Don't want pranksters 'bricking' your Android? Just stop using the internet, duh - Google

I want to see who will be the guys who will care to murder millions of Android devices. From what I've understood, it's like a overload attack, the attacker does not seem to be able to take control of the device. In the worst isolated case, you just have to reboot. Now, why so much noise ? Is there a systematic will from some vilain entity to spread FUD ? Every now and then, we have news of the skies falling on our heads, recently with OpenSSL, now with that stuff. Yet, everything is calm out there. Fed up !

As I understand, this Android vulnerability is contained in a single library file that is used to play video. For those of us who have taken control of our Android devices (i.e. obtained root access) the solution seems simple. Just delete (or rename) the file until a fix is forthcoming.

It is so amusing to me to see all this "windows mentality" reaction. "Oh my, I am at the mercy of the vendor, I must wait for a fix so that I can be safe." sheesh... If you have control of your systems you don't wait for or rely on vendors to assure your security.

Penguinist nailed it! It's all about control. If people want the shiny new toys that don't give them control, they assume risks - kind of like having sex with a stranger they just met. Each person has control over what devices they use and how they use them regardless. Each person can choose what data they store on each device (knowing the potential risks), and can minimize their exposure to threats to some degree by how they use their devices (websites they visit, what they download and install, etc.)

I am also getting tired of all the "noise". And I have lost all sympathy for people who either don't take precautions or don't even educate themselves about the devices they are using and how they can potentially be compromised. Stupid people should not be using "smart" devices.

Of course the latest Android FUD couldn't possibly come from the impassioned acolytes of the iPhone, the vulnerabilities of which they have seen reported in the past few weeks.

Temporarily fixing it is less than deleting a file... The problem is in the accelerated video playback routine, called ironically, Stagefright. All you need to do (on a rooted device) is edit the config file, build.prop, located in the system directory, and set the playback line from true to false... Additionally, I would recommend installing VLC for video playback, unless you don't want videos on your Android device. Note that there is a potential risk of creating an unrecoverable boot loop, should you be using an Android version that somehow uses the stagefright playback in a boot animation (something incredibly dumb)...