Is your Android phone vulnerable to being hijacked by hackers
An app called Stagefright Detector checks to see if your phone is vulnerable or not
PHOTO: THE GUARDIAN
A critical security bug in Android devices, called Stagefright, remains unpatched in majority of devices, allowing anyone to take over the device with a multimedia message or MMS.
The exploit works by utilising the multimedia handling capabilities of the Android operating system, meaning there is little you can do to stop your phone from losing control after receiving the message.
The bug, which has made Google, Samsung and LG promise users that they will come out with regular monthly security updates, can affect over a billion devices.
Read: Security flaw allows hackers to break into 95% of Android devices with single text message
However, salvation can come in the form of an app from mobile security company called Zimperium. Its app checks whether the device it is installed on is vulnerable. Stagefright Detector, which is free, performs six checks for the bug.
“In order to test if your device is vulnerable, Zimperium built the ‘Stagefright Scanner’ app,” the Google Play page of the app reads. “This app will tell you two major things:
- whether your device is vulnerable
- whether you need to update your mobile operating system.”
Read: Device wrecking bug discovered in Android
To prevent a hacker from exploiting this vulnerability for as long as you have not updated your device, you should disable multimedia messaging (MMS) and should not open messages sent to you by unknown contacts.
According to Zimperium, you should also disable the Auto Retrieve MMS option in Hangouts and other messaging apps.
The exploit works by utilising the multimedia handling capabilities of the Android operating system, meaning there is little you can do to stop your phone from losing control after receiving the message.
The bug, which has made Google, Samsung and LG promise users that they will come out with regular monthly security updates, can affect over a billion devices.
Read: Security flaw allows hackers to break into 95% of Android devices with single text message
However, salvation can come in the form of an app from mobile security company called Zimperium. Its app checks whether the device it is installed on is vulnerable. Stagefright Detector, which is free, performs six checks for the bug.
“In order to test if your device is vulnerable, Zimperium built the ‘Stagefright Scanner’ app,” the Google Play page of the app reads. “This app will tell you two major things:
- whether your device is vulnerable
- whether you need to update your mobile operating system.”
Read: Device wrecking bug discovered in Android
To prevent a hacker from exploiting this vulnerability for as long as you have not updated your device, you should disable multimedia messaging (MMS) and should not open messages sent to you by unknown contacts.
According to Zimperium, you should also disable the Auto Retrieve MMS option in Hangouts and other messaging apps.