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Internet slowdowns at home aren't just annoying anymore. They can be hazardous to your health or dangerous if you're in an area that freezes.
Internet service provider Armstrong Zoom has roughly a million subscribers in the Northeastern part of the U.S. and is keen to punish those it believes are using file-sharing services.
The ISP's response to allegedly naughty customers is bandwidth throttling -- which is when an ISP intentionally slows down your internet service based on what you're doing online. In this case, when said ISP believes you're doing something illegal.
As part of its throttling routine, Armstrong Zoom's warning letter openly threatens its suspected file-sharing customers about its ability to use or control their webcams and connected thermostats.
The East Coast company stated: "Please be advised that this may affect other services which you may have connected to your internet service, such as the ability to control your thermostat remotely or video monitoring services."
Source: https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/05/pirates-risk-being-left-in-the-cold/
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Apparition on Monday January 08 2018, @10:00PM (3 children)
It's too late. More and more appliances and devices are becoming "smart" with no "dumb" equivalents for sale. Try to find a new "dumb" television for sale in 2018. I tried about a year ago, and couldn't do it. It's only a matter of time before refrigerators, dishwashers, thermostats, etc. follow suit.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 09 2018, @12:08AM
They are actually still 'smart tvs' under the hood, but AFAIK have no wifi or other provisions for network access. They DO however apparently run linux under the hood based on research into them.
They are both budget brands, may have dead/stuck pixels, but with 2160p at 250-500 dollars for 42->60+ inch screens, they seem like a decent deal, especially if you're trying to get something newer/higher res and don't want it phoning home, or worse yet spying on you with a webcam or microphone built in.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by crafoo on Tuesday January 09 2018, @02:01AM (1 child)
I got a Samsung TV about 3 years ago. It was the last dumb model on the shelf. I actually bought it from a Best Buy! The salesman there was shocked that I didn't want the smart TV version. Why would I want to pay more for a laggy java shit interface and spyware? puzzling.
It hasn't gotten really bad yet though. It will be bad when some sort of network validation is required to enable core features of the device. It's coming, no doubt about it. They will get there through all the standard underhanded bullshit. Unadvertised restrictions hidden in the details. Shipping broken firmware and then "highly recommending" a patch to make the device usable. All the bullshit they are pulling in video games now.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 09 2018, @05:22PM
Does it have a true off switch? That is, not just a standby, but a real off which actually physically cuts the power?