In 2015, Twitter used image sprites to create its animated "Like" button, a technique borrowed from video games to run complex animations on low-end devices. Sprites work by combining all frames of an animation into a single image, called a spritesheet, then using CSS properties like `object-fit: cover` and `object-position` within an img tag to display each frame sequentially. The `steps()` timing function in CSS is necessary for advancing through these frames discretely, avoiding smooth transitions and creating a stop-motion effect.
2026.02.24·joshwcomeau.com·13 min read·TLDR Dev Dictionary compression is a newly widely supported technique for sending data over the web. It works by initializing the compression algorithm with a pre-shared dictionary of known data, allowing subsequent transmissions to only send references to this dictionary rather than the full content. This approach shrinks frequently updated content like JavaScript bundles, WebAssembly files, and API responses.
2026.02.24·httptoolkit.com·25 min read·TLDR Dev Agentic engineering changes software development by making code writing cheaper. This shift impacts everything from macro-level project planning to micro-level decisions about refactoring, testing, and documentation. While delivering basic code is now nearly free, delivering good code, defined by its quality, reliability, simplicity, and maintainability, is still hard.
2026.02.24·simonwillison.net·4 min read·TLDR Dev Most Rails teams overestimate how much native code they actually need. Most of what users do and need is standard CRUD that works great as server-rendered HTML in a native wrapper. The apps that struggle are the ones that go native too early on too many screens, tripling their maintenance burden for no real user benefit.
2026.02.24·newsletter.masilotti.com·7 min read·TLDR Dev Age-verification laws create an age-verification trap by having platforms implement intrusive data collection practices that undermine user privacy. To prove compliance, platforms must gather and indefinitely store sensitive personal data, including government IDs, biometric scans, and behavioral logs. This data retention directly conflicts with modern privacy laws, which advocate for collecting only necessary data for defined purposes and storing it minimally.
2026.02.24·spectrum.ieee.org·5 min read·TLDR Dev Sponsored
Go from idea to production‐ready agent quickly. This developer checklist [12] shows how to use Microsoft Foundry to build and ship an agent MVP in ~30 days, with practical guidance on architecture, performance, and tradeoffs to inform early technical decisions.
PgDog is a high-performance proxy for PostgreSQL, written in Rust, designed to scale databases by offering connection pooling, load balancing, and advanced sharding capabilities. It parses SQL queries to manage connections, distribute reads and writes, handle failovers, and route queries across multiple shards.
2026.02.24·github.com·GitHub repository·TLDR Dev Upright is an open-source synthetic monitoring system built as a Rails engine. It deploys to global VPS nodes via Kamal and conducts various probes, including advanced Playwright browser checks, HTTP, SMTP, and Traceroute, from multiple geographic locations.
2026.02.24·dev.37signals.com·4 min read·TLDR Dev 2026.02.24·madebymohammed.com·8 min read·TLDR Dev Bun won eight tests across 14 microbenchmarks on an M4 Mac (especially HTTP throughput and large JSON parsing), Deno won five (async scheduling and tight arithmetic), and Node won just one (small-buffer SHA-256 hashing). Node stayed competitive overall but didn't dominate anywhere.
2026.02.24·repoflow.io·5 min read·TLDR Dev Factory built a system that uses LLMs to review thousands of coding agent sessions daily, spotting where users got frustrated. For example, frustrations would manifest themselves as rephrasing the same request five times or fighting with context windows. When enough friction is found, the agent files its own bug ticket, writes a fix, and opens a PR for a human to approve.
2026.02.24·factory.ai·6 min read·TLDR Dev As the first engineer on TLDR's new Applied AI team, you'll build AI agents and composable Claude Skills to let non-technical teammates create their own AI workflows. Learn more [19].
Anthropic has detected industrial-scale "distillation attacks" by three AI labs - DeepSeek, Moonshot, and MiniMax - who illegally extracted Claude's capabilities through fraudulent accounts.
2026.02.24·anthropic.com·9 min read·TLDR Dev Wolfram Tech is a "foundation tool" that supplements LLM systems with precise, deep computation and knowledge.
2026.02.24·writings.stephenwolfram.com·7 min read·TLDR Dev Poor communication, rather than code complexity, is the primary factor that slows down software projects and shapes system architecture.
2026.02.24·shiftmag.dev·9 min read·TLDR Dev 2026.02.24·davidgomes.com·3 min read·TLDR Dev Sponsored
Attackers are using AI to automate lateral movement, mapping your network in seconds and minutes instead of weeks. WHY
CVE-2025-29969 is a remote code execution vulnerability in the MS-EVEN RPC protocol — enabled by default on Windows 11 and Windows Server 2025 — that allows low-privileged users to write arbitrary files remotely by exploiting a TOCTOU flaw in the EventLog backup function, effectively bypassing default C$ share limitations. The attack chain combines a hidden CreateFile primitive for remote file/directory existence checks with an arbitrary write primitive achieved by swapping an attacker-controlled EVTX file on a remote SMB share between header validation and backup, enabling code execution via Startup folder batch scripts or DLL hijacking. Microsoft patched the TOCTOU write primitive in May 2025, though the recon capabilities enabling remote file enumeration across domain-joined machines remain unpatched.
