Many of us have Smart TVs. Just like a smartphone, they can be used to download apps. You’ve probably accumulated more apps on your Smart TV than you realize. In addition to taking storage space, they could be harming you in other ways, including:
- Reporting your viewing habits
- Delivering more advertisements
- Costing you money if they include a subscription
- Siphoning your Internet bandwidth for background tasks
That last one grabbed the attention of security researchers who found several “free” game apps, screensavers, and other downloads actually turn your Smart TV into a residential proxy, meaning someone could be paying the app maker to use your home bandwidth, sometimes for nefarious purposes. (Our SNAP-Defense numbers show 52% of cyber attacks originate from anomalous VPNs, which include residential proxies.)
LG has responded by working with app developers to remove the residential proxy option from apps on their store. We recommend you delete any apps from your Smart TV (or smartphone) that originate from a brand you don’t trust. Remember, there’s no such thing as a free lunch.
Have a question about this, or a tech tip you’d like us to cover? Contact Pegasus and let us know.
