I Want My TV to be "Dumb" Again

[Duper]

It looks like TV's are getting to be too smart for their own good, or ours. Here's a rather troubling article I ran across over at ARs Technica.

LG smart TV snooping home networks

Now, I haven't spent the time to dig into this, but I think it'd be worth it.

[Isaac]

I THINK if you look in /var/log/auth.log you'll find how many times another computer has probed you and what service they were trying to access. This might be different on arch and slackware, but that should be the correct directory on debian distros.

[CDN_Merlin]

I wish I had known this before buying a LG 3D TV 2 years ago.

[Isaac]

If it's doing anything on the network it's probably looking for compatible devices, like iPads. Seriously, am I the only know that knows how to check auth.log?

[Duper]

I guess so Issac.

The Point is Issac, you shouldn't HAVE to.

[CDN_Merlin]

Sadly it's impossible to read the EULA for every device you own and for every time they make an update. The companies should be forced to put all text in red for any changes to the EULA with an update and also shouldn't be 10,000 pages long.

[Sirius]

Well, the content on the TV is still mostly dumb at least.

[Isaac]

I guess so Issac.

The Point is Issac, you shouldn't HAVE to.

It's a text file... And you can see if anyone's been trying to get into your system. Why would you refuse to look at it? I don't understand people sometimes...

[Foil]

Isaac, no one is "refusing to look". Plus, your suggestion is specific to only a small subset of the machines out there.

[Isaac]

Small subset? Maybe in the world, but on the dbb we are of the pc master race.

[Krom]

Last time I looked at the server logs, almost everyone posting here was on Windows.

[Duper]

Well, the content on the TV is still mostly dumb at least.

BAahahaha... Nice!

Ya know, that wouldn't be so bad except they're data mining your home PCs/network too, not just their device.

[Spidey]

Just set your firewall to mark your TV as an intruder. Or simply deny it access. That was the first thing I did when I put my DVR on my LAN.

[Capm]

I think there was an article on tom's that listed the domains you can block in your firewall.

[Avder]

Or just never put your TV on your lan to begin with....

[Capm]

And I could just buy a 19" black and white console too.

[Burlyman]

Smart phones, smart TVs, dumb humans.

[woodchip]

I think a while back there was a samsung screen with a built in camera that:

"The flaws in Samsung Smart TVs, which have now been patched, enabled hackers to remotely turn on the TVs’ built-in cameras without leaving any trace of it on the screen. While you’re watching TV, a hacker anywhere around the world could have been watching you. Hackers also could have easily rerouted an unsuspecting user to a malicious website to steal bank account information."

Now that is something to be truly worried about.

[Ferno]

[roid]

I think a while back there was a samsung screen with a built in camera that:

"The flaws in Samsung Smart TVs, which have now been patched, enabled hackers to remotely turn on the TVs’ built-in cameras without leaving any trace of it on the screen. While you’re watching TV, a hacker anywhere around the world could have been watching you. Hackers also could have easily rerouted an unsuspecting user to a malicious website to steal bank account information."

Now that is something to be truly worried about.

thesedays who knows how many so-called security gaps discovered in software & hardware of USA*-based companies, were infact deliberately introduced as back-door features. #PRISM #HUSHHUSHORGO2JAIL
Not a conspiracy theory, this is from Snowden's NSA document leaks.
Certainly brings fresh questions to the motive behind Kinect 2.0's 3D camera and microphone system being always-on, since Snowden's docs reveal that Microsoft was one of the first NSA captures and has been very active in it's NSA participation.

*or allies with equally facist intelligence policies.
(note: LG is Sth-Korea based, not USA based)

[Capm]

.... so the government wants to.... watch me pick my nose... while I watch a movie?


I guess I'll just start using my middle finger for that particular action.

[snoopy]

I think a while back there was a samsung screen with a built in camera that:

"The flaws in Samsung Smart TVs, which have now been patched, enabled hackers to remotely turn on the TVs’ built-in cameras without leaving any trace of it on the screen. While you’re watching TV, a hacker anywhere around the world could have been watching you. Hackers also could have easily rerouted an unsuspecting user to a malicious website to steal bank account information."

Now that is something to be truly worried about.

This is the number one reason that I'm a big fan of open source. It's a lot harder to hide "back doors" when your source is available to be scrutinized and modified by all of your users.