Facebook is reportedly working on a platform on which it will provide digital music of several content providers such as Spotify, MOG, Rhapsody, SoundCloud, iTunes, Napster, Kazaa, Vevo and others.

Warner Brothers already offers video streaming services through its web-service and Facebook is expected to soon announce closer integration with a premium TV content service.

Facebook won’t get into music hosting, but will instead provide streaming services for several other digital music providers. That means you will have an audio music player through which you could subscribe to several music services and stream content to your Facebook profile.

It is quite possible that Facebook Music will initially be limited only to the web. If the plan matures, then in the long-run it is quite possible to have your Facebook Music player on your mobile phone and stream your favourite music from a preferred music service.

Facebook will offer deeper integration with this Music service. For instance, if you are listening to a song on a particular music service on Facebook and post it as a status update, your friend can listen to the same song by simply clicking on the link.

Facebook is expected to make an important announcement at the F8 Facebook Developers Conference which will take place from September 22 in San Francisco. So far there has been enough evidence unearthed for Facebook’s Music service for it to be considered real.

ENISA (The European Network and Information Security Agency), which is an EU agency for network and information security, has proposed a five step measure to protect smartphone users from Malware (software that are designed to steal user data and harm the user device) while downloading an application.

Below are the five steps that the agency has proposed, and we are in full agreement with them regarding these steps. The problem is that it is for the App stores to decide whether to choose or ignore these suggestions. But as a user you can still use these suggestions to be more secure.

App review: Appstores should review apps before admitting them. While app review cannot be perfect, it limits the possibilities for app developers to introduce malicious, or legitimate but insecure apps in app stores.
App stores can check apps with automatic (static and dynamic) analysis tools. Additionally human (manual) review can be used. While scalability is a problem with human review, this could be addressed by focussing on sensitive functionality and by using escalation procedures.

Reputation mechanism: Reputation of apps and app developers can help users avoid malware. App stores should show the reputation of apps and app developers. Second-order mechanisms can increase reputation quality. App stores could take into account the reputation of the same app in other app stores. A point of concern is that most users rate apps for their functionality and not for their security, so there should be a separate channel for security and privacy issues (e.g. “this app works, but asks for excessive privileges at install”).

App revocation (aka kill-switch): Smartphone platforms should support remote removal of installed apps by app stores. App stores should have an app revocation mechanism for malware and insecure apps. In special cases, for example when malware breaks out of the app sandbox, it may be necessary to use customised removal tools.

Device security: App store defences rely on the security of the devices running the apps. The device should install and run apps in sandboxes, to reduce the impact of malware. In the sandbox, apps should get only a minimal set of privileges (the principle of least privilege). The sandbox should monitor the app inside it and allow the user to see the app’s past activity. App revocation should uninstall the app and return the device to a pre-install state.

Jails (or walled gardens): Smartphone (platform) vendors can restrict smartphones to apps from one or more designated app stores only and in this way prevent drive-by download attacks. This is commonly referred to as a jail or a walled garden.

The smartphone should either be blocked from using untrusted app stores or, for expert users, present clear warnings about installing from untrusted sources. The approach to this issue is crucial &#151 if users can easily install from untrusted app stores, then it is easy for attackers to bypass the defences of the good app stores (with drive-by download attacks).

On the other hand, overly-restrictive jails encourage users to break the jail, possibly introducing higher risks than those originally mitigated by the jail. Jails should, for example, not be used to stifle legitimate competition.

While these suggestions are intended for the app stores, smartphone users can take a cue from this and be more informed and secure users. For instance, you can still choose to download apps only from the operating system specific app store like Android market, iTunes etc. You can also read application reviews in sites like ours and many more before downloading it so that we face these attacks and not you.

Downloading an anti-virus and anti-theft software could be one good measure to secure the device from not just the cyber threat but also from the physical threat of it reaching the wrong hand.

In a major boost for the mobile payment system, Visa and Google have announced a partnership under which the former has given the worldwide license of its Visa payWave, an innovative Near Field Communication (NFC) -based payment technology, to the later.

This means that one of the largest payment gateways (Visa) will be available for the largest operating system (Android). Visa will not only benefit the Android ecosystems’ NFC ability but also other mobile operating systems like iOS as Google Wallet supports them as well.

Mobile payment system is touted as the next major step for the mobile phones which could turn these handheld devices into virtual wallets with which one could easily do shopping without the need of any debit/credit card or even hard cash.

Companies are making use of the NFC, a short range wireless communication technology, to make this happen. For example, Google had earlier launched a service called Google Wallet. Payment gateways like Vida and Master Card have also done trials and shown interest in this new system, lured by the vast pool of people carrying mobile phones around the world.

However, mobile wallet phenomenon could not take off due to the absence of the point of sale equipment, which is the device at the shop which can read and process transaction using NFC. But with Visa on-board, which has sizable presence in most parts of the world including India, this will also be taken care.

Visa payWave enables consumers to make fast and secure payments at retail locations by waving their mobile phone in front of a payment terminal and is currently accepted at hundreds of thousands of retail locations worldwide (India is missing from these locations but is soon going to be added).

The agreement sets the stage for Visa-issuing banks worldwide to enable Visa account holders to add their credit, debit and prepaid accounts to Google Wallet &#151 a mobile application that turns a smartphone into a digital wallet.

“Mobile technology is transforming how people pay for goods and services,” said Jim McCarthy, global head of product, Visa. “This agreement builds on Visa’s strategy of enabling consumers to make mobile payments with whatever device they choose using the trusted accounts they already have.”

NFC enabled mobiles are flooding the market with Android 2.3 having NFC support. Bada (Samsung’s mobile OS) was missing on the functionality but has been added in the Bada 2.0 upgrade and the phones will arrive in India around Diwali.

Apple will also include NFC support in iOS 5 which is expected to be launched along with iPhone 5 this October. Nokia has also added NFC support in Symbian with Belle update. Though Microsoft is still to add the functionality, it is expected to do so soon.