Be smart. Kill your "Smart" TV!

[kenny]

The CIA may be using it to watch you.

Increasingly, owning a 'Smart' device is dumb.

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39193008

 

[redwood66]

Mine doesn't have a camera and my PC camera is covered.

 

[monarch64]

 

[jordyonbass]

I haven't got a smart TV - in fact, I don't watch TV at all (when does someone have time to do that?!) so no issues here. But I think I have mentioned this before that if they want to tap my web camera here on the either side of the world, go for it. If they're willing to bamgle on copping an eyeful of my hairy backside at some point in time then that's to their detriment and not mine!!

 

[Matata]

Bless their hearts. They'll have the pleasure of hearing me read aloud from my newly acquired collection of dinosaur erotica. RAWR.

 

[jordyonbass]

Bless their hearts. They'll have the pleasure of hearing me read aloud from my newly acquired collection of dinosaur erotica. RAWR.

OH MY GOD I AM DYING HERE!!!

 

[telephone89]

OMG Matata!

But seriously. There was one time that H and I were chatting about a TV show (commercial was on tv). Minutes later we opened up a laptop, and guess what there was an ad for?! That dang show. We have a Samsung smart tv, and it has voice recognition (handy when the stupid remote decides not to work I guess) and it does say something about always recording/listening.

Really though, we were the worst people to get a smart TV. We use the Netflix app and that's it. We don't use the internet or anything else on it.

 

[TooPatient]

Ours has no camera or anything and I refuse to have the TV, Blu-ray player, or anything else that has no business accessing the internet even plugged into the network. The Vizio did try to force connect to our wi-fi but the router blocked as unauthorized.

It is crazy!

There was a news story (trying to remember where I was reading, but I did confirm the feasibility with a cyber security friend) not long ago about how people hack into your phone or computer and get pictures of you undressing or naked then blackmail for more pictures. Apparently targeted at teens and the threat is to provide more pictures or whatever or the person will tell her parents/boyfriend/school that she was taking photos of herself and sending.

Same cyber security guy has all phone/computer cameras covered to avoid issues. Has since as long as I have known him. I used to think it was a bit excessive, but now ...

 

[TooPatient]

Bless their hearts. They'll have the pleasure of hearing me read aloud from my newly acquired collection of dinosaur erotica. RAWR.

I am supposed to be doing homework and just choked laughing.... This is the best response ever.

 

[Alybetter]

That's the thing, I don't do anything in front of my TV, or in general, that would embarrass or incriminate me were it observed.

That doesn't mean I think infringing on privacy is right. I think it's unacceptable. But it does mean I'm not ditching my smart TV, laptops, iPads, phones, or anything else.