry.

With all the information gathered so far, entertainment applications have a future that will bring them on the top, even beating the game applications. In near future, the mobile application economy will have more optimized apps and will rise to newer levels.

IoT, Augmented Reality, Virtual reality is all the features set to enter the entertainment apps development to enhance the user interface. One can only imagine for now what these latest technologies can bring to the audience and how fierce the competition is going to be for newcomers.

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