In today’s Bulldog wrapup of technology news:

  • Symantec is buying LifeLock
  • Wal-Mart kicks off Cyber Monday on Friday
  • Verizon’s AOL cutting 500 jobs, will focus on mobile, video
  • Facebook buys Pittsburgh-based facial analysis software firm

The details:

  • Symantec buying LifeLock for $2.3 billion

Symantec is buying LifeLock in a deal valued at $2.3 billion.

The acquisition “will create the world’s largest consumer security business with over $2.3 billion in annual revenue based on last fiscal year revenues for both companies,” Symantec said Sunday.

Symantec is best known for Norton antivirus software.

Symantec CEO Greg Clark noted: “LifeLock is a leading provider of identity and fraud protection services, with over 4.4 million highly-satisfied members and growing. With the combination of Norton and LifeLock, we will be able to deliver comprehensive cyber defense for consumers. This acquisition marks the transformation of the consumer security industry from malware protection to the broader category of digital safety for consumers.”

  • Wal-Mart kicks off Cyber Monday on Friday

Cyber Monday is starting earlier and earlier.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Monday that it’s kicking off its so-called “Cyber Monday” deals at 12:01 a.m. EST Friday for the first time ever as it aims to grab customers ahead of its competitors.

Last year, the world’s largest retailer pulled up the “Cyber Monday” deals to the Sunday evening after Thanksgiving for the first time.

Cyber Monday, which falls on the Monday after Thanksgiving, is typically the busiest day of the year for online shopping. The phrase was coined in 2005 by the National Retail Federation’s online arm, Shop.org, to encourage online buying when people returned to offices where they had high-speed Internet connections. Since then, the proliferation of smart phones has given shoppers constant Web access and now Cyber Monday is being used by retailers to pull in shoppers hungry for deals continually.

The push to start Cyber Monday deals earlier follows what’s been happening with Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, which used to officially kick off the holiday shopping season in stores. Over the past few years, retailers such as Wal-Mart, Macy’s and Target have started the deals earlier into Thanksgiving. And they’re now offering many of the same deals online as they do in stores on Thanksgiving.

This year, Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, is making Thanksgiving deals available online at 12:01 a.m. EST on the holiday, three hours earlier than last year. Wal-Mart is starting its deals at its stores at 6 p.m. on the turkey feast, the same time as last year.

  • Verizon’s AOL cutting 500 jobs, will focus on mobile, video

AOL is cutting about 500 jobs, or 8 percent of its workforce, as it trims back following some deals and focuses on mobile, video and data.

In a memo to employees, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong says the Verizon-owned company has added 1,500 employees over the past year because of acquisitions and partnerships, and it needs to consolidate to improve operations.

Armstrong says AOL will add jobs in the areas that are driving growth.

Verizon bought AOL for $4.4 billion in 2015 as part of its effort to build a digital ad business. AOL owns Huffington Post and the tech site TechCrunch. Verizon has also proposed buying Yahoo for $4.8 billion.

  • Facebook buys Pittsburgh-based facial analysis software firm

Facebook has bought a facial analysis software firm linked to Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Mellon University, a move that will help the social media giant boost its artificial intelligence-powered facial recognition technology.

Details of the deal weren’t revealed by Menlo Park, California-based Facebook or FacioMetrics, the Carnegie Mellon spinoff.

Facebook says FacioMetrics’s software can be used to monitor the emotions of medical patients, assess audience reaction to a public speaker, or even detect drowsy drivers.

  • VIDEO: How FacioMetrics works. Watch at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-NX9CZ6yXk

It also will enable Facebook users to express themselves through special effects that can manipulate photos and videos with facial images. This is something rival Snapchat already does to some extent — it has special filters users can add on to selfie “snaps” they take of themselves. The filters change depending on your facial expressions. For example, a dog filter will not just add on dog ears but show a giant panting tongue instead of your own when you stick out your tongue.

FacioMetrics has developed software called IntraFace, which can be downloaded onto mobile phones and enables users to do real-time facial image analysis. The company’s CEO is Fernando De la Torre, an associate research professor at the school’s Robotics Institute.