Google

This morning, Google announced some added features to its Google Docs app for Android that will surely make frequent users of the online office suite happy: most notably, the updated version will now allow collaboration on documents from Android phones or tablets. Previously, Google Docs opened in the app were restricted to a single user, but mobile users can now see real-time updates to shared text.

From today, victims of street crime in London will be able to report attacks online, as part of a scheme to get more people involved in keeping communities safe.

The StreetViolence website also allows those who have suffered robbery and other crimes to post witness appeals and warn the local community by pinpointing the crime on a Google map.

Microsoft says it has discovered evidence that Google is bypassing security settings in Internet Explorer in order to track users' movements.

The controversy comes less than a week after Google, Facebook and other advertising networks was caught circumnavigating users privacy settings on Apple's Safari and Safari Mobile browser.

Malware that specifically targeted mobile operating systems increased in 2011 as smartphones became more popular with enterprise users, as well as consumers. These cyber-criminals also developed affection for the Google Android OS, which saw the biggest jump in malware during the past 12 months, according to a new report from Juniper Networks.

Finnish developer Janne Kytomaki said he knew something was amiss last year when he noticed dozens of best-selling applications on Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android Market listing the same incorrect author.

Kytomaki ran tests, identified the mislabeled software as a fast-moving attack and published the findings online.

Google got exactly what it needed today to close the book on its $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility. With approval from both US and European authorities, Google is set to acquire one of the biggest Android hardware makers and a portfolio of 17,000 patents.

Two recently uncovered security exploits concerning Google Wallet have left users questioning just how safe the product really is. A security firm exposed a vulnerability last week that allowed hackers to bypass PIN protection, but it was only present on rooted devices. A second exploit, however, did not require a handset to be rooted, leaving all Google Wallet users exposed. By wiping stored Google Wallet data from within a device’s settings, an unauthorized user will be able to access a user’s prepaid funds without needing to know his or her Google Wallet pin.

Does Google want to provide some kind of IP video service for the people of Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri? We've heard the rumors. Here's another hint that they may be true after all: the Federal Communications Commission has received and reviewed an application from Google Fiber for a fixed satellite, receive-only earth station to be located in Council Bluffs, Iowa—about 200 miles northwest of the two Kansas cities. And Google Fiber is a subsidiary of Google; it's the company that is building out a 1Gbps fiber-to-the-home testbed for the location in question.

Google issued a beta release of Chrome for Android last week. The port, which brings Chrome's feature set and excellent support for Web standards to Android, is a major improvement over the mobile platform's current default browser.

As we reported in our coverage of the beta, Android's default browser has historically had difficulty handling sophisticated application-like Web experiences. The new port of Chrome has the potential to remedy that weakness and bring highly competitive HTML5 support to Android.

Bug hunters have made a total of $410,000 (£258,900) in the last year after sending in their findings to Google.

Over 1,100 flaws have been found in Google-owned software since the tech giant launched its vulnerability report programme in November 2010.