Everest ransomware actors accessed Vikor Scientific (now Vanta Diagnostics) data via revenue cycle vendor Catalyst RCM, using compromised credentials to steal about 12GB of files containing names, dates of birth, payment card data, medical details, and insurance information. Roughly 140,000 individuals are currently listed as affected, but the final impact may be higher as counts from all linked entities remain unclear.
A misconfigured server exposed a full intrusion toolkit where a threat actor integrated LLMs directly into the attack workflow — using DeepSeek to generate attack plans from recon data and Claude Code to conduct live vulnerability assessments — while targeting FortiGate appliances across 106 countries with 2,516 identified targets. Custom tools ARXON (an MCP server bridging LLM analysis with attack scripts) and CHECKER2 (a Go-based Docker orchestrator) automated the pipeline from stolen VPN config ingestion through internal scanning to LLM-driven exploitation planning, evolving from the open-source HexStrike framework in roughly eight weeks. Defenders should audit for unauthorized VPN accounts, unexpected SSH access, and unapproved firewall policy changes, as the dual-model approach of selecting whichever LLM is most permissive for a given task lowers the skill barrier for managing concurrent intrusions at scale.
Samsung's pre-installed Weather app quietly creates a highly unique fingerprint from the combination of saved location IDs (placeid) it sends to The Weather Company's API, with 96.4% of sampled devices uniquely identifiable across days. These fingerprints persist over time, survive IP and network changes, and can be resolved into precise locations using hardcoded API keys that work from any client. Requests often include both hashed placeid values and raw GPS coordinates, giving IBM's Weather Company and Samsung rich, granular location profiles that echo a broader industry pattern of monetizing weather-based location data.
Unit 42 researchers introduced a novel detection method that fingerprints cloud threat actors by linking their known MITRE ATT&CK techniques to specific alert patterns. This approach successfully distinguished Muddled Libra (Scattered Spider) and Silk Typhoon operations across 22 industries from June 2024 to June 2025, with only three shared alert signatures out of around 120, highlighting their differing tactics. Industry alert spikes correlated with publicly reported campaigns, such as a 25% rise in transportation sector alerts during Muddled Libra's aviation attacks, enabling defenders to identify threats early by investigating actor-related alerts over a 30-day window.
2026.02.24·unit42.paloaltonetworks.com·20 min read·TLDR InfoSec Siper is a high-performance, XDP-based IP blacklist firewall built with Go and eBPF that drops malicious traffic at the NIC driver level before packets reach the kernel's networking stack. It supports CIDR-based blocking via BPF LPM Trie maps, persistent JSON-based rule management, and real-time drop/pass metrics. The minimalist architecture separates a Go CLI control plane from the kernel-space data plane, offering significantly lower CPU overhead than iptables or nftables under heavy DDoS conditions.
TrivySummary summarises Trivy scan JSON output for reporting purposes. Package vulnerabilities are collapsed down to the respective CVE, and headline counts of vulnerabilities at different priorities. As well as the vendor severity and CVSS v3 score provided by Trivy, EPSS scores can also be retrieved, allowing the exploitability and severity of all vulnerabilities to be graphed and prioritised.
Depthfirst is an AI security startup whose General Security Intelligence platform scans and analyzes codebases and workflows to detect issues, prevent credential exposure, and monitor open source and third‑party components for AI‑driven threats.
Veracode researchers discovered a typosquatted NPM package called "buildrunner-dev" that delivers the Pulsar RAT by hiding malicious code within PNG images using steganography, extracting payloads from RGB pixel values at runtime. The attack chain employs a heavily obfuscated 1,600-line batch file with only 21 functional lines, detects and evades AV products like ESET and Malwarebytes, and uses process hollowing to inject the final payload into legitimate processes. Developers should carefully verify package names and audit dependencies, as supply chain attacks increasingly leverage image-based steganography to bypass traditional file-scanning tools.
PayPal disclosed a software error in its Working Capital loan app that exposed the names, contact details, SSNs, and dates of birth of 100 business customers between July and mid-December 2025. The company reversed the faulty code, reset passwords, and detected some unauthorized transactions.
Anthropic's new Claude Code Security feature scans codebases for vulnerabilities, proposes patches, and claims to have surfaced hundreds of high‑severity issues in open source projects, spooking security investors and pushing stocks like CrowdStrike down. It joins Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and OpenAI in deploying AI agents for bug hunting, but all still require human review and face questions over false positives, costs, and marketing hype.
