Smart TV hackers can take over your telly and make you PAY to watch your favourite shows
Cyber crooks have unleashed a new assault on your living room and they are going to make you pay
HACKERS can stop you watching your favourite telly programmes.
Smart TVs are the latest prey for cyber crooks who can freeze your screens and force you to cough up to get you back online.
Brits could be faced with a screen of doom as they watch EastEnders thanks to a nasty software bug that lets thieves take control of your telly.
Victims will be met with words telling them they have been blocked from using their TV and will have to cough up to get it working again.
In some cases thieves pretend to be an FBI director who has locked up the TV due to you “attendance of the forbidden pornographic sites” and requesting a $500 fine.
How to fix your smart TV if it's been hacked
If a hacker strikes, follow these tips to get back to viewing your fave shows
First port of call is to contact your manufacturer for advice.
They should advise you to reset your TV to its factory settings, which should wipe out the malicious software.
Search for your Settings function.
Select factory reset.
Then select clear all user data.
It should wipe your TV of any preferences you have saved, unfortunately, but it should get you back to watching telly in no time.
But the FBI has not been in contact and the attack is just another growing form of theft spreading across the globe.
Smart TVs, which were a hit in the January sales and are set to get even more in demand following a slew of new releases of HD devices during CES this week, are all under threat.
Ransomware hackers work by infecting and taking over a system - often destroying data.
They contact the device owner and offer a chance to pay up to restore what they've nabbed.
Dr Ben Silverstone, course leader for postgraduate computing at Arden University said: "This is a significant concern as unlike other devices over which we have greater control, such as home PCs and tablets, there is no way to address threats using virus and malware protection.
"A number of smart TVs use manufacturers’ own software, which are only designed to give access to the internet and run applications; it provides no protection for users."
Hospitals and public transport systems have also been targeted, with hackers claiming to shut down entire systems if officials refuse to pay a ransom.
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But if you do find yourself in front of a blank screen, your best bet is to call the device manufacturer who may be able to organise a factory reset.
Paying up rarely works and will leave you out of pocket and without access to your telly.
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