Tag Archive for: TCL

TCL Rolls Out January 2022 Security Update To Its Google TV Devices

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TCL has released a new software update to its Google TV-powered televisions. The company hasn’t published a detailed release note online, so it could be a minor update. A one-line release note on the TV itself mentions “optimize product experience and performance improvements,” which is a generic pointer for almost every software update. But considering the recent issues TCL’s 5-Series and 6-Series TVs have had, these optimizations and performance improvements could go a long way in improving the user experience.

According to 9to5Google, who first reported this rollout, the new software package doesn’t bring any “immediately noticeable” difference to the user experience. However, they have spotted that their TCL TV has been updated to the January 2022 Android security patch. It is the latest available SMR (security maintenance release) available currently. So the TCL TVs are now some of the most up-to-date Google TV devices in the market.

Of course, television sets don’t require as frequent security updates as your smartphone. Google itself doesn’t seem to care too much about security updates for its Chromecast with Google TV, releasing a new patch every six months or so. But it’s still nice to see TCL setting a bold precedent. Perhaps these small things are what set its devices apart from the competition, helping it sell more than ten million Google TV and Android TV devices in a year.

TCL had released a major software update to its Google TV devices last month

As mentioned before, TCL’s 5-Series and 6-Series TVs had a wide variety of issues early on. Users reported a buggy and sluggish experience, with a general lag in response. There were also other issues such as apps crashing and devices freezing, forcing users to unplug the TV. The problems were so grave that TCL temporarily stopped selling the TVs. Third-party retailers such as Best Buy also removed the listings for the TCL 5-Series and 6-Series TVs.

The company last month released a software update to fix those issues. It soon resumed the sales as well. Now, it is rolling out another update to further polish the software.

If you own any of TCL’s Google TV models, you should receive the latest update…

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Major security flaw found in TCL Android T.V.’s, tech researchers say

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“TCL was recently notified by an independent security researcher of two vulnerabilities in Android T.V. models. Once TCL received notification, the company quickly took steps to investigate, thoroughly test, develop patches, and implement a plan to send updates to resolve the matter. Updating devices and applications to enhance security is a regular occurrence in the technology industry, and these updates should be distributed to all affected Android T.V. models in the coming days.

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Millions of TCL Android smart TVs have a critical security flaw

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Smart TVs are computers just like your phone and laptop, and they’re vulnerable to the same kind of threats. If security holes exist in a smart TV model, it’s only a matter of time before hackers find a way to break in and control it.

Last year, the FBI warned that hackers could use unsecured smart TVs as a backdoor into your network. Tap or click here to see how to keep your TV safe.

In 2020, the risks are even more obvious. One of the most popular smart TV brands has a critical flaw in its operating system that gives a hacker full access to the system’s back end. All they need to know is the TV’s IP address.

White-hat hacker finds a critical flaw in TCL smart TVs

Millions of TCL Android smart TVs are at risk for hacking thanks to a flaw found by a security researcher from Sick.Codes.

The flaw involves open networking ports in the smart TV’s back-end, which hackers can scan to gain access without you knowing. If a hacker scans the ports, they can learn the TV’s IP addresses and see its hidden files with an ordinary web browser.

Tap or click here to see how to test your firewall and protect your home network.

After testing different IP addresses, the researcher came upon http://10.0.0.117:7989/sdcard. This page let him see critical system files stored on the TV’s memory card, and none of them had any form of protection.

With enough time, a hacker could rewrite code on the smart TV, inject malicious files or disable it altogether. The researcher forwarded his findings to TCL, and it took 13 days for the company to get back to him.

TCL responded and claimed to have fixed the issue, but the researcher decided to dig even further. He found that while TCL did alter some of the TV’s most critical files, all of them could still be edited by any user with access to the file system.

TCL is the world’s third-largest TV manufacturer. Millions of the company’s smart TVs could be at risk for hacking or intrusion with no way to protect against it. There is no word whether or not a new security update will be released for the bug.

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