5 ms·

What we did for our old tv, was to get a chromecast after 3-4 years. This might be a cheaper and more environmentally friendly approach than yours, as we then b

What we did for our old tv, was to get a chromecast after 3-4 years. This might be a cheaper and more environmentally friendly approach than yours, as we then buy one «smart-device», but you might end up with 2, over 12 years. But then some (all?) smart tv offerings have issues with terms and conditions, privacy, etc which may make them undesirable for you.

briffle 6y ago
I never hooked up the smart tv to my wireless network. I have heard too many stories about data getting sent back to the manufacturers to sell your watching habits, etc. Instead, I use a Roku, that I know gets updates (and yes, they also sell your watching habits, but so far, nextdns.io's lists block the DNS that roku uses to do this.)
- dathinab 6y ago
  Problem some do connect to any non secured WiFi they can find.
  - katbyte 6y ago
    I purposely bought and expensive one that’s pure android tv where you can disable all the tracking bits
    - jannes 6y ago
      You bought an Android device to avoid tracking? lol As long as you're using binaries that were compiled by Google I wouldn't trust them one bit. If you use LineageOS on your TV you might be a little better off.
      - katbyte 6y ago
        Android by Sony verses Samsung or webos? I’m happy with my choice.
  - briffle 6y ago
    That is terrifying.. good to know!
  - vardump 6y ago
    Just remove the antenna? Won't be connecting very far after that!
- 1bc29b36f623ba8 6y ago
  I have a dummy hotspot with no access to anything whatsoever, and which I allow my TV to connect to. Apart from exposing an undocumented API (with code execution capabilities), and allowing logging in as root over Telnet (without a password), it also tries to fetch software updates over plain HTTP. It's a bloody nightmare. On the plus side, it was possible to disable many of the smart features once I discovered the telnet capability. :D
  - gindely 6y ago
    Vulnerabilities are a massive trade off. I want my devices to be open to me, not to anyone. Seems like it should be straight forward to give you access to the device (like "scan this qrcode on the inside of this panel" and you get the private key). One can dream...
    - 1bc29b36f623ba8 6y ago
      Yeah, pretty much every single "smart" device I've ever bought has had vulnerabilities that never got patched. It's ridiculous. On the plus side, my 10 year-old laptop still finds a use as an access point/firewall for all those things. :D
  - daemin 6y ago
    Does anyone know of such hacking that someone has done and documented? I'd be interested in trying to telnet or connect to a Samsung TV that I have, or at least be able to sandbox it somehow.
ryanianian 6y ago
Pro-tip: you can usually un-accept privacy policies on Smart TVs and this reverts them to "dumb" TVs. This disables built-in apps and may make "software updates" unavailable but that's actually what you want anyway.
- dividedbyzero 6y ago
  How would I do this?
  - ryanianian 6y ago
    It's buried in settings. On samsung it's in system settings.

briffle 6y ago

I never hooked up the smart tv to my wireless network. I have heard too many stories about data getting sent back to the manufacturers to sell your watching habits, etc. Instead, I use a Roku, that I know gets updates (and yes, they also sell your watching habits, but so far, nextdns.io's lists block the DNS that roku uses to do this.)

dathinab 6y ago
Problem some do connect to any non secured WiFi they can find.
- katbyte 6y ago
  I purposely bought and expensive one that’s pure android tv where you can disable all the tracking bits
  - jannes 6y ago
    You bought an Android device to avoid tracking? lol As long as you're using binaries that were compiled by Google I wouldn't trust them one bit. If you use LineageOS on your TV you might be a little better off.
    - katbyte 6y ago
      Android by Sony verses Samsung or webos? I’m happy with my choice.
- briffle 6y ago
  That is terrifying.. good to know!
- vardump 6y ago
  Just remove the antenna? Won't be connecting very far after that!
1bc29b36f623ba8 6y ago
I have a dummy hotspot with no access to anything whatsoever, and which I allow my TV to connect to. Apart from exposing an undocumented API (with code execution capabilities), and allowing logging in as root over Telnet (without a password), it also tries to fetch software updates over plain HTTP. It's a bloody nightmare. On the plus side, it was possible to disable many of the smart features once I discovered the telnet capability. :D
- gindely 6y ago
  Vulnerabilities are a massive trade off. I want my devices to be open to me, not to anyone. Seems like it should be straight forward to give you access to the device (like "scan this qrcode on the inside of this panel" and you get the private key). One can dream...
  - 1bc29b36f623ba8 6y ago
    Yeah, pretty much every single "smart" device I've ever bought has had vulnerabilities that never got patched. It's ridiculous. On the plus side, my 10 year-old laptop still finds a use as an access point/firewall for all those things. :D
- daemin 6y ago
  Does anyone know of such hacking that someone has done and documented? I'd be interested in trying to telnet or connect to a Samsung TV that I have, or at least be able to sandbox it somehow.

ryanianian 6y ago

Pro-tip: you can usually un-accept privacy policies on Smart TVs and this reverts them to "dumb" TVs. This disables built-in apps and may make "software updates" unavailable but that's actually what you want anyway.

dividedbyzero 6y ago
How would I do this?
- ryanianian 6y ago
  It's buried in settings. On samsung it's in system settings.