It wasn’t very long ago that we got word of a nasty little security flaw within the Android operating system. This particular security flaw is known as Stagefright, which is how the Android operating system processes multimedia messages that contains videos. For those still out of the loop, the Stagefright security flaw is when a hacker inserts malware into a video multimedia message. Depending on a smartphone’s settings, your particular handset could allow videos to be opened and downloaded before even clicking on them. Which would allow the video that has malware attached to infect your handset. No doubt this has sent several manufacturers into a frenzy to start working on a security patch to remedy the breach. Today, Motorola has revealed their gameplan on a security patch for their line of devices.
Motorola has announced through their website that they are working to bring a security patch to their line of handsets specifically to avoid the Stagefright issue. According to Motorola, the Moto X Style, Moto X Play, and Moto G (3rd generation) will already have the patch installed, though for some regions, the Moto G (3rd generation) will not have the patch ready until a later date.
Additionally, the following devices have been confirmed for testing and awaiting results before Motorola is able to roll out the updates out to the general public. Moto X Style (patched from launch), Moto X Play (patched from launch), Moto X (1st Gen, 2nd Gen), Moto X Pro, Moto Maxx/Turbo, Moto G (1st Gen, 2nd Gen, 3rd Gen), Moto G with 4G LTE (1st Gen, 2nd Gen), Moto E (1st Gen, 2nd Gen), Moto E with 4G LTE (2nd Gen), DROID Turbo, DROID Ultra/Mini/Maxx
These tests are supposedly rolling out on August 10th, and if everything goes according to plan, you will see these updates hit your handset through a notification encouraging consumers to download and install the latest security patch. However, for the time being, if you wish to avoid all possibilities of downloading and installing a malware due to Stagefright, then we along with Motorola suggest that consumers do not download or open multimedia messages from unreliable sources. Additionally, make sure to uncheck the “Auto-retrieve MMS” in your smartphone settings.