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The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

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Re: The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

#171

Post by pm90 »

ElFitz wrote: post #125
pm90 wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But there's no possibility of abolishing the function of intelligence analysis and clandestine service, nor should you want there to be: net-net, the CIA might in fact prevent more armed conflicts than it contributes to, and in any case no major power will ever unilaterally disarm. This is a very interesting perspective. Using this kind of perspective, you can argue for any bad thing, can't you? How can you possibl…

To protect one's interests around the world. To create and maintain an international order conducive to one's interests, and to quash any possibility of any threat to said interests from rising. Doesn't it also perfectly sum up the purpose of most (if not all) actions led by a state actor that can afford such policies? (quite a few companies may also fit the bill)

The fiction of Pax Americana is that the US is the policeman whereas in reality it is actually the Emperor. That is where the disconnect lies.

I do think it’s perfectly rational for a State to pursue those things but not necessarily a Superpower. There are many things America could choose to do (or not do) that may not provide short term benefits but over the long run would benefit every state.

Re: The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

#172

Post by LinuxBender »

sureaboutthis wrote: post #154
LinuxBender wrote: post #7

And people thought I was weird for dancing by myself in front of my TV. The poor folks at the CIA will never un-see that.

I find it interesting that so many people think they are so important that the CIA would be interested in them. Or that they think there are enough intelligence agency employees to bother.

I enjoy the idea of them staring at me all day long.

That said, it's not the CIA I would be overly concerned about. It's the skiddies that learn how to implement the same level of access. Imagine a child predator watching your kids in their room. Worse, they know when a latch-key kids parent is not there. Combine this with Wifi SSID data from wigle.net and they have your street address.

Re: The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

#173

Post by eljimmy »

test6554 wrote: post #87
jmalkin wrote: post #73

I've gotten nothing out of my Smart TV that I couldn't have gotten from a Chromecast, or preferably, a laptop hooked up to a TV. And I've lost a lot. My TV is slow. When I try to control the volume, sometimes I have to wait multiple seconds. And things stop working all the time and require a reboot. I hate the damn thing. It even comes with bloatware for some reason, games I'll never play that it insists on updating…

I have resisted the urge to buy a new tv for 11 years. I own the same 48" non-smart Sony I've always had. I have always felt like the grass would be greener if I were to buy one of those 65" LG OLED tvs, but thank you for setting me straight. This old TV is 5 inches thick, but it turns on in 2 seconds. I hooked an amazon fire tv into one HDMI port. I also have a sonos "connect" hooked up to the audio-out so that I ca…

Up until recently I was using a 12 year old 46" Sony Bravia and upgraded to an LG OLED and I have to say, the difference in screen alone was well worth it.

Re: The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

#174

Post by thesmok »

bigbluedots wrote: post #133

I own a Samsung Smart TV, and I'd be interested in removing or disabling the microphone. Any ideas?

Image search "mems microphone" to get an idea of how it looks. There is a hole in the microphone body – fill it with glue. Or just remove the microphone.

Re: The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

#176

Post by astazangasta »

sureaboutthis wrote: post #154
LinuxBender wrote: post #7

And people thought I was weird for dancing by myself in front of my TV. The poor folks at the CIA will never un-see that.

I find it interesting that so many people think they are so important that the CIA would be interested in them. Or that they think there are enough intelligence agency employees to bother.

1) If you aren't important enough that the CIA would be interested in you, why not? Make it so.

2) There are plenty of innocuous people that fall under this category. Anti-war protestors, e.g., have been regular targets for this kind of activity (LBJ ordered the CIA to spy on the anti-war movement). Maybe you're politically inert, but not everyone else is.

