Your smart TVs are great for all the additional features that they bring to the set-top box experience: from internet access to microphones and cameras, among other things.
However, those are the same features that make them vulnerable to attacks and breaches.
Knowing about these dangers and nipping them in the bud is the best way to stay safe against them. Below, we discuss some things to do to secure your smart TVs better.
Check Permissions
Most smart TVs have their mics and cameras enabled by default. Anyone with enough hacking knowledge can take advantage of these features in no time.
Thus, they can hear everything you are saying and even spy on you without your knowledge.
It is recommended that you head into the settings and turn these features off till you need them. Besides, put black tape over your TV camera just to be sure.
Choose a Reliable Brand
Like smartphones, there are a lot of TV brands out there. Unlike smartphones, though, every manufacturer seems to have their custom OS loaded onto the TV.
No software is a Fort Knox, but buying from a trusted brand guarantees you that the OS is locked down against basic attacks.
Likewise, there is a high chance of getting after-sales support (such as OS upgrades) from a reliable brand that is a nameless one.
Of course, you get to save money on the latter but you get the better value for money on the former.
Secure your Network
You might do everything right and your network connection will be the one to out you to hackers and scammers.
For starters, do these:
- Never connect your smart TV to free or public Wi-Fi networks
- Make sure to have a VPN on your router to encrypt your TV’s traffic
- Set unique names and passwords for your routers. Don’t leave them at the defaults
Tweak TV Settings
Depending on the kind of smart TV you have, there are a host of privacy settings that you can change and tweak to your preferences.
We have already discussed the microphone and camera aspects, so we won’t mention them anymore here. What else you should be looking at includes:
- Data collection settings – see how your TV provider collects data, what kind of data they collect, and if you can opt-out of some.
- Change your device’s default name
- Switch from the default password to something more secure
Final Words
Smart TVs are here to stay; there is no doubt about that. However, they still have a long way to go in ensuring user privacy and security by themselves.
Manufacturers are also having to cut initial sales costs by opting to collect user data and sell that instead. This tells you how big of a data battle you are in.
Embracing the above tips, you stand a bigger and better chance against smart TV hacks and attacks.
This is a guest article originally copied to TechGh24 from the Techfools.com
