Samsung issues a fix for Galaxy S III reset exploit
Do your worst, malicious links
Yesterday, a rather alarming exploit affecting the Samsung Galaxy S III emerged. By just tapping on a particular HTML link, you could completely wipe your handset.
It seems the malicious link could tell the phone to dial its hard reset code (*2767*3855#, if you're wondering). The exploit can also be triggered by scanning in a dodgy QR code.
Fortunately, Samsung has acted swiftly to issue a fix. The company has issued the following statement:
"We would like to assure our customers that the recent security issue concerning the Galaxy S III has already been resolved through a software update. We recommend all Galaxy S III customers to download the latest software update, which can be done quickly and easily via the Over-The-Air (OTA) service."
Our own Mike Rose checked his Samsung Galaxy S III (he's a big fan) and received a "No update available" message.
Better to be safe...It seems that most versions of the Galaxy S III firmware have already been patched to close off this loophole, so if you haven't received an update message - like our Mike - you're probably safe.
Still, don't go prodding any suspicious email links until you've checked for firmware updates, eh? In fact, don't go prodding them at all.
The Verge