I agree with @HerrDax and @G.J_Joe that a sale to a foreign owner might not be likely precisely because of R.S. However, if cybersecurity services are a growing area, an alliance between Nixu and F-Secure could work. It could become N-Secure or Fnixu 
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I wouldnât think it matters whether the buyer is foreign or domestic. The world is already so globalized that cybersecurity expertise can come from any country. Youâd think F-Secureâs major individual owners would also want growth for the company?
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Maybe not usually, but in this case, I was thinking that a merger might be easier mentally than a divestment, i.e., selling the company specifically to foreign ownership. I believe that if that were an option, RS would have already sold its share.
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A merger would almost forcefully mean that F-Secure would become the smaller party, so in practice, there wouldnât be a big difference in how that deal would happen, right?
I wonder what caused F-Secure to drop almost -6% at the end of the day today, without any announcements?
Maybe itâs because the trading volume is less than 30,000 units, and someone decided to sell their shares at that price when another wanted to buy. With such a small volume, itâs enough if one person gives up at any price.
I went and ordered F-Secureâs Total package for two years since they were running a 50% discount campaign. It was easy to install on PC and Android with about two clicks (which is good for consumers). On iPhone, it was a bit more painful because the email didnât display properly at first, and once I got my better half registered, it took so long for the download option to appear on the site that it became a bit frustrating. For PC and Android, I would give full marks for the installation; for iPhone, maybe 3.5/5. Weâll see how the VPN installs on MacBook.
However, 60⏠for three users for two years is not a steep price, considering you get antivirus and a VPN. Now I can watch Finnish TV again.
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A small user experience update:
We ended up uninstalling it from the iPhone side, as it seems that F-Secure SAFEâs main functions, App Privacy and anti-virus, donât work at all on the iPhone, because according to customer service, âApple has strict security and app privacy can be done in iPhone settings.â So, itâs a rather useless app for iPhone, unless you absolutely want some abstract-sounding function like âsafe browsingâ (what does that even mean!?).
The customer service experience was quite good; it was even reasonably easy to communicate in real-time on a mobile phone. On the other hand, it was never made clear that F-Secure SAFE doesnât have all the advertised features for iPhone, which is a big minus for F-Secure. Add to this that I bought this package at half price, it would be a bit steep to pay âŹ120 for three users. F-Secure certainly has a lot to improve on with packages sold to consumers.
EDIT:
The experience on the Android side is good. Similarly, the VPN for Windows is good, although Amazon.com does recognize F-Secureâs VPN IP addresses, meaning you canât watch Amazon Prime streams. Some other VPN providers are apparently able to change IP addresses so often that Amazon canât keep up.
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Itâs not all that surprising in itself. The operating system on iPhones is so closed that, in practice, antivirus programs cannot be implemented as separate applications, because even antivirus software cannot freely access the deviceâs files.
Usually, safe browsing and similar features mean that an add-on is installed in the browser that warns about malicious or otherwise suspicious sites. Thatâs actually quite a handy feature. Of course, whether one needs such a feature depends a lot on the user.
Itâs true that F-Secure should somehow communicate this, if theyâre not already doing so.
With F-Secure, the safe browsing feature can only be used if you use SAFEâs internal browser, which makes it a bit difficult.
As a softai, I myself returned to using Safe a couple of years ago and am otherwise satisfied, but the VPN frequently disconnected with US locations. Now it has improved after a complaint, but not completely resolved. I have win7/win10/iPhone/iPad and my wife has an Apple laptop. iOS is a Unix-based OS and doesnât really need a virus scanner. For me, the VPN is the most essential part of it.
Just for clarification, I bought this Total package, which includes SAFE. Anyway, I mostly see the idea that a virus scanner isnât needed on the Unix side as an illusion, especially since the Chinese web-based security flaw used to spy on Uyghurs on iPhones has been revealed. There are certainly vulnerabilities, but only the relative scarcity of Unix-based operating systems compared to Windows-based ones keeps the number of viruses and other security threats relatively smaller. Apple, however, probably has the advantage that programs canât really be installed other than through the Apple store, and they wonât be accepted there without prior review.
The problem with this SAFE is that I donât really see any major benefit in developing it for iPhone, but there are costs. They should at least sell just the Safe Browser program to those who need it.
Arenât consumer products already doomed as a non-growth business for F-Secure, so thereâs probably no point in investing too much in them on that basis.
I agree that consumer cybersecurity is a pretty challenging sector because nowadays, the trend is to have all important security features built into the operating system. Not long ago, for example, Windowsâ built-in Defender antivirus was one of the worst in terms of virus detection, but recently it has been one of the best in tests. And itâs free. For instance, based on AV-Testâs latest tests (Test antivirus software for Windows 10 - June 2019 | AV-TEST), Windows Defender has received scores as good as F-Secureâs antivirus. In practice, thereâs no need to install any antivirus software in addition to Windows Defender, unless you need F-Secureâs extra features, for example.
Then thereâs also the increased use of Unix-based operating systems (Android, iOS, Chrome OS, various Linux distributionsâŠ). As @kelkka mentioned, the general idea is that these donât need a virus scanner at all. Some, however, say that one should be acquired for Android. In the case of Android and iPhone, though, youâre unlikely to get viruses if you only use app stores to install applications.
The reason why other Unix operating systems donât need virus scanners and similar software is indeed due to their low usage, but also the fragmentation of the operating system offerings. There are probably hundreds, if not more, Linux distributions, and viruses would have to be made separately for each. In addition, all Linux operating systems have package repositories similar to app stores, which, when used, practically prevent you from getting viruses on your computer. Using ready-made package repositories is also the only recommended way to install applications on Linux if youâre not sure what youâre doing. With Windows, programs are traditionally installed by downloading them from the internet, meaning you canât know what youâre actually getting.
Security vulnerabilities, however, exist on all devices and operating systems, but no antivirus program helps with them. The only way to protect yourself from them is to remember to update software and the operating system often enough.
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Apparently, F-Secure made an agreement with Virgin Media at some point. Virgin Media offers F-Secure Safe for free for 12 months here in Britain, after which you have to pay for it. F-Secure has also come through at University College London â all university staff and students can download F-Secure Client Security Premium for free. Pretty good visibility in Britain, at least in my case.
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Hmm. The profit warning took 10% off this yearâs profit, but the share price has now been reduced by 15% from around 3.39. A slight overreaction?
The stock market has never overreacted. Never. Donât be silly 
Perhaps there was an extra 5% of âletâs hope for a great futureâ on top of the share price, and in addition to the negative news, the wishful thinking fizzled out.
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Today, the share price seems to be rising quite well (+6.3% at the moment). What could be the reason for this?
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Getting the âsecurityâ right in good time for 5GâŠ
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F-Secureâs Optim Advanced Security uses high-tech artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to create a secure home network. It protects homes and families from malicious websites, hacking, spyware, phishing, unprotected Internet devices, and other cyber security threats.
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In addition to security services, the Optim Managed Assurance Platform offers a range of Wi-Fi management, self-service tools, big data analytics, speed checking tools, and much more. It provides service providers with a unified view of subscriber homes and real-time and historical visibility into Wi-Fi performance for fast and efficient troubleshootingâŠ
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Hey, this still isnât taking off 
Hey, but it looks quite good in terms of improving profitability. Organic growth is certainly tough. New acquisitions on the way?