Passwords, bank details and photos: the smartphone is the gold mine of personal data. Accordingly, criminals often target our mobile companions. They keep coming up with new tricks to crack the smartphone. On the other hand, Samsung is now introducing a new protective function for its Galaxy cell phones.
One wrong click – and the smartphone is already infected with malware. Many are aware of the dangerous situation and therefore act with particular caution. In some cases, not even a click is necessary. It is enough to receive a photo that contains so-called malware. With a new feature, Samsung protects its users from this threat.
Samsung introduces message guards on its smartphones
In addition, the South Korean manufacturer has now presented the “Message Guard” (German: message guard). The name says it all for him: He automatically checks incoming images for malware and neutralizes it – without any action on the part of the user. Even before the photo is opened, the danger should be averted (source: Samsung).
Samsung’s message guard is first available on the Galaxy S23 series models. Later, however, other smartphones and tablets will be equipped with the security feature. Then as part of the update to One UI 5.1 or higher.
Message Guard checks the following image formats for malware:
- PNG
- JPG/JPEG
- gif
- ICO
- WEBP
- BMP
- WBMP
Samsung thus covers the most common image formats.
How good is the camera in the Galaxy S23 Ultra really? Our test shows it:
Support for third-party apps like WhatsApp is coming later
Small downside: First of all, the message guard is only available in Samsung’s own message app and in Google Messages. At a later date, however, the function is also to be activated Third party messengers extended become. As soon as support for WhatsApp, Telegram and Co. is rolled out, the message guard should become a real game changer in the fight against images attempted by malware.