I read this in one post,
A new discovery by
blogger Korben suggests that many MediaTek-basedAndroid phones are
susceptible to the strangest of hacks. All it takes to remotely reboot
some unlucky user's phone is to text them the symbol '='. In MediaTek
chipset language, this symbol apparently equals "shutdown and reboot".
Check the video - Korben demonstrates vulnerability
If you are unfortunate enough to get spammed with exploitative messages, you could have your phone rendered unusable.
Some popular Alcatel handsets, such as the One Touch Idol X, Idol Ultra, 997D, Pop C3,
S-Pop, and Star, have been confirmed as vulnerable. To find out whether
your MediaTek-based phone gets lured by the trick, text yourself '='
without the quotes. If you end up rebooting, fear not - simply change
your default messaging app to something other than the default one.
Hopefully
the flaw doesn't end up bigger than what it currently is, otherwise
hackers will have a field day with the majority of Chinese phones.
Solution : For 4.4 android KK version it is simple. Just go to settings and change default app.
But for older version, you need to install a messaging app which doesn't have functionality similar to the default app. e.g. 8sms won't work, but chomp sms will. And then go to settings and then All apps and disable the default app. Profit !!
