Happy B-Day Safego!

The clock is ticking and their thoughts are racing. “Have you checked this? Have you checked that? Now we`re ready”¦No, we`re not”. As the air becomes heavy with the pressure of the moment, one of them says: “Let`s do it!”. A second later, all four heave with relief and shout (much to the shock of the security guards): “We`re liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!”

Beginnings give hope. Beginnings create expectations and push people forward. Beginnings are huge adrenalin rushes. And beginnings bind teams in a common goal: “We must do better”.

One year later, we take a good look at how we`ve grown.

“Making security social was a big challenge. We wanted to create a product that secures an environment designed to encourage private data sharing, a fun and useful tool that helps people teach their friends how to stay away from social threats. But most of all, in a world where everyone is concerned about the security of online socialization, we wanted to come up with a real solution to their concerns.

When you develop a social product, you need to be social inside and outside the team. Safego was initially a research concept. A great team of enthusiastic people put it from paper to virtual reality in less than one month. We`ve changed, adapted and most importantly … we`ve listened; this is how our product evolved; this is how we evolved. Our active Safego community is probably the best example of how social security should work. This community helps us get better every day. Happy B-day Safego!”, George Petre, Bitdefender Senior Social Media Security Researcher

“I joined the Safego team in February this year and I`m thrilled by the wonderful creative atmosphere that`s become our trademark. The achievements that are closest to my heart so far are the creation of the server the app uses for Twitter user scanning and the integration of Safego`s new, streamlined design. It`s been great and I hope it will stay that way for a long, long time!” Radu Mihail Cocos, Bitdefender Analyst Programmer

“When I joined the Bitdefender team in March, Safego was the project I was the most excited to be a part of. The idea behind it is just brilliant. It`s a really, really awesome tool and it`s also the most reliable tool a social-media addict can use while surfing the web. What`s even cooler is that Safego gets better every day. Its baby bro – Safego for Twitter – is an e-living proof that Bitdefender is dedicated to keeping social media users safe from scam, spam and nasty online stuff in general.To me, Safego is the social media super hero”, Ligia Adam, Bitdefender Global Twitter/LinkedIn Account Manager

“One year, already? Wow, time does run fast when you`re enjoying your work. One year ago, we only had Safego for Facebook, in its first version. In only 1 year, Safego went out of Beta, got a new interface and new features, extended to protect Twitter users as well”¦ and we`re not done yet! I can`t wait to see Safego growing even more, offering complete protection for social networks worldwide. Happy birthday, Safego!”, Laura Dragan, Bitdefender Global Online Campaigns Manager

“During this year, Safego has evolved in so many ways starting from design, logo, of scan engine sharpness and up to its expansion to Twitter. Most importantly, it`s been promoting the idea of security among online socialites and it`s raised awareness about e-tricks they need to look out for. How was this possible? Fantastic team, unbeatable technology and, of course, an extremely active community. Safego owes what it has become to its active members. Posts like this one that I`ve found circulating on Facebook demonstrate where app is at the moment: ËœThere are always new viruses and scam links/stories going around. Please protect your account by installing the Bitdefender Safego app for your FB page. It is free..` Happy Birthday, Safego!:)”, Raluca Dode, Global Facebook Account Manager

“Like many of my colleagues, I was quite excited about the idea of being part of a project intended for a highly dynamic environment, one that`s quite fierce when it comes to expressing attachment to, or disagreement with, graphic elements and their functions. When I started working on the very first version of the app interface I kept thinking that it would have to be a retro-futuristic combination. After hours of negotiations with myself and the rest of the team, I came up with the “biscuit” concept that`s now cherished as an important part of the Safego visual history. Happy b-day! “ Alex Bloju, Web Designer, creator of the 1^st Safego user interface.

“I joined the Safego team at the beginning of this year excited by this new project that would place Bitdefender on the social map. As Online Threat Analyst I am in charge of tracking down and uncovering any and all social scams that threaten users. Being the Safego ‘detective’ gives me the opportunity to train my ‘social eye’ to spot threats and I take pride in that with every new scam wave we detect. Our mission is to keep users safe and we do just that every day”, Tudor Florescu, Bitdefender Online Threat Analyst

To me, it`s been fun, fun, fun all the way. I didn`t have to worry about the technical nip and tucks our lovely app has gone through (though we`re all for natural and organic, mind you !) so I embraced every chance I got to be creative and to make people laugh (that`s as close as I`ll ever get to becoming a stand-up comedian, Ëœcause, honestly, I freeze when I`m supposed to talk in front of a crowd). I did feel I have a huge responsibility towards the wonderful people who built the app because I wished that the Safego messages to the world lived up to the greatness of the app`s functionalities and purpose. One year later, I`m grateful for having been around and worked with a bunch of extraordinary guys and gals, who`ve taught me a lot about things I`d never imagined I would even begin to understand. To illustrate my state of mind all the way, here`s a nice photographic zebra metaphor: