Stagefright detection app releases

The image on the right is of what will appear when a device is susceptible to Stagefright.

A new Android app that determines a smaratphone's vulnerability to Stagefright is available now.

Joseph Lambert, Published 08/07/2015

The recent Stagefright information has caused a lot of worry over which devices could be vulnerable. Google has released a patch, but so far this only solves the issue on Nexus smartphones and tablets. Today marks the release of a Stagefright detector app, meant to inform people who own Samsung, LG, and HTC smartphones on whether or not they are at risk of being affected in order to take precautions.

Unfortunately, a majority of Android device users seem to be at risk for vulnerability. The makers of the app, Zimperium, have also given detailed tips to keep phones safe from being hijacked by the exploit. The most essential way to avoid being affected by the exploit is not to open any text messages from an unknown sender. For those using Google Hangouts, the message does not even need to be opened to give offenders access to the phone.

The app is not being offered as any kind of fix for the issue, but as a tool that Android owners can use to become more informed about the potential risk they may face. The ease of exploitation is really the reason Stagefright is so scary for many, as well as the amount of devices that may be vulnerable. Hopefully Google will be able to quickly release a fix for users of other manufacturers' smartphones.