this post was submitted on 07 Oct 2023
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[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Leaving out the TV makes it less precise and more clickbaity because then it sounds like Android phones are affected.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I guess the problem is that "Android TV" is a specific thing that none of these devices actually are, they're just dodgy boxes running Android that can be plugged into a TV.

For me it's more clickbaity because Android TV isn't actually involved here at all.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'd say it would be more clickbaity if you just removed the "TV", because it'd make you think of smartphones, and those would be much more concerning

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Yeah I'm not sure what the correct headline is, but at least for me I definitely clicked because I thought it was to do with Android TV, which it wasn't. It was about those cheap boxes that anyone reading Ars already knows are probably filled with malware

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Aren't the boxes running "Android TV", the set top box oriented flavor of Android, with e.g. the launcher designed to be operated with a TV remote and not a touch screen?

They are not themselves TVs, though, and I guess nowdays it might be most common for "Android TV" to run on the TV instead of on a separate device.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's the problem, they're not running Android TV at all. Just regular phone Android with some third party launcher.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Are you sure? One can definitely build images of the actual "Android TV" for various SBCs and the sorts of SOCs in these TV boxes, and then load them up with malware. Why wouldn't they use that?

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Honestly, I'm not entirely sure why, but for whatever reason these boxes are always running a pretty old version of regular Android. (Edit: in fact googling a couple of the devices in the article seems to confirm that)

Maybe there are more protections preventing this kind of malware on newer versions? Maybe someone just made the images a long time ago and people are just reusing them

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Those boxes are in a skin for normal Android to make it work with the TV. The only device you likely come in contact with with Android TV is the new Chromecast or a Sony TV. Other than the Nvidia shield and the Chromecast most actual Android TV devices still come with malware from the manufacturer. Even the Sony TVs, but basically every Smart TV comes with malware to spy on what you're doing too.

I think the new dish network's at top box also runs Android TV, maybe you found one of those wild.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Why not just find a different website reporting the story with a better headline? Rather than sharing the one with the headline you fear is misleading?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

It's only slightly misleading and Arstechnica writes really good articles. It's pretty much the only news site I regularly browse.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

Is there a better article to find?