Setting a BIOS password doesn’t really do much good. Someone can just unplug the CMOS battery and the password will be cleared. Even if it was stored in flash, it could be removed by erasing it with a flash programmer and flashing a new BIOS.

That would work if you can open the case without breaking it. Modern TVs are usually clipped together and the bezels are really thin. It’s very easy to crack the panel when trying to get the case apart.

In that case, it should be disposed of like an SSD that contains sensitive information. Find the flash chips and either drill holes through them or smash them into dust with a big hammer.

If you are going to have smart devices, put them on their own VLAN. They should not have access to the rest of your network. TVs shouldn’t be connected at all. Use a PC or android box if you want to stream stuff.

You still have to be careful on Linux. Some windows malware can run on Wine. Don’t open any .exe, .com, .bat, .lnk or .reg files.

Watch out for files with two extensions. Some_movie.mkv.exe is guaranteed to be malware. That’s done to trick windows users since the file extension is hidden by default for some stupid reason.

I never used netflix either. Their DRM won’t let me watch in 1080p because I’m not using a spyware infested browser and OS. Back when they had a good selection, my internet was too slow to stream HD video anyways.

I have a thermal receipt printer that I use for printing the WiFi QR codes. I wrote a simple Python script using the escpos library.

All of the AI functions can be disabled with a single checkbox.

ISO 8601 is another good one.

The ESP32 wouldn’t be able to adjust settings without a lot of hacking, but it wouldn’t be hard to add a temperature sensor so it could monitor that.

Starlink has supported IPv6 for years. You have to put their router in bypass mode and connect your own to open ports in the firewall though. They delegate a /56 prefix and it’s stable. Mine hasn’t changed in over 3 years. Since my cell carrier also provides IPv6, I can access my SFTP server remotely without dealing with any NAT.

Just connect an ESP32 to the door switch and use that to notify your HA server.

They will get a lot more valuable when the new ones are all locked down and won’t let you print any parts to fix your stuff.

Fortnite intentionally blocks Linux users. It will not run without their windows only rootkit.

There’s no reason they couldn’t have an app that talks to that serial port as well.

They should have used a virtual serial port then. That way you could just type commands using your favorite serial terminal.

Skip all of them and install Linux. The computer does not belong to microslop. Take back control of the hardware that you own.

That’s comparable to what a skilled navigator can do with a sextant and chronometer. That’s more than enough accuracy to cross the ocean and get close enough to the port that you can see it.

To reduce the heat, look for a newer, more energy efficient computer. The i5-6500 is a 10 year old, 65 watt CPU. That’s probably not the best to run in a small closet without ventilation.

It may not even be the website that leaks the data. It could be the payment processor they use that has a data breach.