Secure TV & Secure Printer?

blackice

Level 38
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Apr 1, 2019
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AV-TEST have an Internet of Things security testing blog but I'm not sure how many TVs and printers they have tested. IMO, get a solid "dumb" TV and use a Fire TV (Stick), Chromecast, Apple TV, something like that. Even if you don't connect a "smart" TV to the internet it'll try everything to connect to an open network if it can.
Or get whatever tv you want and skip the internet setup. Most every tv is smart enabled and you’ll miss out in the best ones trying to avoid online ones. I do this and use a fire tv.
 

notabot

Level 15
Thread author
Verified
Oct 31, 2018
703
That’s what I currently do with the TV, not super happy with it thoough as chromecast hangs from the side, Apple TV takes up space etc. design wise having just the TV is prettier - it’s still a valid solution tho

What about printers though, AV test doesn’t cover them and I soundly hold my breath for quality firmware
 

blackice

Level 38
Verified
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Well-known
Apr 1, 2019
2,761
That’s what I currently do with the TV, not super happy with it thoough as chromecast hangs from the side, Apple TV takes up space etc. design wise having just the TV is prettier - it’s still a valid solution tho

What about printers though, AV test doesn’t cover them and I soundly hold my breath for quality firmware
Printers are tougher. The more isolated they are, the more functions you lose. You can get a router with an intrusion preventions system for IOT devices like an ASUS with Trend Micro, or even better a Gryphon, but that can be expensive. Most netsec people would recommend not allowing a printer to access the internet or the network. If you don’t need the functions I would definitely block internet access to a printer with your router firewall. Honestly I’ve not heard of a single printer company that worries about security, because it reduces the features they can advertise.
 
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Ink

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Well-known
Jan 8, 2011
22,361
You may look at disabling the TV's built-in WiFi capabilities, but you won't get any firmware updates (obviously). Not to worry, use a dongle instead.

If you use Amazon's Fire TV Stick or Google's Chromecast you can get online functionality and the occasional updates.

EDIT: I recently switched over from the TV's WiFi to Fire TV Stick (Basic Edition) which is linked to an Amazon Prime account and downloaded the YouTube app. On your phone you can enable 'Watch on TV' option and it'll work similar to Cast. In actual fact, it works smoother than the TV's own apps.

About Fire OS: Amazon Fire TV | Amazon Developer Portal
Fire OS is the operating system that runs Amazon Fire TV and tablet devices. Fire OS is a fork of Android, so if your app runs on Android, it will most likely run on Amazon Fire devices too. Fire OS 6 is based on Android 7.1 (Nougat) and API level 25, while Fire OS 5 is based on Android 5.1 (Lollipop) and API level 22.

Fire TV (UK) versions: Amazon.co.uk Help: Fire TV Device Software Updates

Some Toshiba TVs come with Fire TV integration, but these TVs are not great - as stated in source below. Newer Fire TV devices come with Voice control (Alexa), which may be a concern for some.

In 2019, there are five main smart operating systems:
  1. Android TV -- Sony
  2. webOS -- LG
  3. Tizen -- Samsung
  4. Roku TV -- TCL, Hisense
  5. SmartCast -- Vizio
In the UK, you'll find that Philips also uses Android while Panasonic uses its own proprietary system called MyHomeScreen. The vast majority of TVs use one of the operating systems listed above - but not all TVs. At lower price points, you probably won't find any of the above as most TV manufacturers offer a narrow proprietary service instead.

Source: Best Smart TV 2019: every smart TV platform and which set does it best
 

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