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Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

krebsonsecurity.com

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Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#101

Post by snickerbockers »

kazinator wrote: post #78

> But a groundbreaking new analysis finds these devices also routinely spoof themselves as mobile phones clicking ads ... Compromised (or malicious from the factory) devices being recruited into bot farms for click fraud is ... a groundbreaking discovery in 2026? > on AI-generated websites as part of sprawling operation that seeks to defraud online merchants and advertising networks. To hell with AI-generated website…

I'm imaging a largescale distributed project like folding@home except instead of doing scientific research everybody is working together to fuck with advertisers, tracking cookies, etc.

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#103

Post by [deleted] »

Pxtl wrote: post #89
Terr_ wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps they grew up in a time/environment where "if it was that bad they wouldn't be allowed to advertise it", and they're still using that old calibration?

Of course, what they're missing is that laws are for poor people. Amazon will be notified they sold something illegal and will take it down and ban the seller who will immediately launch a new store under a new name. The purchaser, on the other hand, will be fully liable for whatever horrible thing they bought.

[deleted]

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#104

Post by paultopia »

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.

Yeah, isn’t this a classic kind of scam the would-be scammer situation? If you think there’s some way to buy one cheap device and somehow get around subscribing to streaming services[1], then of course you’re going to be in a market with fraudsters…

[1] Can someone explain what the theory of the product is here? It sounds like they’re marketing these things as ways for the customer to commit fraud, for example by connecting to someone else’s login. How else would the customer expect to be able to get free Netflix or whatever?

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#106

Post by floam »

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…

Half priced stamps work though, and nobody is going to prosecute grandma for counterfeiting postage stamps.

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#107

Post by drnick1 »

j45 wrote: post #17

Generally, it's advisable to create a dedicated wifi network for all potentially hostile devices. This dedicated wifi network can just be connecting your devices to your guest wifi while you figure it out, and limiting the rate of speed as needed. That can be cameras, tv's, thermostats, tv sticks and anything else that might not only call home, but actively scope what you have in your home network when it's none of i…

> That can be cameras, tv's, thermostats, tv sticks and anything else that might not only call home

That is not enough. You need to air gap devices that have legitimately no business communicating with anyone or anything outside the house. TVs, thermostats, and other Internet-of-Crap gadgets do not need "firmware updates." Either they work out of the box, offline or within the LAN, or they get sent back for a refund wherever they came from.

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#108

Post by simojo »

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.

Re: Read this before you buy that TV streaming stick

#109

Post by Pxtl »

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.

I mean, did you have to connect it to the internet though? Did it not just have a dp/hdmi port?
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