In the first part of this article a presentation of Smart TVs was made, their great utility. We also present the reasons that make your smart TV a real spy weapon.
Following, we will show you the security recommendations for those who have a Smart TV.
Do not connect Smart TV to the Internet
Almost inevitably, whether you're a fan or not of having a Smart TV, almost every recent TV incorporates smart features, Internet connection, third-party applications, and a complex operating system.
To prevent any malicious scenario, especially if you spend most of your time watching TPA or Zimbo TV, do not connect your TV to the internet. Enter the settings menu and disconnect from the Wi-Fi network. Or preferably make the TV forget the password forever. For others remove the ethernet cable from behind the TV.
These radical gestures bring some benefits, such as forcing the TV not to show you more ads when you least expect it, or on menus where they do not belong. These alerts seem absurd, it was almost two years ago that Samsung apologized for showing us ads, even for the movies we see through a USB stick.
How to "transform" your old TV into a "Smart TV"?
The easiest and cheapest way is to invest in a Apple TV, chromecast, Fire TV, Roku or an HTPC. Regardless of the solution that will enchant you the most, that will be safer and smarter than a TV. A device of this type can be connected to the Internet without problem, and the risks are marginal or nonexistent. A TV software can benefit from upgrading 2-3 years in the most optimistic case, while a TV Box is more resilient over time. In addition, the third generation of an Apple TV is much cheaper than a Smart TV. And you can change it easily if you get annoyed with it.
Can you try turning off Smart TV functions?
You may be tempted to believe that the menu on your Smart TV is clear enough and that you do not need to completely disconnect it from the internet to gain additional psychological comfort or peace of mind. But reality will show you the opposite. From the moment you connect to the internet, the waves of potential problems start.
The monitoring of all your online activities carried out by Smart TV, almost every time, is done by manufacturing standard. The process of deactivating these functions is completely different from manufacturer to manufacturer, and the details of these functions are well hidden in the menu. For example on TV Vizio, a very popular brand in the USA, the tracking functions are hidden behind an extremely ambiguous name - Smart Interactivity. To disable it, you must enter System - Reset & Admin. On LG TV's there is a configuration called Collection of watching info, on Samsung TV's you can disable Voice Recognition in the Smart Features menu, to disable the possibility of her listening to conversations in your home. There are many variants (or forms) and it is almost impossible for anyone to know all of them, which is why we insist that the best solution is to disable the internet from TV.
A Smart TV is the first step to the Internet of Things
In almost every week we read about the Internet of Things, IoT or Internet of Things. This concept adds a mix of devices in different categories over a single umbrella sounds good in theory. Anyone wants to control everything at home, from the socket to the light bulbs, from the refrigerator to the microwave, via satellite or on the other side of the world. Unfortunately, it often reveals serious security vulnerabilities in those implementations. As with a Smart TV, you can not install an anti-virus plug. For this reason, it would be nice to stop for a while and think about Smart devices, and if you see anything on your Smart TV menu that you do not fully understand what that function means, turn it off completely, it's the best solution.
Note: The camera on your PC / Laptop if you are not using it tape it with a sticker, the fact that it does not seem active (with that green LED) it may be spying on you, you never know which program is running hidden in the processes.
Watch at least 2 or 3 episodes of the “CSI: Cyber” series, to get an idea of what these technologies are capable of doing.
