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Your Smart TV Is Getting Too Smart for Your Own Good


steven36

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To the delight of binge-watchers everywhere, it’s no longer prohibitively expensive to purchase a giant television. And those devices are also getting smarter, with features like voice commands, personalized recommendations, and built-in apps for Netflix and other streaming services. It’s almost impossible to buy a TV without them.

 

https://s7d2.turboimg.net/sp/95b3deb7f04327c6a6286ed02537510c/d9b4.jpg

 

The average consumer might ascribe the declining price to a variant of Moore’s law. But this isn’t entirely true.

 

“Right now, you’re paying with your data, but you don’t know the price,” says Casey Oppenheim, CEO of Disconnect, a privacy-focused software company.

 

While most consumers now know the game when they use Facebook (keep in touch with old classmates in exchange for your data) or a smart home assistant (check the weather hands-free in exchange for your data), the exchange is not so transparent with smart TVs. 

 

Now “your television is essentially a big computer,” Oppenheim says. Just like any other computer you have let into your house, this one is collecting data. The reason is simple. “It allows Internet service providers and television manufacturers to make more money,” he says. Viewing habits can be used to build a rich consumer profile, which is extremely valuable to advertisers, insurance companies, and other parties.

 

And being computers, smart TVs are now also hackable. Some TV manufacturers, like Samsung, have even recommended customers scan their TVs for malware—something most users don’t even do with their personal computers.

 

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All this data tracking, snooping and targeted advertising is getting way out of hand.

 

I immediately disabled all internet connectivity on my SmartTV SpyTV

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51 minutes ago, steven36 said:

Some TV manufacturers, like Samsung, have even recommended customers scan their TVs for malware

 

 

Quote

 

No, your smart TV isn't catching viruses

A misguided tweet from Samsung instigates more pearl-clutching over smart TVs.

 

 Source

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2 hours ago, lurch234 said:

 

 

 Source

Regardless  If Samsung made a mistake  about posting that Tweet or just removed because people complained and don't want to face realty and it was just bad for there business , 

 

Your source  is wrong and just click bait because most smart TVs are android and they do catch  malware and rasomware and power botnets we knew this for years before they posted that tweet even.

 

Samsung’s security reminder makes the case for not owning a Samsung smart TV

https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/17/18681683/samsung-smart-tv-virus-scan-malware-attack-tweet

 

https://www.eset.com/int/home/smart-tv-security/

 

How my TV got infected with ransomware and what you can learn from it

https://www.symantec.com/connect/blogs/how-my-tv-got-infected-ransomware-and-what-you-can-learn-it

 

Malware on the Smart TV?

https://securelist.com/malware-on-the-smart-tv/73229/

 

2 hours ago, xpkRAKE said:

All this data tracking, snooping and targeted advertising is getting way out of hand.

 

I immediately disabled all internet connectivity on my SmartTV SpyTV

 You can still buy new ones that are not Smart TVs  we have satellite TV at my  home and they just bought a new 1080p normal TV.  I  don't watch TV since 2006 myself, i just watch my stuff on PC instead :tooth:

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Infinite_Vision

I like my TV and appliances the old school.  Nothing embedded not able to connect to the internet.  I can live without those apps on my TV.  Plus, I won't watch that much TV anyway due to the amount of commercial.  An hour of programming is like 20 minutes of commercial you have to watch.   There are even smart refrigerator to track what you buy from the grocery store.  What's next smart toilet?   smh.

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what i consider is i bigger problem is that when you "buy" the tv you have no

rights to it's preloaded software at all.

 

they may stop shut down or remove apps that where available at purchase.

sony is the worst but to my knowledge some philips tv's also has this.

 

my brother and father both have lg's and they also offer their own app store

with interesting software.

 

netflix will soon die if they don't keep with good quality original series. 

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21 minutes ago, halvgris said:

what i consider is i bigger problem is that when you "buy" the tv you have no

rights to it's preloaded software at all.

 

they may stop shut down or remove apps that where available at purchase.

sony is the worst but to my knowledge some philips tv's also has this.

 

my brother and father both have lg's and they also offer their own app store

with interesting software.

 

netflix will soon die if they don't keep with good quality original series. 

Well that problem is not really  anything to do with security or privacy . so kind of off topic

 

But since you went there a simple solution would be buy a standard TV and a android TV box.

 

The price for a smart TV does not match its computing power compared to the hardware a android box can offer.
 
Updates are also a problem for many smart TVs while androids are updated much more easily.

 

It also has created millions of apps which can be used with other android devices across hardware.
 
For example is someone needed to Skype with their TV they could simply download the app, or if a document needed to be created the same can also be done.
 
The list os apps is endless with an android. Keyboards can be used like a desktop or small TV remotes used to stream videos and music.

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I took an UN-smart TV, hooked up a computer, and loaded up Windows 10 on it.  Standard Pro Edition 19H1 all the  updates.  Loaded up Edge Chromium.  Runs great!

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1 hour ago, steven36 said:

Well that problem is not really  anything to do with security or privacy . so kind of off topic

 

But since you went there a simple solution would be buy a standard TV and a android TV box.

 

The price for a smart TV does not match its computing power compared to the hardware a android box can offer.
 
Updates are also a problem for many smart TVs while androids are updated much more easily.

 

It also has created millions of apps which can be used with other android devices across hardware.
 
For example is someone needed to Skype with their TV they could simply download the app, or if a document needed to be created the same can also be done.
 
The list os apps is endless with an android. Keyboards can be used like a desktop or small TV remotes used to stream videos and music.

 

 

note: for some reason i'm writing reply off grid.

 

any android is a door opener unless it has the latest security features in it.

 

if samsung is not available to provide the latest for one region on a flagship

phone the box you talk about is open to anything.

 

yep you're right there is no limitation on android devices but there is security

flaws everywhere and it's all connected to your e-mail.

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2 minutes ago, halvgris said:

any android is a door opener unless it has the latest security features in it.

  

if samsung is not available to provide the latest for one region on a flagship

phone the box you talk about is open to anything.

 

yep you're right there is no limitation on android devices but there is security

flaws everywhere and it's all connected to your e-mail.

Well i fool with Kodi on Linux and some on Windows and for many those TV Boxes  are the way they go. if you worried about your privacy  you can always  create another email  not linked to yours it give you and  option  to make a new email when you 1st set it up. If you want go all out you can also use a vpn on it. People like me Kodi  PC and  and downloading is more i will ever be able to watch .I have enough downloaded now it would take me 2 years to watch it all.  Some people even use Linux om there TV Boxes who just use it for Kodi.

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2 hours ago, steven36 said:

People like me Kodi  PC and  and downloading is more i will ever be able to watch .I have enough downloaded now it would take me 2 years to watch it all.

 

Same here, LibreElec (Kodi distro)  on an Odroid C2 SMB SBC, a 4 year old dumb TV, and years of TV episodes, movies, and documentaries.

 

I used to justify the collecting of it all with having to use up all the quota I paid my ISP for each month. I was wasting money if I didn’t use every bit of quota, right? :rolleyes:

 

Is there a “Downloaders Anonymous” organisation for us? :lol:

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1 hour ago, Karlston said:

Is there a “Downloaders Anonymous” organisation for us? :lol:

Internet addiction disorder:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_addiction_disorder

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I have always believed that an Android based media player is better than a build-in one. If one wants, they can change the media player to newer version and different product if wanted.

 

On 7/22/2019 at 3:21 AM, Infinite_Vision said:

What's next smart toilet?   smh.

 

They exist already I think.

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