Sponsored
Modern IT infrastructure moves faster than manual workflows can handle. Read this Tines guide [17] to learn how to SCALE INFRASTRUCTURE PREDICTABLY, without sacrificing performance or governance.
The US Treasury announced a public-private initiative through the AI Executive Oversight Group that will release six resources throughout February to help financial institutions — particularly small and mid-sized ones — manage AI-specific cybersecurity risks and deploy AI more securely.
Spanish police arrested a 20-year-old in Madrid who manipulated a hotel booking site's payment gateway validation process to secure luxury rooms at €0.01 per reservation.
Intellexa's Predator spyware suppresses iOS camera and microphone recording indicators by hooking SpringBoard's SBSensorActivityDataProvider, nullifying sensor activity updates before they reach the UI layer.
Sponsored
TikTok is delivering the strongest audience growth, with median follower counts rising over 200% year over year and generating high engagement per post. Instagram continues to post steady follower gains, but organic reach is declining across all formats, limiting its growth upside. Facebook remains largely flat in follower growth while still anchoring overall audience scale. The data suggests TikTok is emerging as the primary discovery engine, while Instagram and Facebook function as reach stabilizers rather than accelerators.
AI SEO efforts fail mainly because of organizational misalignment, not weak tactics or tools. Readiness and change management drive success, and fewer than one-third of teams sustain performance improvements during major shifts. About 70% of AI implementation hurdles relate to people and process issues, while only about 10% are purely technical. 84% of marketers say their LLM visibility measurement is inaccurate. Strong change management can create an 8X improvement in success, and firms using key transformation factors can raise success rates from 30-80%. Teams need to treat SEO leaders as change agents before deploying AI-SEO tactics.
The creator economy is entering a new phase as leading YouTubers expand into consumer products and venture-backed businesses. At the same time, generative video tools are accelerating content production, increasing the risk of saturation and IP conflicts. AI may make breakout growth harder for emerging creators. Monetization will depend less on views alone and more on owned products and direct audience relationships.
LinkedIn reach is shrinking, making strategic commenting more effective than posting for visibility and inbound. Comments over 15 words carry roughly 2X the algorithmic weight. Consistent 15 minute daily commenting generated 3-4X more inbound conversations in six months and took 40% less time because comments tap into existing distribution. The most effective comments add relevant experience or sharp questions, while AI-sounding replies get suppressed.
IKEA's social media manager, Elissa Wardrop, turned a viral baby monkey story into a marketing win by acting fast. She took a real-time photo of the IKEA toy Punch used, bypassed approvals, and reinforced the brand's role by donating first, earning authentic “story permission” before promotion, and the post drove massive engagement. Daily updates kept the audience engaged, showing how a single post can become a series that builds connection and sustained attention.
Sponsored
When everyone can churn out videos with AI, volume won't set you apart. Wistia's new AI Video Marketing Trends [10] report shows how AI is being used to make better videos faster, rather than just producing more content. Read the report [10] to see how AI can handle the grunt work so you can be creative
Carly Valancy, founder of Reach Out Party, will share the 3 levers of her Unignorable Email Framework at this webinar. She'll also talk about how to feel confident cold emailing the people you don't feel "ready" to connect with and build a repeatable networking process. The event will take place on February 25 at 9 AM PT.
Enabling JavaScript crawling in Screaming Frog captures fully rendered screenshots of every page on a site. This provides a scalable view of how content displays. Instead of testing pages individually, Screaming Frog automates the process by configuring the spider to render JavaScript, enabling page screenshots, running the crawl, and reviewing each page's rendered view in the HTML report. This approach helps identify rendering issues across key pages and templates and highlights where JavaScript or AI tools might struggle to index content accurately.
AI doesn't care about outcomes. An agent can pass tests and generate endless code, yet if the product breaks or users leave, the human is still accountable. Speed creates opportunity, but it is not a moat. When building becomes cheap, customers stop rewarding effort and start rewarding what is hard to copy. Infinite output does not create a durable advantage because real advantage comes from nonobvious bets and hard tradeoffs. As AI floods the world with personalized content, shared experiences and community grow more valuable because trust and belonging cannot be automated.
This study shows widespread inefficiency in paid search, with the average account wasting more than $1K per month and over a quarter recording no conversions within a 90-day window. Only 22% of accounts maintain a Quality Score of 7 or higher, and 36% fall below 4, highlighting structural weaknesses across industries. Smaller spenders outperform larger budgets in conversion efficiency, challenging the assumption that scale drives results. The strongest accounts rely on tighter segmentation and negative keywords, which correlate with nearly 3X higher conversion rates.
Gen Z is reviving the iPod as a distraction-free alternative to smartphones.
A modular landing page includes the hero, problem, proof points, FAQ, and a clear CTA.
Sponsored
You're probably being asked to “use AI” more, but finding real impact is still harder than it sounds.