MetaCert Expands to Mobile Security with AppMakr Partnership
San Francisco, California (PRWEB) March 17, 2015 -- AppMakr now offers our publishers a new kind of in-app security service for mobile app publishers. The integrated service provided by San Francisco-based security company MetaCert, is the first of its kind to protect consumers from mobile malware and phishing attacks by checking the reputation of web links before loading content inside the mobile app.
Businesses around the world lost a total of US$453 million due to phishing attacks during December 2014, according to a new report by RSA. The US hosted 48 per cent of phishing attacks in December, followed by the United Kingdom (7 per cent), Germany (5 per cent) and China (3 per cent).
“With thousands of apps being created on our platform daily, we know that the app revolution has just begun and it is vital to protect our publishers and their end-users. This partnership does just that,” said Jay Shapiro, CEO of AppMakr.
When using a computer, browsers protect consumers from known phishing websites by providing a warning before loading the page. Unfortunately, the same level of protection does not exist on mobile. Even when using legitimate apps, it is not possible to know if a web link within an app is taking you to legitimate content or a spoofed webpage with malicious intent, because it is not always possible to see the URL inside an embedded app ‘WebView’.
“We are very excited to offer our publishers the ability to protect their users from malicious attacks and content they deem to be harmful or inappropriate. This is very important as it means publishers are more likely to see more app downloads when their app is protected by MetaCert,” said Shapiro.
According to the State of Mobile App Security report released at the end of 2014, there will be 253 billion app downloads by 2017, nearly double that of this year’s figure of 127 billion.
Through this partnership, AppMakr wants to make sure that mobile app attacks do not deter small businesses, community organizations or individuals from adopting a mobile app strategy because of security concerns or what they feel is inappropriate content.
“We are delighted to launch our new Security API service with the largest and fastest growing do-it-yourself app making company. By integrating MetaCert’s Security API service, AppMakr is helping publishers to keep consumers safe from harm’s way,” said founder and CEO of MetaCert Paul Walsh.
MetaCert’s patent-pending Security API service is seamlessly integrated with AppMakr. It checks all external content requests from the app against their constantly evolving database of billions of URLs and IP addresses. Publishers get to choose which categories to block, starting with known phishing sites, malware and pornography.
“While we can say confidently that our platform and apps are already safe and secure, links shared between users, no matter what app they use, are vulnerable to a phishing attack. Now with AppMakr, they can choose to be protected,” added Shapiro.
With the increasing number of consumers taking their device to work in BYOD environments, their personal and business data is exposed to cybercriminals daily.
“It is our mission to make it easy for app publishers to keep consumers and businesses safe while using their apps” said Walsh. Adding, “I hope to see consumers choose apps with built-in security over apps that do not provide protection. I expect many organizations will include such a requirement in BYOD policies in the future.”
AppMakr is providing its publishers with two paid subscription options for the MetaCert protection. For USD $5.00 / month MetaCert will monitor and ‘harden’ the app against any phishing or malware attempts that might come through third-party web links. In addition to this, or taken on its own, for USD $5.00 / month MetaCert will block any pornography from ever appearing in a published app. Even if someone were to hijack one of the sites that a publisher’s app links to, that content would still be blocked.
ABOUT APPMAKR
AppMakr offers three pricing options (free, $1/month, $9/month) providing a range of affordable marketing solution to all small businesses, schools, community groups and individuals. By servicing the long-tail of niche interests with free and low-cost apps, AppMakr has become the largest DIY publisher of mobile apps in the world. The platform creates true native iPhone and Android mobile apps, as well as HTML5 mobile websites compatible with thousands of smartphone models.
To learn more about how AppMakr is transforming the Mobile App Economy, please visit http://www.appmakr.com and follow https://www.facebook.com/AppMakr on Facebook as well as @AppMakr on Twitter.
ABOUT METACERT
When building mobile apps, developers should use a “WebView” so consumers can visit web pages inside their app instead of having to open a native browser. The security vulnerabilities of WebView are well documented. Many apps expose consumers to potential phishing attacks that are responsible for the majority of today’s mobile malware. MetaCert helps developers address this problem with a security solution at the app-layer.
By adding a thin but powerful layer of security to their apps, MetaCert’s patent-pending Security API checks the reputation of URLs in real time, warning consumers of potential threats before allowing known malicious web pages from loading inside an app. MetaCert also offers a content-based filtering service for developers that want to block specific web site content such as NSFW, malware, phishing, gambling and more…) inside their apps. For more information visit http://metacert.com
Nicole Ratcliff, Infinite Monkeys, http://www.infinitemonkeys.mobi, +1 (931) 561-1416, [email protected]
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