Smart TV
In smart TVs, the operating system is preloaded into the television set's firmware, which provides access to apps and other digital content.
A smart TVs is an information appliance and may be thought of as the computer system of a mobile device integrated with a television set unit.
Apart from being linked to data networks, one key point is its ability to automatically download necessary software routines, according to a user's demand, and process their needs.
In the words of one commentator: "In the long run, this machine is likely to develop into a multi-purpose receiver, for electronic mail, dealing with the bank, calculations, remote information – and 'Not the nine o'clock news' or 'Casablanca' on video.
"[18] In the early 2000s, "Bush Internet TV" television sets and set-top boxes had internet-focused marketing and allowed users to access a web portal made by Virgin Media.
Services offer users a means to track and receive reminders about shows[28] or sporting events,[29] as well as the ability to change channels for immediate viewing.
LG and PaymentWall have collaborated to allow consumers to access purchased apps, movies, games, and more using a remote control, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
Current smart TV platforms used by vendors are Amazon, Apple, Google, Haier, Hisense, Hitachi, Insignia, LG, Microsoft, Netgear, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TCL, TiVO, Toshiba, Sling Media, and Western Digital.
In-Stat predicted that by 2016, 100 million homes in North America and western Europe would be using television sets blending traditional programming with internet content.
Even in sets that are not configured off-the-shelf to do so, default security measures are often weak and will allow hackers to easily break into the TV.
[48] 2019 research, "Watching You Watch: The Tracking Ecosystem of Over-the-Top TV Streaming Devices", conducted at Princeton and University of Chicago, demonstrated that a majority of streaming devices will covertly collect and transmit personal user data, including captured screen images, to a wide network of advertising and analytics companies, raising privacy concerns.
Since 2012, security researchers discovered a similar vulnerability present in more series of smart TVs, which allows hackers to get an external root access on the device.
It seems like there is only one antivirus for smart TVs available: "Neptune", a cloud-based antimalware system developed by Ocean Blue Software in partnership with Sophos.
[54] The privacy policy for Samsung's smart TVs has been called Orwellian (a reference to George Orwell and the dystopian world of constant surveillance he depicted in Nineteen Eighty-Four), and compared to Telescreens because of eavesdropping concerns.
[55][56] Hackers have misused smart TV's abilities such as operating source codes for applications and its unsecured connection to the Internet.
[citation needed] The confidential documents, codenamed Vault 7 and dated from 2013 to 2016, include details on CIA's software capabilities, such as the ability to compromise smart TVs.
