Here’s How to Avoid Installing Malware on Your Smart TV.
Malware is everywhere these days. You might expect to find it when downloading strange programs from the dark corners of the internet, but these are far from the only places your devices can become infected. Despite rigorous vetting processes, official app stores like the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store can still contain apps containing malware. This is now extending to smart TV app stores, too.
Some apps were turning your Samsung TV into a network “proxy server”.
As TechCrunch reports , Samsung recently banned apps that share users’ internet connections with “outsiders.” Prior to the ban, “hundreds of millions” of users were able to download these apps to their smart TVs, putting a huge portion of Samsung’s customers at risk. However, the apps themselves weren’t necessarily questionable. At least one of these apps, the game Pac-Man , was promoted by Samsung itself: the company featured it in the “Editor’s Choice” section, which customers could see on their smart TVs.
The problem, as discovered by security company Mnemonic , originates from the data collection company Bright Data. This company’s code conceals processes that allow third parties to reroute their web traffic through your home internet connection. Once installed, the malicious applications don’t even need to be running for third parties to access your network and exploit it for any purpose. As TechCrunch notes, such “proxy networks” are increasingly being used in cybercrime because they are difficult to trace. Someone in England could reroute their traffic through your home internet connection in Arizona, making it virtually impossible to determine their actual location.
It might seem surprising that Samsung allows such apps on its official app store, but many of these apps used clever tricks to evade interception. Many were extremely simple programs, containing just a few lines of code. These apps retrieved content from a remote server, creating the illusion of a fully functional app. But from Samsung’s perspective, these apps were simple and secure. This isn’t Samsung’s problem: LG also banned apps using respoxy shortly after it was discovered that over 40% of apps on its marketplace added users’ smart TVs to proxy networks.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that legitimate apps contain Bright Data code. Play.Works, which licenses games like Pac-Man , as well as Space Invaders , Tetris , Doodle Jump , and SpongeBob , included Bright Data code in its ports. You’d probably assume that downloading the official SpongeBob app to your TV would be safe, but as it turns out, it contains this hidden reproxy code.
How to protect yourself from malicious smart TV apps
The good news is that Samsung has banned these apps from its app stores. So, you don’t have to worry about installing apps that allow third parties to access your internet connection. The same applies to LG. However, not all smart TV manufacturers have yet fixed this, meaning there’s a risk that the apps you download to your TV could be malicious.
Researchers also found that simply installing these apps won’t turn your TV into a network hacker. While the code may download to your TV, you must explicitly confirm consent on the screen before activating the code and turning your TV into a network node. Therefore, be attentive to any pop-ups in smart TV apps and refuse consent to anything you don’t understand or deem unnecessary for the app to function. Also, uninstall any suspicious apps or those you no longer use: while the code may work without the app open, it is removed when you uninstall the app.
Here are some general guidelines to consider. Before installing an app on your smart TV (or any other device), review it carefully and exercise skepticism. Review the app store description and ensure there are no spelling or grammatical errors. Look at the images and note whether they are of high or low quality and whether they match the app description. Review reviews, including negative ones and obvious fakes that inflate the overall rating. Research the app developer: does they create other apps? Do these apps appear legitimate?
But when it comes to app stores, smart TVs have a bad reputation. As a general rule, it’s best to avoid smart TV apps whenever possible. While popular streaming apps are supposed to be safe, they have too many potential vulnerabilities to say with certainty whether various games and utilities are safe.