Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick • Hacker News Board

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#511

Post by elzbardico » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 3:32 PM UTC

alistairSH wrote: post #42

glitchc wrote: 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?

They can stop paying for obtrusive ads where either they make everyone's life worse or get defrauded, save money using only ethical advertising and use this saved money to improve the quality of their products or pay their workers a little better.

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#512

Post by elzbardico » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 3:35 PM UTC

acdha wrote: post #181

snickerbockers wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Theres the question of whether or not the fraudulent advertisement clicking is using enough traffic to inconvenience or impose fees upon the user but otherwise I agree with you and am tempted to buy one just to fuck with advertisers. Backdoors and spying are also a problem in theory except at this point you can't even trust "legitimate" companies on that front so it's a moot point.

> otherwise I agree with you and am tempted to buy one just to fuck with advertisers. How that actually works in practice is that your favorite sites make less money and your IP gets a bad reputation so you CAPTCHAs or outright blocked. There’s no “sticking it to the man” here, just contributing to the frictional grind making the internet worse for ordinary people.

Frankly, I pay for most of the things I care about in the internet nowadays. Substack, Medium, newspapers, youtube premium, manning books, safari books. TV streaming.

The ad supported web is, with very few exceptions, useless.

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#513

Post by dspillett » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 3:37 PM UTC

tollgategit wrote: post #418

simojo wrote: post #108

We purchased a Chinese-made projector from Amazon, which was surprisingly inexpensive (~40 USD). Upon connecting it to the internet, it placed a constantly running feed of ads on the corner of the screen, even while movies were playing. There was no way to disable it either. Even though it's not a stick, it's a similar principle.

> Upon connecting it to the internet, I dare not ask why you would do such a thing, instead, I will simply ask if you now think the reason was good, and I will hint at you that if the reason was "convenience", then you should answer "No".

The streaming sticks the article is discussing basically need network access to function. They might support streaming from local media sources and file shares too, but that is also done over WiFi. Unless you have a properly firewall controlled home (very few people do, I'm pretty nerdy and most devices on my network can just NAT to the outside these days) then just giving it a WiFi connection gives it access to the wider network from your location.

You'll probably find the projectors are pretty much the same hardware and OS as the sticks except with the projection device added where the stick just has an HDMI output. It might have HDMI-in too so it can just be used as a screen for another device, but there are definitely some units out there that are network-play-only.

You aren't wrong about giving cheap crap like this access to your network (and via that the public network) is risky, but that convenience you (and I) would say no to is exactly what they are bought for.

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#514

Post by coretx » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 3:37 PM UTC

The most relevant difference between using a TV and a "TV streaming stick" is corpos & the State controling the malware/surveillance device.

Being a ordinary person, I do not want criminals or the ( ads/data ) industry or the state to be in control of my property.

Also, any DRM not passed by a parliament undermines the rule of law & statehood. This is something Krebs and his Praetorian guard buddies must know.

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#515

Post by onemoresoop » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 3:39 PM UTC

Rickasaurus wrote: post #489

omilu wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Costco vets their products very well, if I see something at costco and its something I need I just buy it. No need to research and I've never been burned. They only sell good quality stuff.

I have to disagree, costco often has custom worse versions of better products, we recently had a costco air conditioner fail just to find out it wasn't built quite as robustly as the $50 more expensive midea sold elsewhere with an almost identical model number. Similarly had my costco GE washing machine fail last year right out of warranty. There's a real quality problem going on with costco right now.

They’ll replace them if they break and the return policy is very good as well. It’s safe to buy from Costco

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#516

Post by psd1 » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 3:40 PM UTC

inigyou wrote: post #433

8note wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

consumers are however happy to buy a cheaper stick with an overall public bad

I don't even think it's a public bad. I think attacking internet gatekeepers like Cloudflare is objectively a public good. So is attacking legal spam companies.

...ish. Attacking their monopoly, great. Attacking their workers by bombing an office, not so great. Throwing ever more spam traffic across the tubes isn't a attack, it's marketing on their behalf.

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#517

Post by inigyou » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 3:41 PM UTC

autoexec wrote: post #487

inigyou wrote: post #450

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you're saying it's going to weaken the presumption that an IP can be easily tracked to an individual? Even better!

No, your IP will be easily tracked to you as an individual. You'll just suffer the consequences of whatever your streaming stick does with your IP. If your stick clicks a bunch of ads for fast food your heath insurance bill goes up because their algorithm thinks you're a higher risk. If your streaming stick clicks a bunch of ads for high end luxury goods, online stores start charging you more than they charge your ne…

None of this is based on reality. Can you show any of this ever happened to anyone?

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#518

Post by inigyou » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 3:41 PM UTC

iamnothere wrote: post #507

inigyou wrote: post #443

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Has that ever actually happened? Has anyone gone to court for downloading child porn that was actually through a residential proxy?

No. You would not be “on the hook” for this as they implied. They are fearmongering. Even if a statute could somehow be stretched to cover it, it would be a nightmare to prosecute something like this. The media would jump all over it.

That's what I thought but I want to see their evidence that it happens.

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#519

Post by inigyou » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 3:41 PM UTC

snickerbockers wrote: post #495

inigyou wrote: post #441

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Has that ever happened?

Is Mullvad an accessory to downloading CSAM if someone does that?

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#520

Post by inigyou » Fri, Jul 31, 2026, 3:42 PM UTC

psd1 wrote: post #516

inigyou wrote: post #433

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't even think it's a public bad. I think attacking internet gatekeepers like Cloudflare is objectively a public good. So is attacking legal spam companies.

...ish. Attacking their monopoly, great. Attacking their workers by bombing an office, not so great. Throwing ever more spam traffic across the tubes isn't a attack, it's marketing on their behalf.

In what way is clicking an ad like bombing an office?