When you hear the term “stagefright,” you probably think of sweaty palms, dry mouth, and a shaky voice. However, introverted individuals aren’t the only ones affected by this affliction that seems to crop up at the worst possible times. Now your Android devices are susceptible to “Stagefright” as well.
Your Android tablet isn’t going to be practicing any public speaking any time soon, but it does have a security hole that could potentially let the Stagefright virus mess up its game.
1) What is the Stagefright flaw?
Stagefright is the multimedia player component in the Android OS. In Android versions 2.2 (“Froyo”) and up, the flaw can be used to remotely hack your Android device. The most common way this can happen is through an MMS (multimedia message). However, MP4 videos embedded in webpages or other apps could also compromise your Android tablet. What’s more, Android phone manufacturers have given the Stagefright system permissions, which is only one step below root access. System permissions allow attackers nearly complete access to your tablet.
Android text messaging apps automatically retrieve incoming MMS messages. This means that your tablet could be affected simply by someone sending you a multimedia message through any messaging application, i.e. Messenger, Google Hangouts, etc.
However, you’re probably using your Android tablet as an extension of your POS and have no use for these messenger applications anyway. But, you’re not out of the woods yet. This vulnerability is in the “media server” component and a malicious MP4 file embedded on a web page could exploit it.
2) How do I know if I’ve been affected or if my tablet is vulnerable?
You won’t be able to look at your tablet and know immediately if you’ve been affected by the Stagefright virus, but you can download a couple of Stagefright Detector applications.
Both of these apps will let you know if your tablet is vulnerable to the Stagefright bug. Once you know that, you can take the necessary precautions to protect your Android tablet from malicious hackers.
3) How do I protect my Android Tablet?
There are several ways to ensure that you’re doing all that you can to protect your Android tablet. Chances are there is some sort of messaging application on your tablet. Since you’re using the tablet as an extension of your point of sale, you probably don’t have any use for these apps.
- If Google Hangouts is selected as a default messaging app, uninstall it or at least turn off its ability to automatically retrieve multimedia messages.
- If you have any other messaging applications on your tablet, you should uninstall if possible, or go into the messenger settings and disable auto-retrieval of MMS messages.
- To further protect your tablet, you should also take steps to ensure safety while the device is locked. To do this, open up the Settings app, choose Notifications under My Device, choose ‘When Locked’ or ‘Notifications on Lock Screen.’ Then, select ‘Hide Sensitive Content.’ This ensures that the Stagefright bug will not be executed while your tablet is locked.
Additionally, if your device runs Android 4.3 or older, it possesses the vulnerable web browser component. This will likely not be patched unless your tablet upgrades to a newer version of Android. You can help protect yourself by using Chrome or Firefox browsers. Or, you could install a CyanogenMod. This is a third-party custom ROM of Android capable of bringing a current version of Android to devices that manufacturers have stopped supporting.
Android is a great OS, but just like any OS, it’s susceptible to bugs. If you’re using Android for your point of sale, educate yourself about and protect yourself from the Stagefright bug. Don’t allow your tablet to get cold feet about performing.
