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Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

krebsonsecurity.com

491–500 of 575 posts

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#491
post #4

Defrauding ad networks doesn't seem like a bad thing, although using my internet connection as a proxy is obviously terrible. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that my connection is being sold as a VPN service by the vendor.

It'll be a marginal effect, but fake clicks impacts the ad buyer, which then impacts their financials and pricing. The only winner here is the scammers running the fake affiliate sites on which these sticks are "clicking". Or, am I missing some facet of this enterprise?

If all they did was shove banner ads for boner-pills in my face like they used to 25 years ago I wouldn't mind and I might even turn off adblock. The problem is that modern advertisements on the internet are spyware at best and a malware vector at worst.

It's arguably fraudulent to even refer to it as "advertising" at this point, clearly that's just a cover to give them an excuse to sell data to silicon valley corporations that are unironically named after fictional devices used by sci-fi/fantasy villains to manipulate people.

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#492
post #19

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

I'm increasingly being convinced the only way to do that is you do a media pc nuc. The problem, of course, is you probably won't have the netflix app. It's painful to setup such a box to stream from various services.

What about just using the Netflix desktop website? Or does that limit the resolution?

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#493
post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just being realistic here; many of these are of Chinese make so how exactly would you stop it other than blocking them from being sold. They certainly don't advertise to the big box retailer that buys them "and it uses the customer's internet connection for fraud." Hell, there's a section of comments that would probably going "hey, RELAX guy" because it's not US companies doing this. For any American companies that d…

> Just being realistic here; many of these are of Chinese make so how exactly would you stop it other than blocking them from being sold. You already answered it: block it from being sold. 1) Make Amazon responsible for the products they are selling. 2) Introduce a law banning malware tv sticks 3) Sue Amazon for a percentage of their yearly revenue when caught violating it 4) Amazon will finally start caring and do s…

I think a law that makes a marketplace responsible for items being sold if the qty of items is above a threshold would be a great idea.

You don't want to penalize someone selling their Xbox or lawnmower on Ebay but you want to stop what is going on here. A place like Etsy where people are selling their crafts is an interesting edge case but I think they should probably be a little regulated.

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#495

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What this misses is the person buying the TV stick doesn't care about the impact on the ad market. The bigger problem is residential proxying, because their IP will end up getting used for something bad.

And what does that cause? More captchas?

Probably, but in the worst-case scenario you could unwittingly become an accessory to a felony if the proxy is used to access CSAM. Especially if the proxy ends up caching files.

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#496

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At least in capitalism you have the choice to look for a malware-free alternative. 100% USSR, had it survived to the IoT era, would penalize you for not having a state-mandated surveillance device on at all times.

I agree fully with your assessment of USSR but basically any nation state with the power does such things. Show me a COTS smartphone where the end-user can burn the OTP fuses for his personal public key, so they can have it boot their own custom signed firmware, and control exactly what runs in TrustZone's SW Secure World?

show me anyone outside of HN or XDA devs that would ever want to do that

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#497

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is an age where even teacups demand internet connectivity to fetch firmware updates

Finally, a legitimate use case for HTTP 418…

and they thought it was an April Fools joke, hah!

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#498

> Despite repeated warnings from the FBI and security industry leaders about the security and privacy risks of using these streaming devices, major e-commerce providers like Amazon, Best Buy, Newegg and others continue to sell hundreds of different models and brands I scanned the comments and I didn't see anyone suggesting that these companies should share any responsibility for selling these harmful products. Why is…

Yes, fascinating that this is apparently all the fault of Chinese companies, and not the American companies distributing and retailing these products.

Um...If I make an app that reroutes people's payments so that I can skim a percent off the top and release it for Android and IPhone as a shopping app, how would it be Google and Apple's fault?

Sure they try to vet the app but how does that absolve me from the liability?

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#499
post #484
post #452

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You assume a lot of things, sometimes you have to connect it to the internet for it to work (such as robovacuums)

Why in the name of all that is holy would you need to connect a projector or vacuum cleaner to the internet in order for it to work? Seriously, why do you think this is normal or acceptable? This is bullshit needs to stop (and the scummy AdTech industry has a lot to answer for).

Vacuum for "convenience" of being able to turn it on with a phone.

I could actually see hooking up a projector to wifi to allow it to stream videos.

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