Samsung is one of the world’s leading technology companies, and its products are known for their sleek design and cutting-edge features. But Samsung’s latest move may have put it at odds with another leading technology company: McAfee. Samsung has announced that it will be installing McAfee software on all of its smart TVs, starting with the 2017 models. The move is likely in response to recent reports that Samsung’s TVs are vulnerable to cyberattacks. McAfee is a well-known security software company, and many people are likely familiar with its products. However, this is the first time that Samsung has partnered with McAfee in this way. It’s unclear why Samsung decided to partner with McAfee instead of another security software company. Some people are concerned about the implications of Samsung’s decision to install McAfee on its smart TVs. They worry that the software will add unnecessary complexity and cost to TV ownership, and that it will make it more difficult for people to protect their devices from cyberattacks. Others argue that the benefits of using McAfee outweigh any potential drawbacks. ..
Samsung has a long-running relationship with McAfee. And while it’s bad enough that it bundles this nigh-useless junk on its computers, it’s “extending” this partnership to the S10 and all 2019 Smart TVs.
Of course, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen Samsung throw McAfee on Galaxy smartphones, as it shipped the S8 with the antivirus app installed too. Then Samsung later brought it to previous Galaxy devices with an update, which is honestly just disgusting.
Make no mistake here: McAfee is paying Samsung a pile of cash to do this, which is a pretty common practice for all PC makers. It lets McAfee extend its presence, especially for less-savvy users who honestly don’t know that antivirus apps on Android are nearly useless. Just like with bundled antivirus software on computers, you simply don’t need it. (For Windows machines, Microsoft’s Windows Defender does a great job, and it’s integrated).
But here’s where things are really starting to get out of hand: as of 2019, Samsung will include McAfee on its smart TVs. Straight from the PR:
Samsung is “the first company to pre-install security on these devices” for good reason: you don’t need it. First off, Samsung’s Smart TVs run its own Tizen OS (which is based on Linux) for which malware is virtually non-existent. So, right out of the gate, it’s inherently a non-issue.
Secondly, the same rule applies to smart TVs that apply to Android, which is basically to be smart about what you install. If you don’t know what it is, then don’t install it. If it’s not from the TV’s official store, don’t install it. Don’t sideload random stuff. Just, you know, use common sense.
While there are documented cases of Android-based smart TVs getting infected with ransomware, installing apps from unofficial stores or websites is nearly always the culprit. So if you don’t do that, then you should be fine. And again, Samsung TVs don’t run Android—they run Tizen.
Don’t get it twisted here, we’re not suggesting that smart TVs are even remotely “secure”—these always-connected devices are undoubtedly going to become bigger targets for attackers as time goes on and manufacturers haven’t historically done the most to keep them safe. Certain models are still vulnerable to man in the middle attacks (which would require an attacker to be on the same Wi-Fi network), but that’s not something an antivirus is going to prevent in the first place.
But seriously, an antivirus on a TV? Give me a break. 🙄
Businesswire
