Microsoft to buy LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in cash

 

In a surprise announcement, Microsoft has said that it is to buy LinkedIn for $26.2 billion in cash. The $196 per share deal is expect to close by the end of this calendar year having been unanimously approved by both companies' Boards of Directors.
 
Following the acquisition, LinkedIn will retain its current branding and Jeff Weiner will remain on as CEO, reporting to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. LinkedIn will become part of Microsoft’s Productivity and Business Processes segment.
 
In a statement, Nadella said: "The LinkedIn team has grown a fantastic business centered on connecting the world’s professionals. Together we can accelerate the growth of LinkedIn, as well as Microsoft Office 365 and Dynamics as we seek to empower every person and organization on the planet".
 
This is Microsoft's first serious venture into enterprise social networking, and is described as the 'world's leading professional cloud' meeting the 'world's leading professional network'. LinkedIn's Jeff Weiner said:

Just as we have changed the way the world connects to opportunity, this relationship with Microsoft, and the combination of their cloud and LinkedIn's network, now gives us a chance to also change the way the world works. For the last 13 years, we've been uniquely positioned to connect professionals to make them more productive and successful, and I’m looking forward to leading our team through the next chapter of our story.

A joint conference call with investors is due to be held at 8:45 a.m. Pacific Time/11:45 a.m. Eastern Time.
 
The video below shows Satya Nadella and Jeff Weiner talking about the acquisition:
 
 
~ Mark Wilson

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LinkedIn introduces its own job search app

 

LinkedIn has launched its first standalone job search app that provides a dedicated service for users looking to search and apply for jobs on the social network.
 
The decision to release LinkedIn Job Search on iOS comes as no surprise, with 40 per cent of the network's 300 million users accessing the site on mobile devices.
 
The company also revealed that the free app would not publicise your job search to anyone else within your network.
 
"It can be hard to search for a job while you're at your desk, not to mention the potentially awkward conversation with your current boss", product manager Daniel Ayele said in a blog post. "Our goal is to help make this process easier for you and to help you be discreet. Everything you do within the app will be completely private and not shared with your network".
 
The app, which is currently only available in the US, is LinkedIn's latest attempt to make applying for jobs more accessible on mobile devices, and follows a similar update to the company's main app in August 2013.
 
New features available for LinkedIn Job Search include a more detailed, customizable job search function, tailored job recommendations based on your profile and a notifications service that tells you when new jobs are coming up or deadlines approaching.
 
The new app sees LinkedIn expanding the kind of content it offers and opening the platform up as a means of increasing traffic, and therefore, ad revenue. In the last quarter, "Talent Solutions", which includes recruitment advertising, made up 58 percent of LinkedIn's revenue at $275.9 million.
 
This sector also grew by 50 percent last year, providing a thriving area of growth for the company and the firm is likely to have noted the way other social networks like Facebook are diversifying their app portfolios with the standalone Messenger app and Slingshot.
 
The new app, which the company said will launch in other markets soon, faces stiff competition from already established job search apps, such as CareerBuilder and Monster.com, as well as many smaller competitors, like Proven, that emphasise user feedback.
 
Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Net Communities Ltd Publication. All rights reserved.
 
Image Credit: Maxx-Studio / Shutterstock
  
~ Barclay Ballard

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Use Google Authenticator to securely login to non-Google sites

Takeaway: With two-step authentication enabled, you’ll be prompted to enter a six-digit number after you provide your username and password.

Google’s two-step authentication helps you restrict access to your accounts. Normally, you login to a website with your username and password. Without two-step authentication, you’re done. Access to your account relies on the strength of your username and password.
 
With two-step authentication enabled, you’ll be prompted to enter a six-digit number after you provide your username and password. Unlike a PIN number for an ATM, this six-digit number changes with every login.
 
Many sites send a text message to you containing the six-digit number. That’s how things work if you’ve enabled two-step authentication at Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn as of June 14, 2013. (Follow the links for each service to learn how to enable two-step authentication on each of these widely-used social media sites.) If you use these sites and have a cellphone, I strongly recommend you enable two-step authentication at each service.
 
Other sites let you use the Google Authenticator app to generate the six-digit number. The app generates a different six-digit number for each connected site, and these numbers change every 30 seconds. With the app, you don’t have to wait a few seconds to receive a text message. Here’s how to set up and use the Google Authenticator app with your Google account, along with a few other well-known sites.

Doing the two-step

1. Make sure two-step authentication is enabled for your Google account

Before you start using the app, make sure that two-step authentication is enabled and configured for your account. See my August 2012 article, “Secure your Google Account with two-step authentication” for details.

2. Install the app

Download and install the app on your Android device or on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

3. Connect Google Authenticator to your Google Account

Login to your Google account at http://accounts.google.com. Choose “Security” from the left-side menu, then look for “2-step verification” and click “Edit”. You may need to login again.
 
Connect your Google Authenticator app to your Google account by following the prompts after “How to Connect” a Mobile Application.

The free Google Authenticator app helps secure your Google account.

The process will be similar when you enable 2-step authentication on other sites, and then link your Google Authenticator app with those sites, with these general steps:

• You enable 2-step authentication at the website, and then
• Indicate you want to use your Google Authenticator app to generate codes.
• Next, you use the Google Authenticator app on your phone to scan a code displayed by the website on your computer screen, and then
• The Authenticator app adds the account.
• You enter a six-digit code generated by the Authenticator app to verify that the site and app are linked.

4. Connect Google Authenticator for 2-step authentication at other sites

Many companies have adopted the 2-step authentication process. For many users, discovering how to enable 2-step authentication at each site can be a bit time consuming. So here’s a quick guide to a few of the most widely visited sites with which you can use the Google Authenticator app.

Wordpress.com

Secure your Wordpress.com account by logging in to your account, then choosing “Settings”, then “Security”. Then enable 2-step authentication with Google Authenticator.

Secure your Wordpress.com account with Google Authenticator.

Outlook.com

Yes, you can use Google Authenticator for 2-step authentication of Outlook.com accounts. To enable 2-step authentication at Outlook.com, login, then choose “Account Settings”, then “Security info”. From this page you can enable 2-step authentication and manage your authenticator apps.

Your Google Authenticator app can help securely access Outlook.com accounts.

Evernote.com

Evernote’s setup is similar to the others above: login, go to “Account Settings”, then choose “Security”. From there, you can enable 2-step authentication using Google Authenticator.

Evernote enabled 2-step authentication in May 2013.

Dropbox.com

Dropbox provides a nicely designed step-by-step process for enabling 2-step authentication. First login to your Dropbox.com account, choosing “Settings”, then select the “Security” tab. From there, click the link to enable two-step verification.

Dropbox has a nicely designed step-by-step process that walks users through each step of configuring 2-step authentication.

LastPass.com

Finally, if you use the LastPass password manager, I strongly encourage you to secure it using 2-step authentication. Even if you use a very long, obscure password, the LastPass.com data store, if breached, would provide access to all of your passwords for other sites. This is worth securing.

To enable 2-step authentication in LastPass, login, then choose Settings, then select the “Multifactor options” tab. Choose the “Google Authenticator” option, then follow the on-screen instructions.  

Your LastPass.com password data store is definitely worth securing with 2-step authentication!

Bottom line

New sites continue to add support for 2-step authentication and the Google Authenticator app every month. While two-step authentication may not protect your data from the U.S. National Security Agency, it will help prevent unauthorized access to your accounts. Enable it wherever possible today.

~ Andy Wolber 

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