Anyone who owns an LG smart TV must inform all guests and family members that they are being monitored – this is required by LG’s current terms of use. Meanwhile, LG monitors install potential malware and surveillance software on a connected Windows computer.
  • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3 months

    Not only that but my old LG smart TV (47LM8600, I think manufactured in 2012) has literal suicide timers in its built in apps. Mine has never been connected to any network and yet it mysteriously informed me after approximately three years of ownership that all of its player apps such as Youtube, Hulu, Netflix, etc. would stop working because they were “no longer supported,” all of them within the time frame of the same couple of weeks. It knew this somehow, apparently via magic, or quantum fluctuations, or psychic brain waves. Without internet connectivity.

    Obviously I don’t use any of those features so I didn’t give a rat’s ass and I still don’t. But I still find that deeply suspicious.

    • milk@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      3 months

      There was some controversy a while ago about Samsung TVs finding and connecting to open WiFi networks autonomously if they weren’t connected to a network explicitly

    • Elvith Ma'for@feddit.orgEnglish
      3 months

      The only technical explanation that’s not malice would be that some certificate store on the device had expiring certificates and would need an update to continue to function (or rather connect to remote servers).

        • Majestic@lemmy.mlEnglish
          3 months

          Yes. Certs can expire after whatever time the issuer wants to set for them. That could be six months or 20 years. Some infrastructure has limits on max and min lengths (more max than min usually) but not all and there are best practices as well.

          More importantly the certs could have been five years old by the time this person got the TV for a total age of 8 years.

  • ramenshaman@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3 months

    I have an LG TV that has never been exposed to the internet and it’s amazing.

    • Druid@lemmy.zipEnglish
      3 months

      Same! I jailbroke mine and can watch YouTube and Twitch ad-free, and it’s got Jellyfin on the homebrew channel, so I can access my server off my TV :)

      • 4am@lemmy.zipEnglish
        3 months

        Omg you can jailbreak smart TVs now? HELL yeah

        EDIT: I am especially interested in LG webOS because I was a Palm Prē enjoyer back in the day and I rooted the fuck out of that phone (still have it somewhere)

        • Druid@lemmy.zipEnglish
          3 months

          Check out rootmy.tv to jailbreak your LG smart TV. Depending on the model and firmware, there could be additional steps you need to take, but in my case, since I still had the stock firmware installed, it was just a single slide of a button on the TV’s web browser.

          • ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.worldEnglish
            3 months

            So are there downsides to rooting? Like do the apps no longer work or is there functionality limited?

            I’m running pinhole on my network currently so I think most if not all of the bad LG behavior is restricted and I use a Shield for most things, but I’m still tempted to root it anyway. Just want to know the downsides, if any, before I update my family’s TV

          • lemming741@lemmy.worldEnglish
            3 months

            I had to put malicious mp3 files on a USB for my newer C2, but my older C8 was rooted in the browser

            • Null User Object@lemmy.worldEnglish
              3 months

              malicious mp3 files on a USB

              LOL, this is hilarious, while simultaneously infuriating that the owners of hardware are required to install a Trojan Horse to uninstall the malicious software installed by the manufacturer.

  • floofloof@lemmy.caEnglish
    3 months

    I’ve used an LG monitor for about 5 years, and never install the manufacturer’s software unless it looks genuinely useful. When I saw the Gamers Nexus video I went to check my installed apps, and sure enough there was LG’s monitor app, installed silently without my knowledge. I used Bulk Crap Uninstaller to get rid of it.

    To prevent this kind of thing in future, run gpedit.msc and enable “Prevent automatic download of applications associated with device metadata” under Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → System → Device Installation.

    • 0x0@infosec.pubEnglish
      3 months

      Or you could just change to an os that doesnt piss on its users constantly

      • floofloof@lemmy.caEnglish
        3 months

        Indeed. I use Linux most of the time, and MacOS a bit of the time, but the old Windows desktop is still there for the infrequent times when I need it to work on old music projects. I have it too dual-booting into Linux, so even it spends most of its time in a more sane OS.

  • Menschlicher_Fehler@feddit.orgEnglish
    3 months

    Bought a LG TV and a Monitor three years ago. Last time I will do that. Really happy about my decision not to let the TV have access to the internet.

  • Kairos@lemmy.todayEnglish
    3 months

    This is because as soon as a monitor is connected to a Windows computer, it automatically installs both the LG Monitor App Installer and McAfee Scam Detector without ever asking the user for permission.

    Is this not a felony under U.S. law? Computer hacking has HUGE criminal liability.

    • themurphy@lemmy.mlEnglish
      3 months

      It probably says somewhere in the ToS, which is still a fucking disgrace that those exists, without having to make clear and obvious bullet points you click “consent”.

      Even having to make consent multiple times should be mandatory for every shit they try to do.

      Solution if users shouldnt hit consent multiple times? Dont do shady shit.