Re: The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

#177

Post by ashman5 »

m_eiman wrote: post #140
osamagirl69 wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just wanted to chime in since you specifically mentioned the "65" LG OLED", which is the same TV I have (specifically the OLED65B6P). When plugged into the internet it has all of the usual unfeatures (including ads displayed over hdmi input), however if you leave it unplugged from the internet it works great and boots up almost instantly to the last input selected without any fuss. Furthermore, the HDMI CEC commands…

I have the same experience with my LG. It's perfectly fine as a "dumb" screen. I have an Apple TV 4K and a surround receiver connected to it, and CEC works as intended: when I turn on or off the Apple TV, the LG and the receiver do the same. I was very weary of buying a "smart" TV, but I wanted a 4K HDR one, and the public display market didn't seem interested in providing that. Happily, the LG boots (or resumes, or…

Thanks for this post. I'd like to add that the Vizio PQ65 works the same way when using an Apple TV. I refuse to update the firmware for fear that Vizio will force a change that will require an internet connection.

Re: The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

#178

Post by astazangasta »

tptacek wrote: post #70
noelsusman wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The last big CIA scandal was the Bush torture program, and nobody was indicted over that. They even burned tapes of the interrogations as part of a coverup and saw no consequences for it.

You could see "abolishing" the CIA by name and replacing it with a new agency over the Bush torture program, and the failure to cut through the legal morass erected to protect the authors of the torture program --- a lasting shame for the CIA and the nation --- would certainly justify that. But there's no possibility of abolishing the function of intelligence analysis and clandestine service, nor should you want ther…

>But there's no possibility of abolishing the function of intelligence analysis and clandestine service, nor should you want there to be: net-net, the CIA might in fact prevent more armed conflicts than it contributes to, and in any case no major power will ever unilaterally disarm.

I don't think you know anything about the history of the CIA if this is your assertion. First, the clandestine service was created in 1947, so the assertion that we can't do without it is belied by the preceding millenia of history. As for "might in fact prevent more armed conflicts than it contributes to", what is your basis for this? The way the CIA operates is to stir up trouble. They arm dissident factions, they bribe officials, they create and disseminate propaganda. Their entire history is one of fomenting conflict. Also, the torture program is not new - the CIA has tortured people throughout its history, in addition to doing things like running mind control programs and other bizarre nonsense.

Second, the CIA has historically been pretty shit at its intelligence work; just in the past twenty years they failed to anticipate 9/11, incorrectly said Saddam had WMDs, and were instrumental in ginning up the whole Russiagate fiasco. That's not much of a record; but it does have continuity with the rest of their sad history. In addition the function of this intelligence service - its ONLY function - is to provide intelligence briefings to the President. If the President doesn't listen, or can't comprehend, the entire analysis function of the CIA, however many thousands of people and billions of dollars are at work, goes to waste. This is a terrible way to organize an institution. It is designed to fail.

What the CIA actually represents is a key failure of American post-war policy: the decision to conduct foreign policy primarily through covert action. This has never worked, and it results in an unaccountable organization that has historically favored brutal, murderous individuals like Suharto, Pinochet, Mobutu, and many others. This is an organization that needs to die, now, and the more we can do to build momentum for that the better.

Re: The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

#179

Post by sureaboutthis »

astazangasta wrote: post #176
sureaboutthis wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it interesting that so many people think they are so important that the CIA would be interested in them. Or that they think there are enough intelligence agency employees to bother.

1) If you aren't important enough that the CIA would be interested in you, why not? Make it so. 2) There are plenty of innocuous people that fall under this category. Anti-war protestors, e.g., have been regular targets for this kind of activity (LBJ ordered the CIA to spy on the anti-war movement). Maybe you're politically inert, but not everyone else is.

> Make it so.

I have no interest in hurting anyone so the CIA has no interest in me

Re: The CIA Spied on People Through Their Smart TVs, Leaked Documents Reveal (2017)

#180

Post by [deleted] »

pm90 wrote: post #171
ElFitz wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To protect one's interests around the world. To create and maintain an international order conducive to one's interests, and to quash any possibility of any threat to said interests from rising. Doesn't it also perfectly sum up the purpose of most (if not all) actions led by a state actor that can afford such policies? (quite a few companies may also fit the bill)

The fiction of Pax Americana is that the US is the policeman whereas in reality it is actually the Emperor. That is where the disconnect lies. I do think it’s perfectly rational for a State to pursue those things but not necessarily a Superpower. There are many things America could choose to do (or not do) that may not provide short term benefits but over the long run would benefit every state.

[deleted]
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