Even the Dumbest Ransomware Is Almost Unremovable On Smart TVs (symantec.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Apparently even the easiest-to-remove ransomware is painfully hard to uninstall from smart TVs, if they're running on the Android TV platform, and many are. This didn't happen in a real-world scenario (yet), and was only a PoC test by Symantec. The researcher managed to remove the ransomware only because he enabled the Android ADB tool beforehand, knowing he would infect the TV with the ransomware. "Without this option enabled, and if I was less experienced user, I'd probably still be locked out of my smart TV, making it a large and expensive paper weight," said the researcher.

Comments

"Reset to factory settings" button

[ZorinLynx]

Why the heck don't these devices have a "Reset to factory settings" button?

Flash memory is cheap. Have a permanent, unmodifiable copy of the firmware the device ships with. If you power it on while holding the button, copy that firmware over as the active firmware, clear out the user data area, and restart. Boom! TV is back to normal.

This sort of thing is ludicrously easy to implement and would save the companies money on warranty repairs.

I have a JBL speaker that I had to ship back to the manufacturer to be replaced because of a bad firmware update. A simple reset button like the one I described would have saved me a ton of pain and saved JBL money on shipping the speaker both ways. WHY isn't this sort of thing universal?

Re:"Reset to factory settings" button

[Irate Engineer]

I have a JBL speaker that I had to ship back to the manufacturer to be replaced because of a bad firmware update. A simple reset button like the one I described would have saved me a ton of pain and saved JBL money on shipping the speaker both ways. WHY isn't this sort of thing universal?

Because, for every person like you, there are 10 that would just say "Speaker not work. Must buy new speaker." Repair options do not spur new sales.

Re:"Reset to factory settings" button

[gstoddart]

I find it hard to believe anyone would give up on a $400 speaker that quickly, unless they are rich and $400 is nothing to them.

I find it hard to believe a damned speaker needs firmware upgrades.

Oh, but wait, it's controllable by an app, has Bluetooth and wifi, and connects to the internet, right?

Yeah ... me, I don't want speakers which do that stuff. Precisely because time and time again companies demonstrate they're terrible at it, and you end up with a product with a MUCH shorter lifecycle -- because it's focused on 10 things besides being a good speaker.

My guess, if it needs firmware updates, it's really a $100 speaker with a bunch of extra crap slapped onto it.

These days, digital pretty much means disposable.

smart tvs are not smart

[The-Ixian]

Is there any "smart" TV that actually works well?

I have owned a few and I always end up hooking up the Roku because it just works.

Seems like this is another reason not to hook up your smart TV to the Internet.

Re:smart tvs are not smart

[TheCastro1689]

I have a LG 3D Smart TV and the apps on it suck. They're slower than my Apple TV or my XboxOne. I had one roommate that liked to push his Netflix from his phone to the TV, but that was the only time it was used like that.

Again: Big Dumb Co

[ThatsNotPudding]

After I win All The Lotteries, I will form Big Dumb Company, with the principal division being Big Dumb Appliances, such as clothes and dish washers that are so well built, they can be handed down at least two generations, stupidly fixable with decades-long part availability, and that are designed to accomplish one task: WASH THINGS.

Same with TVs - or should I say monitors - with the best display possible, replaceable power supplies, interface ports (sans wireless nor Ethernet) out the kazoo, AND DUMB AS A BAG OF HAMMERS. Tuner? game console? Roku? Fantastic: PLUG THEM IN. What will the TVs do? DISPLAY THINGS, PERIOD.

Now, onto phone / Internet service: BIG DUMB PIPE.