Tag: Black Friday
If You Bought a Smart TV on Black Friday, the FBI has a Warning for You
Your brand-new smart TV might have all the latest technology, but it’s still vulnerable to hackers.
It’s hard to imagine that simply doing something that hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people did over this weekend would be worthy of a warning from the FBI, but if you bought a smart TV you might want to read on. The FBI says your new TV might be the thing hackers use to break into your home. Yes, that FBI.
As if there weren’t already enough online threats to worry about, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is trying to ruin your excitement over the amazing deal you got on that brand new 65″ 4K television destined for the wall in your living room. Talk about a buzzkill. Can it really be that bad?
Yes it can. As the FBI warns:
“Beyond the risk that your TV manufacturer and app developers may be listening and watching you, that television can also be a gateway for hackers to come into your home. A bad cyber actor may not be able to access your locked-down computer directly, but it is possible that your unsecured TV can give him or her an easy way in the backdoor through your router.”
Most of us, if we’re paying attention, at least try to practice good cyber-hygiene when it comes to our laptops or smartphones. We turn on features like FaceID or TouchID. We activate two-factor authentication for important online accounts. We don’t share passwords.
Wait, you share your passwords? Be careful, Netflix isn’t cool with that anymore.
But I digress.
None of those best practices exist on a smart TV. Even though they are connected to the internet, and many are equipped with cameras and microphones, they’re remarkably un-secure. That means many of us just added a camera and microphone to our living rooms–or even worse, bedrooms–many of which can be hacked with very little effort.
Look, the reality is that your Smart TV is probably not the most likely target of a hacker. In fact, even the FBI admits that attacks like this are rare. Then again, it’s reasonable to wonder whether most of us would even know if our TV microphone was hacked.
There’s a general rule that applies here. Actually, I have no idea if it’s really a rule, but it’s certainly something worth thinking about: The more technology improves your life, and the more you come to depend on it, the greater the potential it has to cause you harm.
The FBI suggests regularly updating the security software on your TV, but if you’re worried, there’s always MacGyver’s favorite solution–black tape over the camera (which is actually the FBI’s recommendation).
I have a better idea–save yourself the money and just buy one without a microphone and camera. Who really needs those in a TV anyway? Considering every laptop, smartphone, and smart home device already has one or both, do you really need another in your TV? Or, even better, just skip the Smart TV and buy one without an internet connection. That might be the smartest solution of all.
Article via Inc
Woman thought she was buying an iPhone 6, got a box of potatoes instead
A woman claims to have been ‘tricked’ after buying an iPhone 6 in a Black Friday deal and somehow getting a box of potatoes instead.
In a viral video originally posted on LiveLeak, the unknown woman says she saw a black truck with balloons and Black Friday posters driving around her neighborhood in Milwaukee.
She says the vehicle was filled with gadgets, clothes and accessories, and she thought she’d struck a bargain when the driver agreed to sell her the phone for just $100 – around £80. But when she got home, she says she was horrified to find she’d been swindled and the box was actually filled with 11 chopped pieces of potato.“They have everything you could name: clothes, shoes, watches, purse, bundles of hair, DVDs, CDs – everything – phones, laptops,” she says on the video, which has been viewed more than 60,000 times.
“So I ask the guy about the iPhone 6 and he’s like, ‘Ah yeah, today, I will give it to you for $100.’
“He hands me an iPhone 6, I’m playing with it, turning it around, checking it.
“I ask him to call the phone and he showed me the number and I’m like, ‘Cool, it’s legit. It’s ringing. It’s working. I want it.’
“Right? Wrong. He turns around and puts the phone in the box with a piece of paper, he hands it to me, I hand him the money, I get in my car and drive home.
“I sit at my kitchen table about to play with the phone… The box is heavy, and I get home, and this n****r sold me a box of potatoes!”
And to add apparent insult to apparent injury, the scammer packed an Android charger in the box with the potatoes.
“What the heck am I supposed to do with this?” the woman yelled on the video.
“I am so hurt right now imma have to go to jail, imma go outside and imma find these old n*****s. What am I supposed to do with – oh you almost made me cuss.”
It is unknown what device the woman used to film the evidence of her apparent scam before it was uploaded to LiveLeak.
UK consumer watchdog Which? said to get the best deals on Black Friday, shoppers had to prepare thoroughly, research products beforehand and be wary of unusual brands.