6 ms·

this is surprisingly simple to countermeasure, just pull the SMA antennae leads from the board, and cap the connectors with a few drops of metallic fingernail p

this is surprisingly simple to countermeasure, just pull the SMA antennae leads from the board, and cap the connectors with a few drops of metallic fingernail polish. for surface-mount antennae (which cant be used for 5g or 5ghz wifi) you would just brush the same metallic fingernail polish on the trace :)

czx4f4bd 4y ago
And this is why I have avoided buying a smart TV for almost ten years now. A TV is a consumer product. I should not have to open it up and modify the fucking hardware just to make it work how I want.
- BoorishBears 4y ago
  You didn't buy a smart TV for ten years because of a (frankly unlikely) hypothetical? I've bought smart TVs, not connected them to WiFi, and that was the end of it. You can hear whispers about all kinds of sneaky things like refusing to work, but some of the best TVs out right now are LG smart TVs that will function completely identically to a dumb TV if you don't connect them to the internet.
  - czx4f4bd 4y ago
    No, this is just one of many reasons I haven't yet bought a smart TV. I probably will give in this year, but only because I can finally afford something much larger than what I have today. Here's the thing: At the end of the day, a smart TV has capabilities that I don't need or want, including to change how it functions without warning or consent. However unlikely the possibility is, a smart TV still has the capability to connect to an open network, phone home, and start doing shit I don't want, which means I have to trust it to not do that. On the other hand, my old dumb TV has none of those capabilities, so I can trust it precisely because I don't need to trust it. I know it can't do anything except display what it receives on its inputs. Therefore, any time I've considered replacing my TV with a newer one, I've always weighed predictability against uncertainty and opted in favor of the predictability of what I own. Maybe that's overly paranoid of me, but at the end of the day, I just haven't wanted a new TV as much as I've wanted something I can trust.
    - Melatonic 4y ago
      You can always just buy a large "monitor" or many commercial TV's that do not have all the tracking crap. Or buy an older used TV
    - asdff 4y ago
      I can also vouch for LG not doing anythign scummy. Do you even have open wifi near your TV? I don't, all the dozens of neighborhood routers are all password protected by default from the telecom. You'd have to intentionally make an open network these days, unlike 15 years ago when the situation was the opposite.
      - czx4f4bd 4y ago
        I live in an apartment complex with a lot of neighbors and a fair amount of churn, so I have actually seen open networks nearby. I also can't be sure that someone won't move in and create a new one.
        brewdad 4y ago
        As I sit in the kitchen of my standalone SFH, I can see 7 wifi networks that are not mine. 2 of them are open. #anecdata
      - pixl97 4y ago
        >You'd have to intentionally make an open network these days, So any 2 bit hacker wannabe in an apartment complex? I mean if I was a teenager in the wifi days I would have been playing games like that.
        asdff 4y ago
        What are you odds for living near a 2 bit hacker wannabe? Plus if they were actually malicious, I'm sure there's worse things that are more effective they could do than making your TV update its firmware without your consent.
ClumsyPilot 4y ago
> this is surprisingly simple to countermeasure, just pull the SMA antennae leads from the board.. Why should I destroy my property? Why Isn't, for exanple, using my property to spy on me a criminal offense? What happens when the same practices filter through to cars? Oh, wait, they already have. https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-9526109/Is-car-spying-Driver-allowing-auto-makers-access-personal-data.html https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-9526109/Is-... What happens when the same issues filter through to bionic eyes? Oh, wait, they already have! https://spectrum.ieee.org/bionic-eye-obsolete https://spectrum.ieee.org/bionic-eye-obsolete We are going back to feudalism
anonymousab 4y ago
Some TVs have an effective countermeasure to that of "connect me for an update/phone home and new ads from the same servers or I will stop working".
- asdff 4y ago
  Name and shame them then. Everyone says these things about certain smart TVs but no one warns which ones they actually are that are doing these things. Mine doesn't, LG 40" 1080p LED smart tv, so put that one in the good list.
rhn_mk1 4y ago
Assuming you can even get to the board without damaging the device. And then you lose warranty, and the resale value drops due to scratches.
- vidanay 4y ago
  Since when is resale value a consideration for a commodity device that is likely to be used until the day it dies?
  - rhn_mk1 4y ago
    Since there are people who want to sell them. Like the nearly 400 sellers on ebay just for Sony: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=bravia&_sacat=0&rt=nc&LH_ItemCondition=3000 https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=bravia&_sac... Those people deserve a solution, too.
- solarmist 4y ago
  Resale value? TVs are so cheap even goodwill doesn’t want them.
  - brewdad 4y ago
    My Goodwill takes them as they are a designated e-waste recycler for my city. :)

czx4f4bd 4y ago

And this is why I have avoided buying a smart TV for almost ten years now. A TV is a consumer product. I should not have to open it up and modify the fucking hardware just to make it work how I want.

