Beware of smart TVs

TheOctopus

TheOctopus

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Just got a call from my father who told me an interesting story that transpired this afternoon. He wanted to watch Amazon Prime on his Chinese built TCL tv set only to find an error loading the Amazon app and a phone number to call. He googled the phone number and it seemed to be a legit number for Amazon assistance. He called the number on the screen and was greeted by an individual with a heavy Indian accent...

He was told his Amazon Prime account had over $4500 of fraudulent charges and the man needed his account password to try to resolve everything. Of course my father was already checking his Amazon account for purchases/orders and did not see anything out of the ordinary. When my father asked why it is not visible on his account, the man proceeded to tell him that the charges will appear later.... :rolleyes:

Make a long story short, my father told "Mr.Smith" as he introduced himself to go @%#@ himself and hung up.


I was a bit perplexed by this story since my father mentioned the TV set has a built in ROKU OS and that is how he accesses the Amazon Prime Video. Hmmm...

Well, I guess anything is possible and anything connected to the internet is vulnerable.


This is what my search has yielded so far.

Beware of "smart TVs connected to the internet".

Major security flaw found in TCL Android TV’s, tech researchers say
 
I don’t trust any of that stuff. I think it’s impossible to find a tv now without any “smart” capabilities. I don’t even want the Echo and google assistant things.
 
joeinid said:
I don’t trust any of that stuff. I think it’s impossible to find a tv now without any “smart” capabilities. I don’t even want the Echo and google assistant things.
Click to expand...

So I sent my father the link about how this was possible with the article above. He mentioned to me that the article only mentions TCL sets "without" the ROKU built in.... Yes the article does say that but I had to gently remind him that we "obviously" would not be having this conversation if it wasn't possible for the ROKU sets to be affected as well.... Gotta be patient with the elderly... :rolleyes:

He went on to add more details how Mr.Smith also asked him to gain access to his desktop computer from a "remote" program to figure out what is going on... :disbelief:
 
I agree with Serge and Joe on "Smart TVs".

#1 Smart TVs are simply FILLED with corporate spyware. This spyware can be exploited by hackers or state level actors. They are capable of listening and watching anything that you say or do. This spyware CANNOT be turned off. Even if there is a setting on the device to preserve "privacy", this is simply treated as a "suggestion". Unless you have a network analyzer, you have NO idea what these devices are actually up to.

#2 If you are a person who is concerned about the levels of RF radiation that you are exposed to (this means cell phone RF, bluetooth RF, WiFi RF and zigbees), you will NOT be happy with modern day smart TVs. I have tried multiple smart TVs from the major brands and NONE of them allowed me to turn the built-in WiFi off. With my last smart TV I had to actually open the device and physically disconnect the wifi transmitter. Oh yes, you can elect to connect the TV with a hardwired etherent. But the WiFi still continues to radiate even though it is not in use. And the level of RF radation is equivalent to that of a WiFi router - which means it is powerful. This is not conjecture. I have measured the devices with RF analyzers.

Joe is correct. I have been unable to find any new TVs that are NOT smart.

My solution is to buy a large screen computer monitor that has none of these issues. Get them while you can, before they get smart also. It is coming. I have a 46" monitor that is connected to a Mac mini that allows ME to determine what I want installed and what, if any, RF radation I want to turn on.
 
It is not that I question any of the concerns Serge, Joe and Caelin have noted, I will continue to take normal precautions and enjoy access to the various programming options available to us at this time. Without access to these services on our TV's this past year would have been unbearable.
 
Just because I’m paranoid, doesn’t mean no one is out to get me. :)
 
still-one said:
It is not that I question any of the concerns Serge, Joe and Caelin have noted, I will continue to take normal precautions and enjoy access to the various programming options available to us at this time. Without access to these services on our TV's this past year would have been unbearable.
Click to expand...

I have the same media choices you do. YouTube, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu etc.
 
You cannot turn back the clock. We live in a world that it is more and more intertwined with technology.

