Yesterday, “security enthusiast” Pau Oliva raised eyebrows when he tweeted the USSD code to factory reset the Samsung Galaxy S III, adding that it could be triggered from a browser.
Samsung has quickly moved to allay fears, with an over the air (OTA) Galaxy S III software update.
It’s reported that the triggered Samsung Galaxy S III reset requires a degree of user intervention, so it’s not entirely automatic. However, Samsung recommends that all users install the Samsung Galaxy S III update.
An official Samsung statement reads: “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."
However, worryingly, the flaw is thought to extend to other TouchWiz devices, including the Samsung Galaxy S II and Advance - which reset without the aforementioned user intervention. One click and your device is wiped. No word on a fix for those chaps just yet.
Pau writes: “that's why I hate OEM customizations on top of android ;)”.
via: The Verge
