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Programmer Finds Way To Liberate Ransomware Affected Smart TV, Thanks To LG (theregister.co.uk)
Television production factory LG has saved Darren Cauthon's new year by providing hidden reset instructions to liberate his Google TV from ransomware. From a report on The Register: The company initially demanded more money than the idiot box was worth to repair the TV and relented offering instructions for resetting the telly after Cauthon took to Twitter to express his displeasure. The infection came after the programmer's wife downloaded an app to the TV promising free movies. Instead, it installed the ransomware, with a demand of US$500 to have the menace removed. Cauthon said LG offered factory reset steps which are not publicly revealed nor known to its customer support technicians. He says a family member showed him the TV over Christmas laden with ransomware purporting to be a FBI message bearing a notice that suspicious files were found and the user has been fined.
FTA: "With the TV powered off, place one finger on the settings symbol then another finger on the channel down symbol. Remove finger from settings, then from channel down, and navigate using volume keys to the wipe data/ factory reset option."
It sounds like the common procedure to enter the Android boot loader. Anybody wants to "fastboot oem unlock" that TV?
That people believe such "warnings" in large enough numbers to make it worthwhile for the crooks to make them, is a sign, that FBI has an image problem.
It is an organization we fear, rather than one we trust (such as to hunt the scammers down). And they had this image problem for so long now, one can begin suspecting, it is not just a perception...
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
Welcome all to a world where you don't own nor are allowed to alter the software on items you purchased outright.
It cost the manufacturer millions just to develop that software. Do you think by you get the right to own it just by paying a few hundred bucks? That's like saying you ate at a restaurant, so you're now partial owner of that restaurant and demand access to their secret recipes. You have the right to use the product, but don't own the design. The manufacture won't hand you the source code, because that will compromise his trade secrets and therefore, harm his business.
The main issue is that the "Smart" (read connected) TV is exposed to millions of hackers and that's the stupid part. More connected something is to the internet, the more vulnerable it is. If the world continues down this moronic path for more convenience, there'll be a day when hackers will lock you out of your house when they seize control of your smart door.
>It cost the manufacturer millions just to develop that software. Do you think by you get the right to own it just by paying a few hundred bucks?
There's a right to repair movement and I agree with them. If I can't repair it myself, I don't buy it. Simple. They can rationalize it however they want, I don't care. The argument "but it is so expensive to the manufacturers" doesn't really work. So are cars. So what?
Also if you do give the smart tv your wifi password be prepared to block its MAC address at the router if you want it to not connect anymore.
My samsung tv I gave it the wifi password and ten switched inputs to wired network connections to prevent the tv from getting online. That I thought worked until I checked the router logs one day and noticed the tv was still trying to and sending data via wifi even though it was disabled.
So I blocked the MAC address of the wifi adapter and no more hidden data to be sent
i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
They have no purpose. Most people now simply use TVs as monitors for a set top box and if you need any more functionality simply plug your computer or tablet into a normal TV. Why anyone would pay a significant extra amount of cash for an oversized underpowered android tablet I have no idea.
Yet a 50+" monitor costs a LOT more than a 50" TV. Even more than a smart TV. A 55" monitor costs about $1400, at the low end. A 55" smart TV costs about $450 (going by Amazon).
In the free world the media isn't government run; the government is media run.