Microsoft opens Bing-powered Coronavirus pandemic tracker
American software giant Microsoft opened a dedicated Coronavirus tracker to assist people to get real-time information about the spread of the global health pandemic.
Microsoft's COVID-19 heat map is powered by its Bing search engine and all the data is retrieved from authentic sources such as World Health Organization (WHO), the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other regional health authorities.
People can access real-time information on the specific countries on the interactive COVID-19 tracker (here) by just tapping on the nation's name in the left column and also find the latest news reports and video content about the particular region.
Even Google's sister company Verily is also assisting the US government to develop a website, which will assist local citizens to self-determine if they warranted a test and if need be, guided to the nearest health center.
In a related development, hackers are also misusing the global health crisis by setting up a fake COVID-19 pandemic heat map to prey on naive users.
Once entering the website, the user will be asked to download the map. But, it contains a malware with .exe file and gets installed on the computer. Once inside, the trojan unleashes a strain of malicious software known as AZORult.
The AZORult illegally retrieves browsing history, cookies, ID/passwords, cryptocurrency information, financial data such as credit/debit card numbers and more stored in the computer.
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