We recently blacklisted some of the IP’s that our LG tv was sending data to. I can’t believe the sheer number of requests logged in just 1 week! And what’s worse is LG is even denying it now
The poor thing is trapped 😢 there’s barely any data in its bowl
I can only recommend everybody that has the option for it to run adguard home as a DNS server.
It if you already have a PiHole that can do the same trick. Adguard has support for all DNS protocols and forces itself into windows and android via DoH and DoQuick.
A friend of mine maintains a list of blocklist here: https://github.com/ppfeufer/adguard-filter-list
I run PiHole too, but note Adguard/PiHole do not block DNS over HTTP. If these Smart TV’s want to get nasty, and they already have beyond expectations, they could employ that tech or hardcore IP addresses.
If the Smart TV uses and hardcoded http DNS server, that must be blocked directly, sure. But that scenario is very unlikely.
They already do this. They have fallbacks, but is documented that they do this.
When im forced to buy a new TV, I will make sure it works with no network connection at all, or I’m not buying it.
This is not an acurste way to see howvmany requests go out. Since it is blocked it well keep trying since it thinks there is something wrong.
Even so, that’s an insane amount of retries! I guess I would have thought it would retry a few times and end up in a DLQ or something. But perhaps it’s normal for IoT
Ehh, I know the software where I work makes endless attempts to connect too. That isn’t malicious, just shit. 4 year later its still trying again every 30 seconds. Logs are fucking massive.
I think it’s time ya’ll start reading books again. TV sucks anyways.
Yes but books require some energy remaining in the body after work and family. A tv is great for exhausted people after their daily slave job.
I read books on vacations simply because I have the energy and focus for it then. Rarely do it at home.
LOT to be said for that.
Paper ones that don’t track everything you read. Old fashion paper. Browse your fav local bookstore. Or hit the library. Walk out with little stack of books. Read 'em over weeks or months. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Audio books for me. And no bobidy is tracking.
How can you be so sure about not being tracked?
Can a pi Hole fix this? Using a Samsung smart TV
You can fix it by disconnecting the internet and plugging in your own devices.
Depends, it can autoconnect silently via open wifi networks or other tv’s/iot devices that are friendly. Shitty companies will do anything to get their hand on as much data as they can.
Yes, but how many open Wi-Fi signals are around your home? If you have open Wi-Fi signals that are around your home, then that’s also an issue.
What your neighbours do is out of your control, especially if you consider the averge person living next door doesnt think about (or understand) wifi past the very first time they type the password in “to make the internet work”.
I don’t think LG does that, however you should make sure the Wi-Fi switch is off (don’t just click forget) and if you’re paranoid, you can physically remove the Wi-Fi board.
LG very much tries to connect to random Wifi networks to leak your data, Gamers Nexus talks about it in their recent video.
Here’s an arstechnica article if you don’t got 2 hrs to spare 😅
Excerpt:
YouTube channel Gamers Nexus worked with Level1Techs, a technology-focused YouTube channel, and security researchers to analyze LG TVs’ tracking capabilities. They shared packet captures that pointed to the TVs, including LG’s pricey G5 OLED TV, scanning the LAN for other devices.
“The [G5] crawled our entire network and found dozens of unrelated devices, including smartwatches and phones of our staff who didn’t even know we were working on this,” Steve Burke, Gamers Nexus’ editor-in-chief, said.
LG’s ad business, LG Ad Solutions, has said in recent marketing materials that it can reach 363 million “addressable secondary devices” in the US.
Can you see data up/down? be interesting to know(or get more confirmation) if its sending ‘large’ media like audio files, and not just polling for e.g. ad flags, available updates etc
It’s transcribing audio locally (ever when offline) and uploads the text files after it’s reconnected
Also, it can hear like 60 feet and further
Source is the recent Gamers Nexus investigation into LG TVs
Love how these shitboxes can capture up to a screenshot every second, transcribe audio, and network all of that back to the supplier but the goddamn menu takes 5 seconds to open and lags when navigating
Probably why the menu is slow, cpu busy spying on you instead
Incredible to see them thinking they have any deniability.
Alphonso is a global technology company focused on the intersection of television media and big-data analytics. Alphonso’s patented technology and services rooted in TV data and measurement provide brands and agencies the tools they need to plan, activate, and measure rich interactive connected TV advertising.
LG Ad Solutions, incorporated as Alphonso Inc., is a global leader in advanced advertising for Connected TV and cross-screen devices, driven by our mission to create meaningful connections between brands and their audiences. With a vast network of award-winning LG Smart TVs worldwide, we offer advertisers and content creators broad reach and targeted engagement on the largest screen in the home.
driven by our mission to create meaningful connections between brands and their audiences
Oh fuck off with this.
Tbf this is far from an “insane” amount for a week.
The request numbers are on the far right, not on the left.
My Roku pings Netflix twice every 9 seconds
If you blacklisted the IPs, most of those are probably retries.
Those numbers may be a little higher because you are block listing them. When it is unsuccessful, it keeps trying. Still crazy though. Have you tried simply disconnecting from your network and turning off the WiFi? I blocked mine entirely through my router and then turned off the WiFi at the TV. My overall PiHole block rate dropped significantly after that.
That’s true, and yeah still crazy. No, we tried this first just out of curiosity and because our kids use the apps on the television. But just completely dumbing it down will be the next step. I’m just disappointed, man. It was a new tv
Some set top boxes are little better. Even then, some the apps get you. Netflix is awful with tracking.
And Tubi from what I can tell! But not surprised by either
Check the settings of the Tubi app. You will still see a lot of requests to load the ads even if they are not personalised anymore.
https://youtu.be/6IFVTcM28KA?is=-5PlYKsh41oXvLsn
Even as a dumb TV it is still listening to everything.
rule #1 of connected TV: NO connection
We screwed the pooch on that one!
Never too late for a factory reset and a Chromecast.
You guys are funny to think that any streaming device has any sort of ad capability is not doing the same exact type of thing.
Also this guy thinking that that’s a lot of requests being made by a single device in a week period. That’s really not that many requests especially when things like ads are being served up on the device or it’s got to make a request to be able to pull down updates and different things like that which it does at least ones have not several times a day as well.
Chromecast doesn’t have a microphone so isn’t listening to your conversations.
But sure, get a cheap PC from Craigslist and use that.
C’mon, trading LG for a fucking Chromecast? You kidding right?
Rule 0: don’t get any TV. Just get a office projector, paint your wall white or get a white cloth, get some nice sounding speakers and plug your PC to it.
Or, you know, dont connect your TV to the Internet.
There’s TVs that can mesh together with other TVs until they find one that’s actually connected to the Internet, you might not connect your tv to WiFi but your neighbor does
Show me. I want a story about this. Never heard from it except from the comments. In the 2 hour long video they didn’t even say it did this.
Use your Libreelec Raspberry Pi.
Can’t you just block the MAC address in your router? Or does the family like to use the built in apps?
We mainly tried this first out of curiosity, and because the LG tv has some parental controls we use for the kids! But gonna have to find an alternative
