Samsung brings 'Message Guard' feature to kill spyware

If it detects any suspicious element in the image/video/text SMS, the app automatically neutralises the malicious code

After the Pegasus spyware case breakout in 2019, all smartphone makers and even messenger app companies have improved their security to block malicious messages. But, cybercriminals are not sitting idle, they are constantly coming up with improved sophisticated tricks to avoid detection.

Now, Samsung has announced a new 'Message Guard' feature, which is coming with OneUI 5.1 update. It is capable of determining any threats in the message inbox and blocking them.

It can even sense zero-click exploits that can be sent with a benign-looking image. The latter can hold malicious code and just by even viewing once without clicking any button, it can slip into the phone to spy on the owner.

Once inside, spyware can view all messages, go through photos albums, file folders and scrape all information and send them to a remote server, and all these things never come under the notice of the potential victim before it's too late.

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With the Message Guard feature in combination with the powerful Samsung Knox platform, the device can preemptively block messages containing malicious video and audio formats.

The company says the Message Guard contains a kind of virtual quarantine. And, when an image file arrives via messages inbox, it is initially isolated from the rest of the device. This helps in preventing malicious code from accessing the phone’s files and also can't, interact with the operating system. Then, Samsung Message Guard goes through the file bit by bit and processes it in a controlled environment to ensure it cannot infect the rest of the device.

If it detects any suspicious element in the image/video/text, the app automatically neutralises the malicious code and asks the user to delete the message. The Message Guard is enabled by default on both the Samsung Messages app and Google Messages app on Galaxy devices with the latest OneUI 5.1 update.

For now, Message Guard is available on Galaxy S23, S23 Plus, and S23 Ultra. Samsung has confirmed to bring the new security feature with OneUI 5.1 update to all eligible devices in the coming months.

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It will start with the Samsung Galaxy S22 series, Z Fold4, Z Flip4, S21 series, and S20 series. Later, in the coming weeks, the new update will be released to the Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3.

Not just premium Galaxy S, Z Fold, and Z Flip series, OneUI 5.1 will be coming to Galaxy A, F, and M series phones launched in 2021 and newer models too.

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