A few days ago we learned that the Samsung Galaxy S7 will stop receiving official updates from Samsung. This also includes the usual Android security patches, which this terminal continued to receive four years after reaching the market. It therefore becomes a more vulnerable terminal, but we can always do something to remedy it.
The Samsung Galaxy S7 hit the market in 2016 and it did so with Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The last major update of the operating system was received in 2018 with the arrival of Android Oreo, a version that it maintains until today. Since then, Samsung has not missed the appointment and the terminal has received the corresponding Android security flaws. The last one that was implemented was last March, which is also coming to more recent mobiles such as the Huawei P40.
Protect our Galaxy S7
Now the Galaxy S7 will only receive patches in case of a specific critical security problem. This means that Samsung’s software engineers will look the other way . The security of the device may begin to be more in doubt, but luckily we can put the means so that the S7 is as alive as ever.
Install an anti-virus
Many people are reticent, but now with more reason, it may be time to install a recognized anti-virus of the many that we have for Android. Famous security labs such as ESET, Kaspersky or Mcafee have had their own solutions for Android for years. This will give us a plus of protection against any threat or vulnerability that can be exploited by cyber criminals.
All Anti-Viruses on Google Play
Activate Play Protect
Google Play Protect is an integrated tool from Google, which serves as protection against malicious software for Android. You can constantly improve thanks to Google’s powerful machine learning algorithms. The tool works continuously to protect sensitive security elements such as data and applications. This service automatically scans the device in order to prevent malware from doing its thing.
Now more than ever, we will have to make sure that Play Protect is activated on our Galaxy S7. we recommend that you take a look to make sure that Play Protect is activated. To do this we must go to the “Settings” menu and then “Security“. Then we will see the option of ” Google Play Protect” . If it is deactivated we will only have to enter and click on “Activate”.
Google Play only
Although this is a general recommendation that applies to all Android phones , it is now more important than ever not to download any application from external sources such as apk repositories. The Galaxy S7 may be more exposed to malware, so we should only download reliable apps from Google Play. And we say reliable, because we have seen on many occasions that even the Google bazaar is not safe from malware.
Install other ROMS?
It can be a saving grace for the Galaxy S7. Projects like LineageOS allow updating old mobiles to new Android versions, including security patches. At this time, this project does not have Roms for the Galaxy S7, but after the recent announcement by Samsung, it is very possible that it will not take long for custom ROMS to update their security or update the operating system.
