Hell, you didn’t even need to pull it out of your pocket! Receiving it does the trick.
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The build is still based on Android 5.1.1 Lollipop, and it will be the first of quite a few security updates that Android is putting out in the next few months. More than 90 percent of Android phones have a security measure known as address space layout randomization, which is designed to significantly lessen the damage attackers can do when exploiting vulnerabilities.
And to do that, Google must coordinate with many manufacturers. Yet this data goes a long way toward explaining why Android has had trouble making better inroads in the enterprise.
The first patch the carrier will deploy will be for Samsung’s Note 4 device, the spokesperson said.
But what does Android fragmentation really look like?
Deutsche Telekom, the German wireless carrier, announced that it would be shutting off its multimedia messaging service (MMS) in order to protect users from Stagefright.
With the recent security issues, we have been rethinking the approach to getting security updates to our devices in a more timely manner.
Once again, it’s hard not to compare the slow adoption of Android when stacked next to the speed that Apple can roll out updates to iOS across its range of devices.
The details about Samsung’s program remain unclear, though. Android Central reports that LG, HTC, and Sony have also promised Stagefright-related updates this month.
But it’s not going to be enough.
There’s no way around it: Android is a mess of disparate OEMs and legacy versions of the same operating system.
Other carriers including AT&T and Sprint are rolling out updates with the security patch to specific devices. It’s an impossible task.
Aside from the Android messenger, Google Hangouts was also tested and found to be vulnerable to the bug. The update will initially start in the US on August 10, and users should be able to receive it on their phones around that time.
The announcements came as Adrian Ludwig, Google’s lead engineer for Android security, gave a speech at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas outlining the company’s fix. It’s a limited sample size, and may not take into account all markets (though they do say they have devices from China).
IDG’s Lucian Constantin noted that the code is then shared with Samsung and other OEMs in the Android Handset Alliance before it’s released publicly to AOSP.
Android Lollipop launched back in October 2014, but initially suffered slow adoption, largely due to a staggered release by manufacturers.
Starting this week, Google will begin pushing security-focused OTA updates to its Nexus devices.
That’s particularly bad when someone discovers a security vulnerability in Android.
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It shouldn’t take long before all major smartphones get the highly anticipated upgrade. Bleeding edge platforms like Android 5.0 and 5.1 are well in the minority.