BoorishBears 4y ago
You didn't buy a smart TV for ten years because of a (frankly unlikely) hypothetical? I've bought smart TVs, not connected them to WiFi, and that was the end of it. You can hear whispers about all kinds of sneaky things like refusing to work, but some of the best TVs out right now are LG smart TVs that will function completely identically to a dumb TV if you don't connect them to the internet.
- czx4f4bd 4y ago
  No, this is just one of many reasons I haven't yet bought a smart TV. I probably will give in this year, but only because I can finally afford something much larger than what I have today. Here's the thing: At the end of the day, a smart TV has capabilities that I don't need or want, including to change how it functions without warning or consent. However unlikely the possibility is, a smart TV still has the capability to connect to an open network, phone home, and start doing shit I don't want, which means I have to trust it to not do that. On the other hand, my old dumb TV has none of those capabilities, so I can trust it precisely because I don't need to trust it. I know it can't do anything except display what it receives on its inputs. Therefore, any time I've considered replacing my TV with a newer one, I've always weighed predictability against uncertainty and opted in favor of the predictability of what I own. Maybe that's overly paranoid of me, but at the end of the day, I just haven't wanted a new TV as much as I've wanted something I can trust.
  - Melatonic 4y ago
    You can always just buy a large "monitor" or many commercial TV's that do not have all the tracking crap. Or buy an older used TV
  - asdff 4y ago
    I can also vouch for LG not doing anythign scummy. Do you even have open wifi near your TV? I don't, all the dozens of neighborhood routers are all password protected by default from the telecom. You'd have to intentionally make an open network these days, unlike 15 years ago when the situation was the opposite.
    - czx4f4bd 4y ago
      I live in an apartment complex with a lot of neighbors and a fair amount of churn, so I have actually seen open networks nearby. I also can't be sure that someone won't move in and create a new one.
      - brewdad 4y ago
        As I sit in the kitchen of my standalone SFH, I can see 7 wifi networks that are not mine. 2 of them are open. #anecdata
    - pixl97 4y ago
      >You'd have to intentionally make an open network these days, So any 2 bit hacker wannabe in an apartment complex? I mean if I was a teenager in the wifi days I would have been playing games like that.
      - asdff 4y ago
        What are you odds for living near a 2 bit hacker wannabe? Plus if they were actually malicious, I'm sure there's worse things that are more effective they could do than making your TV update its firmware without your consent.

ClumsyPilot 4y ago

> this is surprisingly simple to countermeasure, just pull the SMA antennae leads from the board.. Why should I destroy my property? Why Isn't, for exanple, using my property to spy on me a criminal offense? What happens when the same practices filter through to cars? Oh, wait, they already have. https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-9526109/Is-car-spying-Driver-allowing-auto-makers-access-personal-data.html https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-9526109/Is-... What happens when the same issues filter through to bionic eyes? Oh, wait, they already have! https://spectrum.ieee.org/bionic-eye-obsolete https://spectrum.ieee.org/bionic-eye-obsolete We are going back to feudalism

anonymousab 4y ago

Some TVs have an effective countermeasure to that of "connect me for an update/phone home and new ads from the same servers or I will stop working".

asdff 4y ago
Name and shame them then. Everyone says these things about certain smart TVs but no one warns which ones they actually are that are doing these things. Mine doesn't, LG 40" 1080p LED smart tv, so put that one in the good list.

rhn_mk1 4y ago

Assuming you can even get to the board without damaging the device. And then you lose warranty, and the resale value drops due to scratches.

vidanay 4y ago
Since when is resale value a consideration for a commodity device that is likely to be used until the day it dies?
- rhn_mk1 4y ago
  Since there are people who want to sell them. Like the nearly 400 sellers on ebay just for Sony: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=bravia&_sacat=0&rt=nc&LH_ItemCondition=3000 https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=bravia&_sac... Those people deserve a solution, too.
solarmist 4y ago
Resale value? TVs are so cheap even goodwill doesn’t want them.
- brewdad 4y ago
  My Goodwill takes them as they are a designated e-waste recycler for my city. :)