not long before every TV comes with a built-in SIM card and a whispernet-like arrangement .
I hope computer monitors at 40-50inch size reach affordable prices.
72% of smart TVs and 46% of game consoles hardcode DNS settings
81–90 of 673 posts
Re: 72% of smart TVs and 46% of game consoles hardcode DNS settings
#82I’m responsible for a bunch of IoT hardware, and every firmware spec I write includes a note on not using the DNS servers provided via DHCP. While sure there are companies explicitly doing this to avoid filtering, at least in my case it’s because a significant proportion of DHCP servers are configured to send DNS to your ISP, and ISP provided DNS is almost universally terrible. They’ll ignore TTLs, rewrite NXDOMAIN r…
> and ISP provided DNS is almost universally terrible. They’ll ignore TTLs, rewrite NXDOMAIN responses into the IP address of their ad-laced web search, and occasionally just highjack every single query to send you to a page saying you’re approaching your bandwidth quota Universally? Perhaps in the US? But IoT devices are sold worldwide. While I do run my own recursive resolver I checked my ISP's and they're behaving…
> Universally? Perhaps in the US? But IoT devices are sold worldwide.
Ugh, the situation is even worst in countries with censorship laws. For example, in my country, all ISP are required to intercept all DNS requests and filter all requests to any blocked domains found in the government block list. At least they're transparent about which sites are blocked though (the list is publicly available to query or download), but the fact that all DNS requests are intercepted causes various technical issues and some ISP are trying to profit from it by redirecting the blocked query to their own ads-laden landing pages. They even went as far as inspecting http host header as well as randomly injecting scripts on unencrypted http requests.
Re: 72% of smart TVs and 46% of game consoles hardcode DNS settings
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
How do you do this? Wrapping it in grounded tin foil? Ripping out the wifi module? Do I need to void warranty and dissect a new piece of consumer electronics to remove the spy organ? Is that really an acceptable situation?
Put a password on your wifi, it other security benefits as well.
Wardriving is a thing. Broadcast an unsecured SSID and talk to anyone who joins.
Re: 72% of smart TVs and 46% of game consoles hardcode DNS settings
#84Jio (India) is super obnoxious in the fact that their own router is locked down hard. Now you cant even change your DNS. I have suggested few people to bypass this limitation by removing the router as dhcp and using pihole for that. That works but don't know for how long. The pathetic thing is their router does not even allow bridging mode. Fuck jio.
While not for the average consumer, most routers are easily jailbroken. They aren't locked to anywhere near the extent a mobile phone is.
Re: 72% of smart TVs and 46% of game consoles hardcode DNS settings
#85May be we start detaching the Smart into a separate box, or basically buying a large Monitor?
Is there such thing as 55" Monitor? The whole TV industry needs some new thinking and innovation. Right now it is race to the bottom and everyone is trying to get some extra revenues from Data gathering. There are also a huge oversupply from LCD panel maker.
Re: 72% of smart TVs and 46% of game consoles hardcode DNS settings
#86Earlier quoted context omitted.
DNS over secure channels is actually good - it limits bad behavior by ISPs. The problem of shitty devices on your private network is a different one.
It's not just shitty devices. By putting it on the HTTP layer which usually is even available to sandboxed applications they made it possible for every single application to bypass your own resolver. Pretty much a trojan horse.
I've hated DoH from the beginning, and not just because shoehorning everything into http is a silly idea, but as I suspected, we now live in a reality where you have to keep an adblock-esque list of DoH servers. Now you have yet another internet arms race.
Re: 72% of smart TVs and 46% of game consoles hardcode DNS settings
#87Just don't buy smart TV, or any of that IoT crap. It is possible to buy 58 inch dumb TV, connect that to a machine you own.
This is getting harder and harder, even for devices like dish washers where there is absolutely no need for internet connectivity.
Re: 72% of smart TVs and 46% of game consoles hardcode DNS settings
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
Aren’t all smart TVs dumb if you don’t connect them to the internet? I wouldn’t be surprised if manufacturers start selling TVs that need to be activated online before first use, but I don’t know of any that do that already.
Mine quite happily works as a dumb TV without a connection, and I know many others who do the same. Though I hear stories of TVs being annoying to use without a connection (timing out waiting for a server response that can never come, before falling back to an ad free menu, or just constantly nagging, even while content is playing, about the lack of connectivity).
My 'smart' TV has no internet connection configured as I use a Chromecast for streaming services and beaming local content.
Re: 72% of smart TVs and 46% of game consoles hardcode DNS settings
#89They appear to not be trustworthy to be on our networks - so we should:
1. Not join them to our networks 2. Stop buying 'Smart TV's' 3. Get panels and a smart box that you can control
I'm lucky enough to be able to direct ALL DNS through my router first. Nothing gets out without my say so. Not everyone has that capability, sadly, with home routers.
The solution provided by the OP is a solid one - another would be to purchase a decent router (such as a Mikrotik) and learn how to use it - much more powerful device for the same price, or sometimes lower, as a regular 'home' router.
Re: 72% of smart TVs and 46% of game consoles hardcode DNS settings
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
What DNS do you hardcode? Google's? Or do you advice the use to set it up himself? I am very suspicious of the push for https and the like. I feel it is mainly about hiding the payload from me not any third party.
Currently we’re using both Google and Cloudflare’s DNS, providing resiliency against one or the other being unavailable, but I’m looking at potentially using our own resolvers just to reduce the amount of data being exposed to third parties.
So the company you work for will be fighting for my privacy? I'd rather have a PiHole doing that.
These devices do usually have an UI. Why not provide some options to the user? Let him choose among different types and providers. I'd set mine to use the one provided by DHCP or enter the address of my resolver manually.