What is ‘Stagefright’ virus? How it affects Android phones?

"Stagefright" is the nickname given to a potential exploit that lives fairly deep inside the Android operating system itself. The gist is that as a result of hastily written code, there are a number of security vulnerabilities in Android devices.

The vulnerability is particularly troublesome because it can be delivered via MMS, which is automatically downloaded to the Android device by default, giving a potential attacker the ability to remotely control and steal data from the device. Once the attack is complete the Stagefright bug could grant hackers a variety of powers over the victim’s device.

The Stagefright attack does not require any action by the victim, meaning the flaw can be exploited remotely while a device owner is asleep. This is different from spear-phishing attacks, which require users to open an email attachment or click on a link for the attack to be successful.

Dubbed as one of the biggest vulnerabilities ever,
​​Eset launches its ‘Stagefright Detector app’ which scans your Android device to determine whether you are affected by the Stagefright vulnerability exploit and provides you with practical advice on how to protect yourself and your device, such as immediately installing any patch from your carrier or OEM and disabling MMS auto-fetch in your default messaging app until your device is patched.

Supporting a large pool of devices the Eset Stag
​f​reight app merely shall take​ less than 10 sec​ seconds to complete its analysis (scanning) and show the result.

Available on the Google Play Store, Eset Stagefright app is an easy and simple solution that shall safeguard your Android devices from Malware and possible attacks.

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