Pledging the utmost security and privacy for its users, Samsung has now developed a dedicated device protection feature. Dubbed “Auto Blocker,” this new feature protects Samsung Galaxy devices from malicious actions, such as sneaky sideloading, malware, etc.
Samsung Galaxy Auto Blocker Feature Prevents Intrusive Access
Android devices generally seem less secure than Apple iPhones due to the easy permission accessibility for most applications. However, such explicit access to various device services also empowers the apps, especially the malicious ones, to download malware. Samsung now steps up to prevent this security risk by launching Auto Blocker – an automatic blocking feature for Galaxy devices.
As explained in its post, when enabled, this feature will prevent apps from performing various intrusive or malicious functionalities, such as sideloading other apps and malware downloads. This feature also prevents intrusive software updates via USB cable, thus ensuring device security if an adversary gains physical access to the device.
Moreover, it will also block phishing and social engineering attacks, such as via voice phishing, by preventing malicious file downloads. The tool also blocks malicious image downloads from messaging apps, preventing the probability of disseminating malware via IM apps.
The new feature is available for Samsung Galaxy devices with One UI 6. However, it comes disabled by default, leaving it to the users to activate this enhanced protection as they need. Whereas, for users used to safe sideloading, the rollout of Auto Blocker won’t interrupt their activities.
Besides launching the Auto Blocker, Samsung upgrades the Message Guard feature to support third-party apps.
As elaborated, the feature, meant to prevent zero-click attacks via messages, initially supported Google and Samsung messaging applications only. However, the upgraded Message Guard feature will secure messages communicated via third-party apps. In this way, the tech giant aims at serving all its users similarly, giving them the liberty to use the messaging app of their choice.
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