LG Monitors Are Using Windows 11 Feature to Serve Adware
The app installs through Windows Update, then opens a Microsoft Store listing that promotes a 30-day McAfee trial and starts at boot.
- LG is facing criticism after users found connecting certain monitors to Windows PCs automatically installs an application promoting paid McAfee antivirus subscriptions without an approval prompt.
- Microsoft permits manufacturers to associate Store applications with device metadata, enabling the Monitor App Installer to load automatically when compatible hardware is detected without user notification.
- Popular YouTube channel Gamers Nexus found the application displayed a McAfee promotion 31 times during 32 consecutive system boots, while VideoCardz reports the offer provides a 30-day trial converting to paid subscription.
- Android Authority described the application as effectively functioning like adware; the Microsoft Store listing indicates it can access "all system resources," and the app holds a 1.3-star rating.
- Users can remove the software through Windows Settings and disable remaining entries under Startup Apps, while Windows Pro and Enterprise users can "prevent automatic download of applications associated with device metadata" via Administrative Templates.
12 Articles
12 Articles
LG monitors are using Windows 11 feature to serve adware
LG has come under fire over its Monitor App Installer, which is automatically and silently installed when plugging in some of the company's monitors. In this case, the monitor in question is a new LG UltraGear. Upon first connection to a Windows 11 device, the OS can check the associated device metadata and automatically install the manufacturer's UWP device app. For that to happen, Microsoft says the user must have opted into Recommended Settin…
LG monitors install spyware; LG TVs make wiretapping your problem
"Surveillance Monitor" gets a new meaning. LG's screens have apparently entered their "consent is someone else's problem" phase: some monitors can trigger silent Windows software installs, while some LG TV terms reportedly tell you to warn guests they may be recorded by AI voice features to comply with local wiretapping laws. — Read the rest The post LG monitors install spyware; LG TVs make wiretapping your problem appeared first on Boing Boing.
Read the original note in the following link: LG Monitors silently installed McAfee promotional software via Windows Update without user consent A privacy incident has affected LG monitor users, who discovered that their devices automatically installed promotional software on their Windows systems without requesting explicit consent, triggering unwanted pop-up advertising of the McAfee antivirus. The discovery of the problem The case came to lig…
Certain LG monitors can automatically install a vendor app on Windows 11. A changelog now confirms that it also plays ads for McAfee.
The connection of some LG monitors, including the UltraGear range, to a Windows PC triggers the automatic and silent installation of an application. It displays advertisements for McAfee and collects personal data, using a Microsoft feature. Uninstallation is complex and the software can reactivate itself.
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