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The article buries the important part further down: These boxes are often used as botnet nodes and join residential proxy networks. The TV feature is a trojan h

The article buries the important part further down: These boxes are often used as botnet nodes and join residential proxy networks. The TV feature is a trojan horse to get it into your house. The high price makes it feel legitimate. More from Krebs: https://krebsonsecurity.com/2025/11/is-your-android-tv-streaming-box-part-of-a-botnet/ https://krebsonsecurity.com/2025/11/is-your-android-tv-strea...

kazinator 9mo ago
Maybe you don't have to use their box. The article mentions that their streaming apps don't even come preinstalled on the box. That means users have to go through some activation and installation procedure that they could probably do on a mainstream, commercial Android box. Or maybe the malware is in the streaming app itself, in which case the box is irrelevant?
- xethos 9mo ago
  You would think so, but: > You won’t find apps for either service on Google Play or any other app store; users who have tried report that it’s impossible to run them on any other third-party device, suggesting that they were custom-built by or on behalf of the makers of SuperBox and vSeeBox.
  - kazinator 9mo ago
    I'm lucky that I use a greymarket app for Japanese TV that runs on mainstream consumer boxes. If the vendor is insisting that you use their box and locks the application to that, that is suspicious; it clearly indicates they are not really serious about the service and really want that specific box in your home for some reason unrelated to the service. Huge red flag. Everyone normal who wants to sell a service would much rather just sell you the service for $200, without that having to include any hardware; dealing hardware is a hassle. Except in one sense in that you can sell a validated total configuration that requires less support.
mindslight 9mo ago
Oh no, not residential proxy networks. Gasp. I would much prefer a world where people installed communications privacy tools of their own volition, forming a critical mass of users that creates market pressure against companies that demand ever-invasive surveillance. But since that is apparently too much self-actualization to ask for, then I will settle for the world in which people are unwittingly induced to set up privacy tools for others, by dodgy companies promising free TV.

kazinator 9mo ago

Maybe you don't have to use their box. The article mentions that their streaming apps don't even come preinstalled on the box. That means users have to go through some activation and installation procedure that they could probably do on a mainstream, commercial Android box. Or maybe the malware is in the streaming app itself, in which case the box is irrelevant?

xethos 9mo ago
You would think so, but: > You won’t find apps for either service on Google Play or any other app store; users who have tried report that it’s impossible to run them on any other third-party device, suggesting that they were custom-built by or on behalf of the makers of SuperBox and vSeeBox.
- kazinator 9mo ago
  I'm lucky that I use a greymarket app for Japanese TV that runs on mainstream consumer boxes. If the vendor is insisting that you use their box and locks the application to that, that is suspicious; it clearly indicates they are not really serious about the service and really want that specific box in your home for some reason unrelated to the service. Huge red flag. Everyone normal who wants to sell a service would much rather just sell you the service for $200, without that having to include any hardware; dealing hardware is a hassle. Except in one sense in that you can sell a validated total configuration that requires less support.

mindslight 9mo ago

Oh no, not residential proxy networks. Gasp. I would much prefer a world where people installed communications privacy tools of their own volition, forming a critical mass of users that creates market pressure against companies that demand ever-invasive surveillance. But since that is apparently too much self-actualization to ask for, then I will settle for the world in which people are unwittingly induced to set up privacy tools for others, by dodgy companies promising free TV.