Samsung is introducing the Auto Blocker feature to help Galaxy device owners avoid malware and suspicious apps

Samsung has started shipping the latest version of its custom Android UI – One UI 6 – to various devices, starting with its flagship Galaxy S23 series. Based on Android 14this new software brings numerous features, performance improvements and personalization options.

What is significantly new, additionally within One UI 6, is a security tool called Auto Blockeran additional security feature for which Samsung claims to improve the security capabilities of Samsung smartphones.

Samsung is promoting Auto Blocker as an optional security tool that will soon be available for all Samsung devices that are supported to upgrade to One UI 6. Auto Blocker mainly blocks suspicious activities and unauthorized access to your device.

Auto Blocker consists of three main functions

This tool blocks unknown apps from suspicious sources during installation, regularly checks apps for potential security threats, and prevents the execution of malicious commands sent to your phone via USB cable.

In addition to the existing protection against malicious applications offered by the South Korean company, Auto Blocker serves as an additional real-time security measure, protecting users from new security risks without the need to actively manage the security of their device.

One of the main focuses of Samsung's Auto Blocker tool is preventing sideloading of harmful apps on Samsung devices.

For power users who want to sideload apps, the experience remains unchanged on devices running One UI 6, as the Auto Blocker feature is turned off by default.

Auto Blocker can be especially useful during potential social engineering attacks, where inexperienced users are tricked into installing a malicious application from unverified sources.

The tool also allows users to protect themselves from phishing attacks by blocking malicious commands sent to their device via a USB cable. This feature can be especially useful for inexperienced users who are unaware of the dangers of public USB chargers.

In addition to the new Auto Blocker tool, the One UI 6 upgrade includes a significant feature enhancement Message Guardwhich was announced a few months ago.

Message Guard was originally designed to mitigate zero-click attacks launched via SMS message. Now its capability is expanding to provide protection against zero-click attacks through popular messaging applications such as Facebook Messenger, Telegram i WhatsApp.