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Google has released the December update for Android Lollipop and Marshmallow, holding true to their monthly security updates to the mobile platform.  The new images for Nexus devices has been released for OTA updates as well as factory images and for Marshmallow, it will be known as 6.0.1.  If you have a Nexus device, you can expect to start seeing the update over the next couple of days unless you are locked to a carrier in which case it will be a bit longer.

The update contains no less than 16 vulnerability fixes, the most severe of which allowed for remote code execution.

The most severe of these issues is a Critical security vulnerability that could enable remote code execution on an affected device through multiple methods such as email, web browsing, and MMS when processing media files.

In all there were 4 critical issues addressed along with 10 high risk issues and 2 moderate risk issues.

One of the big misconceptions about Project Fi is that you are absolutely required to use Google Hangouts for your SMS/MMS and Instant Messaging app.  Here is a quote from a post I made a couple of weeks ago on the subject:  If you are a new Project Fi users, chances are you are a bit confused.  That confusion surrounds SMS and which app you can use for getting your text messages on your Nexus phone using Fi.  On the surface, it looks like you are required to use Google Hangouts, the voice, video and yes, text messaging integrated app.  But that not necessarily true and in fact, even Google suggests that you use Google Messenger, the default SMS app on Nexus devices, for texting.

That said, for those of us on Project Fi, there are some benefits to having everything in one app like Hangouts.  Not only does it give you one app to go to for your communications, the information synchronizes with Hangouts on your PC.  That means you can get your messages and your texts on your desktop, read them and reply to them.  If you haven’t considered moving your SMS/MMS communication to Hangouts, read this article and see if it is right for you.  A lot of it will depend on how you communicate and with whom.  But after being an avid Messenger user for most of 2015, when I switched to Project Fi, I embraced Hangouts and haven’t looked back.

Today the Google team has rolled out a great improvement to the search results on your Android phone or tablet.  Now when you do a search of a band, actor or actress, TV show or Movie, you get a significant amount of more information about them than just the search results themselves.  The update was announced on the Inside Search blog and it is a behind-the-scenes update from the company.  That means it is working now for everyone on Android devices and soon will work for iOS Google Search.

If you search for a band, you will see an overview of that band, albums and photos of the band, see songs information, links to videos of the band of particular songs, their discography and you are a tap away from playing their music from sources like YouTube, Google Play Music, iHeartRadio and TuneIn.  It is a great way to help you identify more music from a song you have heard or if you have a favorite band (Rush fans unite!) you can get all kinds of great information on them.

Wednesday if you caught up on the site I posted that there is a new version of Chrome for Android that has been released.  You can read that post for some of the nitty-gritty but it is mostly aimed at security fixes, performance enhancements and other under-the-hood updates.  There was however one new feature and it is one that I suspect a lot of readers will appreciate.  The bookmarks and recent history tabs have moved out of the menu and onto the main screen when you start the app.

Previously, when you want to open up your bookmarks or you want to find a site you had visited in your history, you had to use the menu in the upper right corner of the display.  It was a bit of a pain honestly as it put you a step removed from quickly being able to access them.  The Chrome team apparently felt the same way.  In this update they have both moved to the bottom of the screen so you can access either with just one tap.

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