You just have to do your research and be smart about what technology you choose to adopt.

Afraid of smart TVs? Then buy a dumb projector and get an Apple TV box to pair it with. Or buy the Smart TV and don’t connect the smart features (just connect a video streamer to it, but choose wisely).

Don’t want Amazon to hear all that you say? Then limit the number of Echo devices to certain areas in your home or just don’t use it.

I wonder how many of the folks complaining about smart TVs use Facebook or other similar social media. Those companies know more about you already that any smart TV will ever know!

And in case that you are concerned about radiation and all that stuff, you better pay attention to the food that you are eating everyday! You can do a lot more damage to your body with the food that you eat than just using a mobile phone.
 
Fear? False assumptions and straw men.

Knowledge is different than emotional response.

We all get to choose how much or little we wish to participate in the surveillance state. But you certainly can’t choose if you don’t even know what you don’t know. If you are unconcerned or indifferent then just ignore the simple information that may interest someone else.

I do agree about FaceBook and LinkedIn and others. I don’t use them. Just my personal choice. I don’t have WiFi in my home or any other device that radiates RF including AppleTV, printers and a whole host of modern “Internet of Things” devices. And my home is RF shielded from cell towers and microwave towers and StarLink for that matter. And my phone is a de-googled phone.

I don’t have the time nor patience to educate you about the issues. For those that are interested I recommend “The Braxman” on YT.

Extreme? Perhaps. My choice. You are free to make your own of course.
 
For the 2021 TVs from LG, Sony & Samsung...

1) Is it possible to shut-off all "smart features" to make the "dumb" and then use an external device (AppleTV or Roku or Amazon Firestick)?

2) Is it possible to shut-off all Wifi (or do Calen's comments above apply to 2021 models, so not possible to shut-off or disable)?

3) Among there three brands, is one considered to have better privacy, or are they all basically the same?

Thanks,

Duke
 
CGabriel said:
Fear? False assumptions and straw men.

Knowledge is different than emotional response.

We all get to choose how much or little we wish to participate in the surveillance state. But you certainly can’t choose if you don’t even know what you don’t know. If you are unconcerned or indifferent then just ignore the simple information that may interest someone else.

I do agree about FaceBook and LinkedIn and others. I don’t use them. Just my personal choice. I don’t have WiFi in my home or any other device that radiates RF including AppleTV, printers and a whole host of modern “Internet of Things” devices. And my home is RF shielded from cell towers and microwave towers and StarLink for that matter. And my phone is a de-googled phone.

I don’t have the time nor patience to educate you about the issues. For those that are interested I recommend “The Braxman” on YT.

Extreme? Perhaps. My choice. You are free to make your own of course.
Click to expand...

No need to educate me either about those issues; I have read about them and have reached my own conclusions, thank you.

No wifi, no printers, no Apple TV, no internet of things? Extreme? Yes, I do think so, but I respect that. We all are free to make choices.

You did not mention what you eat, but it is fine if you say you eat a lot of junk food. I also respect that. My food choices may be considered extreme by some, but then again we all are free to make choices.
 
Duke97 said:
For the 2021 TVs from LG, Sony & Samsung...

1) Is it possible to shut-off all "smart features" to make the "dumb" and then use an external device (AppleTV or Roku or Amazon Firestick)?

2) Is it possible to shut-off all Wifi (or do Calen's comments above apply to 2021 models, so not possible to shut-off or disable)?

3) Among there three brands, is one considered to have better privacy, or are they all basically the same?

Thanks,

Duke
Click to expand...

A projector is a “dumb” display.
If you connect an Apple TV or similar device to your TV via HDMI and choose that HDMI input in your TV, you do not need to use the “smart” features of your TV. Your TV becomes nothing more than a dumb display. The Apple TV or similar is the smart device.

You can connect the AppleTV via Ethernet and avoid wifi if you want to. Roku has different models; not all of them offer Ethernet connection. It is possible to connect Amazon Fire Stick to Ethernet; all you need is an adapter.
 
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