This is the best news I've heard all week. Finally good news for once!
LG to ban residential proxies from smart TV apps
11–20 of 549 posts
Re: LG to ban residential proxies from smart TV apps
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
Only if the app provides 1. prominently-displayed, informed consent, 2. an option to opt-out without losing app functionality, or 3. joining the botnet provides some kind of actual benefit to the user, besides just money to the developer.
Apparently at least one of the apps mentioned does that. From the article >A Pac-Man smart TV app from Bright Data offers users the choice between viewing ads in the game or agreeing to allow their TV to serve as a residential proxy node.
I wonder how informed the end user actually is, and if it's disclosed to them what kind of content might pass through their network as a result of agreeing.
Re: LG to ban residential proxies from smart TV apps
#13Sharing a slice of your internet in a privacy preserving way in exchange for something of value, seems fair, no?
Only if the app provides 1. prominently-displayed, informed consent, 2. an option to opt-out without losing app functionality, or 3. joining the botnet provides some kind of actual benefit to the user, besides just money to the developer.
Add to that list respecting the TOS of the user's ISP so that the user does not get banned, and providing some sort of remuneration if illicit activity through the proxy causes problems for the primary user, and then _maybe_ you could call this all not shady as fuck.
Re: LG to ban residential proxies from smart TV apps
#14is this some kind of tactical distraction from the other LG headlines this week? I thought residential proxies are already banned from SmartTV apps by virtue of practically every APK under the sun being subject to the Google Play terms of service.
LG webOS is not Android though, it's from the old Palm/HP devices of the early 2010s. And I'm pretty sure there are still tons of play store apps with these proxy SDKs in them, advertised/consented or not.
Re: LG to ban residential proxies from smart TV apps
#15Sharing a slice of your internet in a privacy preserving way in exchange for something of value, seems fair, no?
Grey market residential proxy service providers are one of the most common methods of implementing bot spam, social media manipulation and plenty of straight-out fraud.
There's all kinds of things that malicious actors want to do where they value coming from an ordinary (comcast, charter, centurylink, shaw cable, whatever) residential IP.
Re: LG to ban residential proxies from smart TV apps
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
Only if the app provides 1. prominently-displayed, informed consent, 2. an option to opt-out without losing app functionality, or 3. joining the botnet provides some kind of actual benefit to the user, besides just money to the developer.
No need of (2) and (3) - the user can choose to not install/use the app. (1) is the right fair boundary.
Those apps just shouldn't exist.
I don't know how "join your users to a botnet" became some kind of legitimized monetization scheme. Ads are bad enough. What's next? "Participate in a DDOS in order to use our app?"
Re: LG to ban residential proxies from smart TV apps
#17Sharing a slice of your internet in a privacy preserving way in exchange for something of value, seems fair, no?
[dead]
Re: LG to ban residential proxies from smart TV apps
#18My TV doesn't know my router's wi-fi password.
Re: LG to ban residential proxies from smart TV apps
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Only if the app provides 1. prominently-displayed, informed consent, 2. an option to opt-out without losing app functionality, or 3. joining the botnet provides some kind of actual benefit to the user, besides just money to the developer.
Add to that list respecting the TOS of the user's ISP so that the user does not get banned, and providing some sort of remuneration if illicit activity through the proxy causes problems for the primary user, and then _maybe_ you could call this all not shady as fuck.
If only ISPs would actually crack down on (usually unwitting) users whose systems are participating in a malicious botnet or otherwise have their networks compromised. They could offer temporary disconnection + anti-malware support to get the user cleaned up, if they actually gave a shit.
Re: LG to ban residential proxies from smart TV apps
#20My TV doesn't know my router's wi-fi password.
This is the best approach