Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

Post by palmotea » Thu, Jul 30, 2026, 6:13 PM UTC

pavel_lishin wrote: post #34

codedokode wrote: post #26

I do not see problems with fake ad clicks and have no sympathy for ad companies. Also pre-installed adware is not a surprise, I found adware in the official firmware image of a certain Chinese tablet. What worries me much more is backdoors from the foreign companies and governments that can be pre-installed at the factory to collect intelligence information. For example, I became aware that a certain maker of a popul…

> Obviously they collect this information to be able to guide missiles and drones when GPS signal is jammed Are there a lot of missiles that travel slowly enough to be able to guide themselves via watching for nearby wifi signals? > for every imported device having a CPU and Internet connectivity Why limit this to imported devices?

Post by exe34 » Thu, Jul 30, 2026, 6:18 PM UTC

mcphage wrote: post #37

codedokode wrote: post #26

I do not see problems with fake ad clicks and have no sympathy for ad companies. Also pre-installed adware is not a surprise, I found adware in the official firmware image of a certain Chinese tablet. What worries me much more is backdoors from the foreign companies and governments that can be pre-installed at the factory to collect intelligence information. For example, I became aware that a certain maker of a popul…

> I do not see problems with fake ad clicks and have no sympathy for ad companies. Yeah, it's like—a cheap streaming stick AND it poisons the advertising well? I'm pretty happy with my Fire TV Stick, but they're really tempting me here.

Post by haunter » Thu, Jul 30, 2026, 6:28 PM UTC

giantg2 wrote: post #19

So where can I get an actual privacy focused streaming box, even if the apps (Neflix etc) running on it are not?

Post by Terr_ » Thu, Jul 30, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC

havaloc wrote: post #11

pavel_lishin wrote: post #6

> generic TV boxes that promise unlimited content streaming for a one-time fee I don't want to blame the purchasers of these things - who are some of the victims - but at the same time, it does seem like a Too Good To Be True situation.

I have an elderly client who sends me links of stuff to buy all the time. One day it's one of these streaming sticks, the next day it's half-price stamps, and I tell her every time, please don't buy this stuff. And yet she does anyway, as if I was almost being mean and saying no just to say no. So yes, I do want to blame the purchasers of these things, sometimes. To prove her point that her stamps were legitimate, sh…

Post by codedokode » Thu, Jul 30, 2026, 6:35 PM UTC

BoppreH wrote: post #31

codedokode wrote: post #26

I do not see problems with fake ad clicks and have no sympathy for ad companies. Also pre-installed adware is not a surprise, I found adware in the official firmware image of a certain Chinese tablet. What worries me much more is backdoors from the foreign companies and governments that can be pre-installed at the factory to collect intelligence information. For example, I became aware that a certain maker of a popul…

> a certain maker of a popular mobile OS was collecting the cell tower IDs and WiFi access point identifiers along with GPS coordinates of a device. Obviously they collect this information to be able to guide missiles and drones when GPS signal is jammed Is this sarcasm? GPS can take several minutes to get a location, and works poorly indoors. One of the reasons why Google Maps is so quick and precise is because Goog…