The solution for smart TVs is to not connect it to the Internet and attach an Apple TV. Sure they’ve gotten expensive, but how much is your privacy worth?
The article addresses that. This is about the recent controversy where plugging an LG display into a Windows machine caused unwanted software to be installed as a "driver update". Disconnecting the TV from the Internet is completely irrelevant to the article.
What if you want to hook a gaming PC up to a smart TV? Linux has come far in recent years, but Windows is still the most broadly supported gaming OS.
Once awareness of this side-loaded crapware gets out, I'd expect the community to come up with fixes to ensure it doesn't get loaded. In the meantime, this should blow up in the faces of MS, LG, etc. just like things blew up for Sony when they put root-kits on CD's.
Does it play ad-free youtube? I see now that looking at their apple TV doesn't mention much about other products being available, but the app, which I guess is not the same thing, says something about it.
Chromecasts seem to at least have reduced ads, but I'd do almost anything to be able to stream youtube (or ideally any webpage) to an arbitrary screen with functional adblocking.
what privacy? my smart TV/Android TV stick both don't have camera/mic and only thing I use them for is watching Youtube through Smarttube with dummy account signed in and to watch freely available IPTV streams you can find online, only reason I use the Android TV stick is because the TV OS was not updated at all, slow and didn't even allow to install anything with basic Android system apps removed
The Shield sucks too, unless you go super nerd and fix all its problems. They treat your home screen like a billboard, and I have no faith that they're not stealing all my data either.
Android lets you put on your own launcher. There are many options to choose from in the store and online. It is one the main selling point of Android, you have options and aren't limited to their marketplace.
That’s what I meant by go all super nerd. I don’t want to fight with: my phone, my car, my router, my desktop/laptop, dishwasher, home automation system - just to pull out the surveillance and adware they’ve jammed in there. Life is too short for all that, and I’ve wasted enough time on that as is.
Literally just now it went jamming some Ford 150 ad on me, auto repeating. On the f’ing Home Screen!!
I don’t know what I’ll replace it with, but it sure AF won’t be some corporate owned ad riddled POS like this.
Yup. Samsung & Sonys too. Dumb mode, no internet, Apple TV.
Doesn't solve the malware on Windows PCs installed by LG monitors problem. My only solution to that remains to not buy Lucky Goldstar ever since their 14" 640x480 VGA monitor died inside of warranty but they refused to fix it.
Or attach an xbox or playstation and use the youtube, netflix etc clients on that. Both MS and Sony have a very strong interest in not letting their operating systems become host to virus/worm/trojan categories of software, as it would be a risk of game/content piracy. Yeah, you'll get ads for MS or Sony products and games on the home screen.
But I have a thousand times more confidence that MS will keep the signed, auto-distributed periodic xbox series x operating system updates 'secure' than I do that some random smart tv manufacturer will implement a proper operating system.
