Get informed about the Stagefright hack – and what you can do about it.
The Stagefright hack has left many people spinning. If your phone is Android version 2.2 or beyond and is on Google’s Android operating system (and there are roughly 950 million of you) then you are vulnerable to this attack. It has been nicknamed Stagefright because the hack takes advantage of the Stagefright aspect of Android message security.
The primary issue with creating a patch is that Google is not the manufacturer of every Android phone. Stated by Zimperium Mobile Security (who notified Google of the vulnerabilities originally), Google “acted promptly and applied the patches to internal code branches within 48 hours.” Definitely a step in the right direction, but not enough to fix the issue entirely. The 
next step is making sure that all the manufacturers impacted by the Stagefright hack receive and apply the patch. With 950 million Android devices, this is not a quick task. However, things are definitely moving towards a solution
How can you protect yourself from the Stagefright hack? A good first step is turning off the setting that auto-retrieves your messages. One of the biggest targets for this hack are phones using the Hangouts messaging app, because the default setting is automatic message retrieval. If you’d rather just switch your messaging app, there are several ones that do not have auto retrieval as a default setting (meaning less work on your end after downloading it). It is also worth mentioning to never give out your number to anyone you don’t trust or open messages from questionable sources.
If your phone has been infected or is at risk to, stay up to date and do all you can to get back to normal. For questions or help regarding security or other IT issues, call the professionals at trueITpros at 678-534-8776.
Additional resources for help with messaging settings/patches/etc:
http://www.greenbot.com/article/2954235/android/how-to-protect-yourself-fro…
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-07/27/stagefight-android-bug
https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2015/07/28/the-stagefright-hole-in-android…
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/how-to/google-android/how-stop-android-text-mess…