Friday, April 21, 2017

Comment: Do smart TVs compromise privacy?

Again and again, new “horror reports” make the round, and publications “cover up” that smart TVs threaten the privacy. The inconceivable seems to happen: If the TV is connected to the World Wide Web, the Internetprovider can determine. He can even register if the Smart TV owner is going to the Internet. If so, it is possible to see which pages he visits.


This is all smooth espionage! When the Internet visit, a well-known test magazine obviously with great effort just re-found again, the IP address of the Smart TV can be found. The complete IP address! This is something that has never existed in the network world ...


It is already quite surprising, with which enterprise effort always tried to create from Smart TVs the new privacy fear. At the same time, however, the same magazines show that fast tablets and smartphones that fit into all possible communication paths are the most desirable in the world. The fact that one makes oneself more or less observable in this case, however, seems self-evident everyday life and less worth mentioning.


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The fact that a Smart-TV is simply a large computer, with which one can exactly the same as with a small, is hardly presented objectively. Rather, you can swing the sensation stick and unsettle users. The fact is: If the smart TV owner with the large computer in the living room comparable to the same as with the miniversion in the trouser pocket, network providers, service providers or TV program organizers learn no more than before. An IP address then says just as much or little. The residential address and the name of the TV owner has not been found out yet to collect personalized data. The authors of such reports are exactly the same. This is panic. New information is not behind it.


One of the tormented highlights of the discussion was the message that it could succeed in the TV of a well-known brand the integrated camera remote-controlled activated. Whoever has just read, learned that this single TV had been manipulated in advance by changes to the hardware. Subsequently, comments came, that theoretically such a thing would be possible without such manipulation. However, it was admitted that this was very complicated and difficult. An actual case was not known and should be a while. It's quite different with the computer: recent events show that laptop cameras have already been around so far.


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In short, TVs are not the better people either. As with all computer and communication technologies, the user must engage himself in minimizing risks. Whoever enters his / her account data for video on demand with his / her address, has to consider safety aspects as well as the laptop. And he makes "glasses" in his future film calls as well.


In order to counteract any excesses, by the way, the Smart-TV software versions of the newer generation already have the possibility during the initial installation to prohibit the collection of usage data with a catch. This is also known by many computer programs already. You should not miss the hook in either case.

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