Entertainment
Kapil Sharma most riskiest celebrity searched online after Salman, Sonakshi
New Delhi: Comedian-actor Kapil Sharma has become the most riskiest celebrity searched online in 2017-one who could expose consumers to malicious websites and malware-a survey from cyber security firm McAfee revealed on Tuesday.
The study, conducted by McAfee and now in its 11th year, highlights the dangers of clicking on suspicious links when searching for celebrity-focused content.
“With today’s digital explosion, the gap between celebrities and their fans has diminished. There’s a looming interest among Indians to know more about their favourite icons for which there’s a deluge of fresh and readily consumable content made available,” said Venkat Krishnapur, Head of R&D Operations, McAfee, in a statement on Tuesday.
The survey revealed that Sharma, who has topped the “McAfee Most Sensational Celebrities” list 2017, has replaced actress Sonakshi Sinha.
Searching for Sharma would results in a 9.58 per cent chance of landing on a malicious website.
Kapil Sharma most riskiest celebrity searched online in 2017 after Salman, Sonakshi:
Salman Khan, who bagged the second spot, would attract 9.03 per cent risk of landing on a malicious website, while Aamir Khan would increase the risk of 8.89 per cent.
Actor Priyanka Chopra, who was at number seven in 2016, secured fourth place in the list and would increase the risk by 8.75 per cent.
“It’s important for consumers to be vigilant and ensure they are searching safely. Thinking before clicking is as imperative as adopting the right security solutions to stay safe online,” Krishnapur said.
“If you are you looking for the footage of Sharma’s comedy shows, it’s better to wait for the official airing and re-runs on television and the official websites than to visit a third-party website that could contain malware,” he suggested.
McAfee conducted the study using “McAfee WebAdvisor” site ratings to determine the number of risky websites generated by searches on Google, Bing and Yahoo! that included a celebrity name and search terms likely to yield potentially malicious websites in the results.
Entertainment
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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