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216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

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Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#421

Post by deadbunny »

account42 wrote: post #376
deadbunny wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its always speculation that would be trivial to actually test. 1. Do not connect to network 2. Create unauthenticated WiFi network 3. Monitor WiFi network Strange no one has ever done this simple af test to backup their claims

If TV manufacturers wanted to be underhanded then they could actually make this much harder to detect by delaying the connection to new unauthenticated networks for e.g. months or only after seeing another device connect and then using that device's MAC when it is not around.

Still super easily detectable even if they clone a MAC.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#423

Post by mattacular »

I pretty much assume every smart home device capable of doing this is doing it already.

Nothing gets connected to wifi. If temporary connection is required it gets a random one time use guest network SSID and pass that I remove after. (Yes they can collect and send setup metadata during this temporary access period but sometimes it is a worthwhile tradeoff)

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#424

Post by notabotiswear »

korzinka wrote: post #107

I've bought an LG Smart TV 5 years ago, read t&c where I was supposed to grant them any data they wanted, decided to disagree and kept all network functions disabled. I was ridiculed by my friends for that. At some point, I thought - maybe I'm really crazy to do so? Who am I, a caveman, a luddite? Oh well, I'm not. Not a bad tv though, many HDMI ports!

> I was ridiculed by my friends for that.

The sad part about the privacy discourse is that people not only don't care, but they would argue for the invading party. And I am not talking about your average teenager looking for their next brainrot fix, but highly educated and extremely intellegent people!

I've long since gave up trying to talk to people about these issues. Which unfortunately means I'll surrender to exposing myself to this plague to some degree, considering how herd immunity principles apply here as well.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#425

Post by cesarb »

noir_lord wrote: post #398
para_parolu wrote: post #388

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not just disconnect it from internet?

Works til they put a 5g modem in the damn things. My Samsung asked for internet access and I just laughed and said nope. It exists to displays pixels from a Linux box, utterly sick of living in a world where "is my TV manufacturer bugging our house?" Is a thing anyone has to ask.

> It exists to displays pixels from a Linux box,

If you're not using the defining feature of a TV (the OTA tuner), why not buy a monitor instead of a TV?

(Next time I have to replace our house's TV, I'm seriously considering buying a separate SBTVD tuner and a monitor instead of a TV, if ignoring the "smart" features of these TVs by not connecting them to a network starts getting too difficult.)

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#426

Post by 05 »

myrmidon wrote: post #404

Modems becoming super cheap is gonna be a big problem for this, because those make it even harder to prevent such snooping. Just imagine having to jam the devices in your own home just to stop them from profiling you. Better pray to your deer god that modem + data contract is gonna stay more expensive that the expected value from selling more data... We really need regulation to stop this.

Disconnect the u.fl to the antenna and it’ll be hard for it to transmit data unless you live next door to a cell tower.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#427

Post by simoncion »

simoncion wrote: post #144
8fingerlouie wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And what exactly would they use that particular access path for ? I could see a threat if the TV had access to the internet and could establish a TLS tunnel or similar from the mothership, and execute commands on my LAN (or IoT network as it stands), and report back. That could establish a command & control channel that could potentially orchestrate an attack on my infrastructure via the TV. However, reporting that "…

> And what exactly would they use that particular access path for ? Uploading the weeks, months, or years of locally-stored activity [0] data? Text compresses really well and local storage used to be very cheap. [0] ...mic voice transcription, how often you use the thing, for how long, and a best guess (because of lack of time sync) at when, "automated content detection" logs [1], names of files you've fed to the thi…

Two things:

1) What I called "automated content detection" is apparently called "automated content recognition", abbreviated as "ACR".

2) That weeks, months, or years of locally-stored activity I mentioned can also contain historical ACR records. Given that the audio and video of what's being displayed on the screen is "fingerprinted", those fingerprints can be saved just like everything else picked up by the "TV" and uploaded whenever the thing next has Internet connectivity. The "TV" manufacturer will lose the "what are they doing right now?" aspect of the feature, but the "what have they been doing?" aspect of the feature will work just fine.

Directly related is this section of this Gamers Nexus investigation, but the entire video seems to be worth watching if you're not rather familiar with the topic: https://youtube.com/watch?v=6IFVTcM28KA&t=26m47s>

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#428

Post by ragequittah »

movetheworld wrote: post #422

Understood: never buy LG devices again.

The problem is they really are the best TVs. I have one sitting next to me that thankfully hasn't been connected to the internet in 5 years. Take the subsidies they give you for being able to spy on you then don't let them spy on you is the better move.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#429

Post by jandrese »

account42 wrote: post #351
wavesplash wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Watch the video the article is based on - not connecting to the internet doesn't keep you safe in many cases: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IFVTcM28KA

"Watch this two hour long video" is not a particularly useful reply. If you think the TV can exfiltrate your data without an internet connection then you should be able to explain how it could do that in your own words.

Just because you didn't allow it on your local WiFi doesn't mean it did not connect to the Internet. Your neighbors might have a guest WiFi it can use. Or maybe it has a built-in cell modem. Your data is valuable, there's reason to put effort into getting it.

Re: 216M Spy TVs – The LG Smart TV Problem [video]

#430

Post by delecti »

noir_lord wrote: post #398
para_parolu wrote: post #388

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not just disconnect it from internet?

Works til they put a 5g modem in the damn things. My Samsung asked for internet access and I just laughed and said nope. It exists to displays pixels from a Linux box, utterly sick of living in a world where "is my TV manufacturer bugging our house?" Is a thing anyone has to ask.

> Works til they put a 5g modem in the damn things.

Okay, but it does work until then. "Things could change in the future" is definitionally true.

Never connect the TV in the first place, and you don't need to physically alter the hardware, firmware, or TOS agreements.

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