May 1, 2023 - Malware in 60 Android Apps, Bing Bug Bounty
IN THIS ISSUE: Malware Found in 60 Apps; The Bazel 'Revolution'; Keep Easter Eggs from the Basket; AndroidX Library Taking Shape; Nuclear Power is Green Power; Microsoft Bing Bug Bounty
Malware Weasels into 60 Android Apps
Despite best efforts to scan and protect apps offered on Google Play, a piece of malware hidden within a third-party library has been downloaded 100 millions times, reportedly collecting data on the device's whereabouts and Wi-Fi connections without user permission or knowledge.
Skepticism is usually prudent when hearing claims of a "revolutionary" product. So decide for yourself whether Bazel, a version of which (called "Blaze") is used as Google's own build system, deserves that moniker. With support for C++, Java and Python, Bazel is reported to be faster and more scalable than Gradle. This piece steps through a project build.
Keep Easter Eggs From the Basket
Hunting for Easter eggs might be fun for the hiders and the seekers, but to software makers they're no yoke. While most software-embedded gems are harmless, some can cause vulnerabilities that the developer-hider might never have imagined.
Curved lines might be easy on the eyes, but they can be quite challenging to developers. In this two part series, Google Developers blogger Chet Haase explores how to use the new Jetpack library that he helped create to draw and animate curved polygons of all shapes and sizes.
Once given a bad rap for its very real risks of nuclear accidents, modern nuclear energy has come to be accepted (except perhaps by Germany) as clean, efficient, reliable and safe. As a power source for data centers, nuclear energy beats other carbon-free energy sources for its independence from weather and time-of-day.
Redmond is putting money where its Bing is. Microsoft last week announced that it has added the new AI-Powered Bing Chat to its Bug Bounty Program, where it pays as much as $250,000 for finding vulnerabilities on some of its systems.
Edward Correia
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