Smart TV's Are Being Hacked













































Have you ever felt like you are being watched? Chances are it's your own TV watching you. Funny how you think you are watching the TV and the Tv actually watching you.This isn't the first time someone has sounded the alarm over smart TVs' security vulnerabilities. A 2018 Consumer Reports investigation found that millions of smart TVs have easy-to-exploit security flaws, and white hat hackers have demonstrated how bad actors could take over the devicesIn a per-holiday message to consumers, an FBI field office is warning that "smart TVs" -- televisions equipped with internet streaming and facial recognition capabilities -- may be vulnerable to intrusion.The FBI says hackers can tap into cameras and microphones on your smart TV.At the low end of the risk spectrum, they can change channels, play with the volume, and show your kids inappropriate videos," the FBI warning states. "In a worst-case scenario, they can turn on your bedroom TV's camera and microphone and silently cyber stalk you.Here are a few tips on how to stay safe from hackerEven if you turn off the mic or camera of the smart TV, there are security vulnerabilities that can let hackers spy on you. To make sure this doesn’t happen, follow these tips.If you already have a smart TV, just stop its supply of connectivity. It won’t be able to send your data to its manufacturers, ad companies, or hackers if you just disconnect it from the internet.Because honestly, you rarely use the voice commands.Sure, when the TV is new, everyone wants to use voice commands. But over the time, you just switch back to remotes since the TV doesn’t interpret voice commands correctly anyway.So to disconnect the TV, just visit the settings and turn off its Wi-Fi capabilities.But you do need Netflix on your TV, right? No problem at all. Just get a streaming box. Google Chromecast will play Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and several other channels. Stuck on Amazon Prime? Get Amazon Fire TV Stick.Turn off the smart settings.If you still want to use the internet on your TV, you’ll need to turn off the smart settings on your telly. And this will be different according to different brands.For Samsung, disable SyncPlus and Marketing under Terms and Policy. For Vizio, you can turn off Smart Interactivity under Menu-> System-> Reset and Admin. Find the smart settings for your device and turn them off so it doesn’t listen to your conversations.