A reason NOT to purchase LG smart televisions

[OCGuy]

Eh I saved the money on the "Smart" part of the TV and bought an Apple TV for Netflix/Youtube/Amazon.

Last year there was a $300 tax on the 60inch I bought if you wanted the built in media.

 

[Vdubchaos]

I'm sorry to hear

 

[SheHateMe]

Oh gosh, they are going to find out that I watch TNT and the Cooking channel all day.

 

[Sonikku]

Soon LG will be obligated to work with PRISM/NSA.

Then Obama will know about my dirty little secret of liking amish mafia. :'(

 

[ultimatebob]

I wonder if they track what you watch on Netflix as well.

It's as easy fix if it bugs you that much... just turn Wi-Fi OFF and get a Roku or a Chromecast for streaming.

That said, I'll bet that Google collects even more usage data than LG would, and they are experts in using that data for targeted ads.

 

[Jeff7]

I remember when people thought it would be an amazing technology for a fridge to be able to "know" when you were low on certain foods and could automatically order more for you.

And indeed it would - if the manufacturer wasn't recording absolutely every aspect of what you're doing, and doing so entirely for their own financial gain. That "if" is what ends up killing it. :\


Self-driving cars: Sounds awesome. Me want.
But with that will surely come recording of your location at any point in time.

Oh well, I guess it's just people doing what they do - figuring out something awesome, and then finding all kinds of ways to thoroughly ruin it.

 

[OCGuy]

And indeed it would - if the manufacturer wasn't recording absolutely every aspect of what you're doing, and doing so entirely for their own financial gain. That "if" is what ends up killing it. :\


Self-driving cars: Sounds awesome. Me want.
But with that will surely come recording of your location at any point in time.

Oh well, I guess it's just people doing what they do - figuring out something awesome, and then finding all kinds of ways to thoroughly ruin it.

If you hit "agree" on your navigation screen, or don't change your cell-phone settings, your location is already being logged.

Ask Aaron Hernandez, the ex-Patriot (NFL) charged with murder.

 

[lxskllr]

If you hit "agree" on your navigation screen, or don't change your cell-phone settings, your location is already being logged.

Ask Aaron Hernandez, the ex-Patriot (NFL) charged with murder.

There's a lot of ways companies and the government infringe on privacy, but the fact they exist doesn't justify new methods.

 

[Thebobo]

LG says it sowwy and will fix

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25042563

 

[evident]

get a panasonic plasma while they still make them. you will regret it when they're gone forever!

 

[Jeff7]

LG says it sowwy and will fix

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-25042563

"Oops. We meant to encrypt that data."

 

[Kadarin]

Looks like it gets a bit worse: http://arstechnica.com/security/201...extends-to-home-networks-second-blogger-says/

According to this, it looks for shared files on the network and transmits those to LG. Yeah, there's no potential at all here for abuse.

 

[Kadarin]

"Oops. We meant to encrypt that data."

This will definitely be their "solution".

 

[alkemyst]

The real question here is what smart TVs don't do this.

QFT, plus as IPv6 rolls out many devices will begin being connected that normally won't. The 'cloud' can turn dumb devices into very smart ones.

 

[xanis]

get a panasonic plasma while they still make them. you will regret it when they're gone forever!

Slightly off-topic, but: I'm in the market for a 50-55" TV and was looking exclusively at LEDs (specificially Vizio). Any particular advantages/disadvantages to either plasma or LED? Best Buy has the 50" VIERA for $500 right now, which seems like an awesome deal compared to the $750+ LEDs I was looking at.

 

[DrPizza]

Slightly off-topic, but: I'm in the market for a 50-55" TV and was looking exclusively at LEDs (specificially Vizio). Any particular advantages/disadvantages to either plasma or LED? Best Buy has the 50" VIERA for $500 right now, which seems like an awesome deal compared to the $750+ LEDs I was looking at.

There are a few decent deals on 50" size televisions on Black Friday. http://bfads.net/Top-10-TVs-for-Black-Friday-2013
I don't necessarily agree with their assessment, because little seems to have been considered for brand/quality. But, it's a starting point.

 

[AdamK47]

QFT, plus as IPv6 rolls out many devices will begin being connected that normally won't. The 'cloud' can turn dumb devices into very smart ones.

Need to plug you into the cloud.

 

[MtnMan]

Block the TV's IP address from transmitting any outbound traffic with a ACl on the router.

Or just disconnect the ethernet cable, don't configure the Wifi to connect.

But if you want to watch Netflix, Amazon, etc. block all outbound traffic at the router to LG's IP address.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I don't own a smart TV, don't plan on it. this seals the deal.

If your TV breaks you wont have a choice. They're pretty much all "smart" now.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Or just disconnect the ethernet cable, don't configure the Wifi to connect.

But if you want to watch Netflix, Amazon, etc. block all outbound traffic at the router to LG's IP address.

Yeah guess these days it's time to be more aware of what is leaving our network, and block it appropriately.

 

[SandEagle]

Need to plug you into the cloud.

lulz

 

[Jeff7]

This will definitely be their "solution".

"'Your' data? The Terms and Conditions says that it's our data."

 

[Perknose]

i can proudly say i've never seen that stuff before in my life.

Don't like to watch your own work?

 

[Red Squirrel]

I like how only because it got brought up they decided to change it. This is not something that gets coded by accident, you don't make a typo in an if statement or forget a swirly bracket that suddenly causes this to happen. They banked on the fact that nobody would notice.

The filenames are enough to profile someone as an individual as the odds of two people having the exact file structure on their home network and TV is pretty slim.

 

[CA19100]

I guess I can scratch LG off my list. Sony's been off it since the rootkit fiasco.