Samsung has advised owners of its latest TVs to run regular virus scans.
A how-to video on the Samsung Support USA Twitter account demonstrates the more than a dozen remote-control button presses required to access the sub-menu needed to activate the check.
It suggested users should carry out the process “every few weeks” to “prevent malicious software attacks”.
What.
Do we seriously need TVs that can hacked? Sort of like the touch screens in cars, maybe be have gone a little too far with “We can add this feature, so we will”.
This is what happens when you connect things to the internet. Viruses and the understanding of how they spread were known when all the smart TVs started popping up, so this was an entirely foreseeable outcome.
I’m glad to say I’m very happy with my dumb TV + Roku set up. And while it is entirely possible for the Roku to be exploited, I doubt the processor is beefy enough to to be worth the time.
We don’t… I have a Samsung TV and don’t use the “smart” features and it’s not connected to the Internet (except to update it). I rather use my Nvidia Shield TV that is more functional while being more customizable and I have some control over.
BTW I believe the AV they use is from McAfee so a double LOL here.
This looks very much to me like a security software company who invented a new class of virus scanner because they wanted to expand their market, and a company who paid for it and now needs to justify the cost. But I don’t own one of these TVs, so maybe viruses are a serious thing for Samsung TV owners.
Normally I do the toaster of Tuesdays, the microwave on Friday, and the TV on every other Sunday. Clorox wipes does the job…
Is it even possible to buy a good dumb tv nowadays?
Yes, but they’re called “professional digital signage displays”, and the TV tuner is often an optional add-on (although, to be fair, a lot of people use streaming devices or cable/satellite boxes over HDMI anyway, so the tuner’s really only needed for OTA).
And they cost 2-3x what “smart” TVs cost, because the TV manufacturers are getting paid for the shovelware on the smart TVs, and you’re getting components rated for a longer lifespan.
If you’re talking 2K, yes. Lots of excellent, cheap, DUMB TVs in the 2K market. 4K? Much harder. They’re almost all smart TVs (for dumb people). Polaroid makes some 4K TVs that just have ChromeCast. I can’t think of a model offhand that doesn’t at least have that.
This accurately describes many things that are wrong with the industry.
* The fact that a platform that is purely used for consumption is not secure by default. Why would an OS like this not be read-only?
* The fact that the solution to improve security is thought to be a virusscanner….
* …that is supposed to be launched by the user manually ….
* … through a sequences of infinite menu-options and button-presses
Please file this article under #laugh, #cry and #funny-because-it-is-true
Yes, the user would turn to download a popular anti virus software from an unknown website, making the problem worst.
These televisions normally run some Linux variant, be it Tizen (Samsung), WebOS (LG), Android TV, Roku TV, or SmartCast. They need to be updated for changes to the various apps that provide content.
That being said, asking people to scan for viruses and malware is a non-solution for not designing your solution well to consumer standards. These devices should be receiving regular security updates, and should be designed to sandbox off content that could potentially cause device infection. Asking people to address security issues by running a virus scan that likely is not getting updates on a platform that is not getting updates at the cadence they need is a failure at multiple levels.
It’s security theater when people want home theater and to watch movies. Whoever issued this communication has no clue how their customer base works.
Incredibly difficult solution – I have 2 Smart TV’s. Neither is connected to the internet.
At last, this wholesome feature will allow me to buy a very expensive television in order to run CLAMAV.
No longer will be humans limited to tinker anti-virus scanning software that runs only on computers, but also on TELEVISIONS.
I can’t wait this thing when we will be able to virus scan our refrigerators, coffee makers, washing machines and virtually any appliances we might own in the future.