No doubt about that: we are about to hear again about how Android is an inherently insecure OS. It does...

No doubt about that: we are about to hear again about how Android is an inherently insecure OS. It does not matter that the same algorithm would likely work on other mobile devices or, for that matter, any OS.

It's a clever attack. Well, the "theft" bits of it (invisible activity or photo hijacking) are pretty standard but the first part, the activity detection one, is pretty smart.
Note that it's nothing new though; simply a mix of computer forensics and a timing attack.

So, how do you protect your data?

In short: it's not too bad. Read on.

Bad news: not much you can do, at this point, to prevent the "active" part of the attack: it is easy to open a transparent activity; as opposed to a transparent screen overlay, which requires a special set of permissions that MIUI, for instance, denies by default.

Conceivably, though, if your phone is rooted, it would be fairly trivial to write an Xposed module that displays a Toast like: 

    * switching to app_blah *

Good news, though, regarding the detection bit: as if often the case, I believe that this experiment can only be reproduced in a tightly controlled environment.
If your device has a different screen resolution/density; if you use an alternate keyboard (in some cases); if you are using a customized ROM; (insert here other factors that would change your activity's signature); then you are now dramatically lowering the odds that this exploit will work at all.
These videos are impressive but keep in mind that they were made using the researchers' own devices, not your device.

I am not saying that you are safe, though. I am simply pointing out that this is definitely not a trivial attack and I am sure that as soon as my fellow XDA-ers start giving it some thoughts, a workaround will become available.

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Interesting. So, we already knew that Calico cats cannot be aesthetically cloned since the orange gene...

Interesting. So, we already knew that Calico cats cannot be aesthetically cloned since the orange gene is randomly expressed yet, if I am not misusing the lingo, spatially restricted, thus creating orange patches.
Now, it appears that, as should be expected, extrinsic factors such as womb temperature will have a less dramatic yet still relevant effect on other coloring.

In conclusion: I owe my wife an apology for buying into the oft made claim that cats can be visually cloned.

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Test

Configuration parameters Parameter Description Default timeout The timeout for requests 30s logLevel The log level for log output INFO Configuration parameters Parameter Description Default timeout The timeout for requests 30s logLevel The log level for log output INFO Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

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Russell Pavlicek make some very good points on the containers v. hypervisors race. Of course, he would...

Russell Pavlicek make some very good points on the containers v. hypervisors race. Of course, he would defend hypervisors; they are his bread and butter after all.

I have to admit, though, that as I read his post, I felt that he was building a straw man as no one is saying that hypervisors will be replaced by containers. However… I went back to my own recent post(http://nexus.zteo.com/blog/the-next-evolution-of-virtualization/), to confirm my thinking, and re-reading my own words I realize that I totally omitted mentioning one of my favorites things about containers: the fact that they can cohabitate with VMs.

When I refer to a future where container-specific applications would exist, I should mention that this is tied not to hypervisors disappearing but instead to the commoditization of VMs. I should have made this explicit.

On the other hand, I still think his post is a straw man: what I hear from containers evangelists is not that hypervisors are bloated but that VMs are: there is a considerable nuance here as, while VMs are bound (IMO) to become a commodity, hypervisors are going to be an increasingly important tool in a network admin's toolbelt. However, I believe that, if you wish to take the lead in that particular market, you should start looking into hybrid hypervisors that support these different layers of virtualization (For future reference: "Fractal hypervisors." – there, I said it)

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Please pass this around as it is a very good opportunity: I am looking for more engineers to work in...

Please pass this around as it is a very good opportunity: I am looking for more engineers to work in several of my teams.

Who I am looking for:
- you are comfortable developing using C, C++ and/or Java
- you either work with embedded systems (looking at you Droiders or switch developers) or large web applications or SDN controllers

Who we are:
- think of us as a startup with great benefits
- by that I mean health coverage, 401k, salary in the high 90s to 100ks
- we pay relocation expenses if necessary
- we are established, with a solid revenue stream
- and yet, we also work on multiple, very forward looking projects
- we are located in Southern California, near L.A.

I am posting this here before making it more widely available as I'd rather work with one of you guys so, if you are interested or think one of your friends might be a match, let me know immediately.

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