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Verizon’s HTC One M9 is receiving Android 5.1 tomorrow

Good news for owners of the HTC One M9 on Verizon: Tomorrow the Taiwanese company is pushing Android Lollipop 5.1 to the flagship device. The news comes straight from Mo Versi, HTC’s VP of Product Management:

[tweet https://twitter.com/moversi/status/634105557234769920 align=’center’]

The update includes all the standard bug fixes and operating systems improvements that are baked into 5.1 — like improved Quick Settings and the new Device Protection tool — as well as a patch for the nasty Stagefright exploit. The 3 and 7 bands have also been activated, useful for when you find yourself roaming internationally.

Keep in mind that just because it begins rolling out over-the-air tomorrow, that doesn’t mean you’ll receive it right away. It could take a few days, and just to be sure the update hasn’t reached your device yet you can check for it manually by visiting Settings > About phone > System updates.

Verizon Galaxy Note Edge, Galaxy Note 4 receive Stagefright patch

As countless manufacturers of Android devices line up to release patches for the “worst Android vulnerability in the mobile OS history,” as some researchers have described it, the Galaxy Note Edge and Note 4 on Verizon are next up.

The vulnerability patch for the Galaxy Note Edge was spotted on Verizon’s support site by Droid-Life, then owners of the Note 4 reached out to the site to share that their devices are receiving a security update as well.

Verizon’s support document for the Note Edge security update is comically short at only one page long — their software update PDFs are usually at least a couple of pages long. We haven’t seen a similar document for the Note 4 yet.

For those who don’t know, Stagefright is what researchers have named a vulnerability that can see malicious software delivered to a device through MMS text messaging and executed automatically, as most messaging apps on Android automatically download rich media sent via MMS, regardless of whether or not the receiver opens the message. Google’s Messages and Hangouts apps both include the ability to disable auto-fetching of MMS content, though, and it’s pretty easy to toggle off.

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Google added automatic malware blocking to latest ‘Canary’ build of Chrome

Google has added automatic blocking of malware from the latest ‘Canary‘ build of its Chrome browser.

Bad guys trick you into installing and running this kind of software by bundling it with something you might want, like a free screensaver, a video plugin or—ironically—a supposed security update. These malicious programs disguise themselves so you won’t know they’re there and they may change your homepage or inject ads into the sites you browse […]

In the current Canary build of Chrome, we’ll automatically block downloads of malware that we detect.

Confusingly, Google has four versions of its Chrome browser available at any one time: the official, public release; a developer version; a beta version, for those who want early access to new features; and Canary. Canary is essentially a beta version that installs as a second browser, so you can use that most of the time and fall back to the official version if something doesn’t work.

While not all Canary features make it into the official build, this one seems likely to – and would make Chrome the ideal browser to recommend to any of your less-techy family and friends who cheerfully download anything and everything, usually identifiable by the fact that the top half of their browser window comprises half a dozen different toolbars …

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Nexus 7 also being updated to Android 4.2.1

Along with the Android 4.2.1 OTA update released for the LG Nexus 4 and Nexus 10 this morning, Google also released the software update for its Nexus 7 tablet. The update, labeled build “JOP40D”, fixes the December bug that wouldn’t allow users of the People app to select a date in December for a birthday, anniversary, or similar event. As always, the update can be obtained through system update, and it will roll out to users gradually. Thankfully, the folks in Mountain View aren’t leaving behind the Nexus 7.

Source: Phandroid


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Pandora for Android update brings new UI, song lyrics and exploration features

Pandora for Android just updated to version 1.7.

The latest version notably includes an all-new look with tweaks to navigation and design elements, while another improvement adds song history options for reviewing and bookmarking previously played tracks. Moreover, users can now access full song lyrics, artist biographies, similar music content, and Music Genome Project features. Oh, and the usual bug fixes are included.

Changelog:

  • All new look with improved navigation and design updates
  • Song history – review, rate, or bookmark previously played tracks
  • Explore the music you love with: full song lyrics, artist bios, similar artists and tracks, and track features from the Music Genome Project
  • Additional bug fixes and enhancements

Grab the new Pandora for Android at the Google Play Store.


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