Got an Android smartphone? Smash it with hammer. This is the only sure way to go. According to a research published on Monday, the flaw is likely to be the biggest smartphone flaw ever. The flaw affects over 950 million Android phones worldwide. The estimated figure is about 95 percent of Android phones in use today.The cause of the security flaw is the way Android smartphones analyze the incoming text messages. Before opening a message, the smartphones processes the incoming media files automatically; including video, audio and pictures. According to Zimperium, a cybersecurity company, a malware file can start infecting your smartphone as soon as the file is received.This flaw is somehow familiar with the recent Apple text hack. However, the Android flaw is worse; this is because a hacker can gain complete control of your Android phone: secretly turning on the camera, accession application or wiping the handset.Google acknowledged the issue and assured that it has its ways of limiting the hackers’ access to separate applications and functions.According to Zimperium, the smartphones using the Android operating system 5 years are at risk of this flaw. The devices include those running Android Lollipop, Kitkat, Jelly Bean, Ice Cream Sandwich, Honeycomb, Gingerbread and Froyo.
What's my model number?
There are several ways to locate your model number:
- Option 1
- On your device, go to Settings, then "About device" and scroll down to "Model number"
- Option 2
- Often times you can view the model number inside the device, by removing the battery
- Option 3
- Using Samsung's model/serial number location tool