LG and Alienware monitors caught auto-installing Windows adware

[Daniel Sims]

A hot potato: Adware is usually associated with pre-built PCs and dubious free downloads, but some users recently discovered that even legitimate monitors can quietly install apps that display pop-ups without permission. Fixing the issue seems to require changing local group policy settings or, in extreme cases, disabling the Microsoft Store altogether.

Redditor "Mags_Smash" recently complained about seeing McAfee pop-up ads on his PC despite never having installed the antivirus suite. He eventually traced the ads back to another app that his new LG monitor had installed without his knowledge.

After connecting one LG UltraGear 27GP83B monitor and two 27GN800s, Mags_Smash found that at least one of the panels had installed an "LG Monitor App Installer" via the Microsoft Store and Windows Update. The application shows up under the name "9PM9N6F47JB8-LGElectronics.LGMonitorApp" in Reliability Monitor, and Event Viewer logged its successful installation.

Windows update silently installed LG bloatware, which causes a McAfee pop up
by u/Mags_Smash in pcmasterrace

Several others reported the same problem after coming across the discussion, and some found their own systems were affected once they went looking. Others confirmed similar behavior with Dell and Alienware monitors, comparing it to how Asus motherboards automatically install the company's Armory Crate software.

Unfortunately, the LG Monitor App can't be uninstalled through the Microsoft Store. So far, the only confirmed way to disable it without touching advanced system settings is to stop it from launching at boot, by unchecking it under Settings > Apps > Startup.

Also read: Antivirus bloatware may be killing your (not so old) Windows PC

Mags_Smash also found two more permanent solutions.

The first involves changing a local group policy setting: navigate to gpedit.msc > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Device Installation, and enable the setting that prevents automatic download of applications associated with metadata.

The second, more drastic option is to disable the Microsoft Store entirely, via gpedit.msc > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Store, by choosing the setting to disable the Store application.

McAfee pop-ups might feel like a throwback to early-2000s nagware, but adware and other forms of unwanted advertising have become a fixture of smartphones, AI, and smart TVs alike. Amazon Prime and YouTube TV have both started showing unskippable ads to more users, and Hisense recently drew criticism for serving ads when users simply changed inputs. Meanwhile, ChatGPT began showing ads earlier this year to boost revenue, Motorola was caught hijacking Amazon links, and EA is planning to work more ads into its games than ever.

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LG and Alienware monitors caught auto-installing Windows adware

 

[yRaz]

Monitors are soon going to go the way of smart TVs

 

[daffy duck]

Lucky Goldstar have always been a scumbag company, so no surprise at all. Wouldn't touch their stuff with a 100m pole.

 

[Jack77]

Monitors are soon going to go the way of smart TVs

Well, I keep my TV's dumb by not connecting them to the internet. But my monitor also serves as a USB hub :-(

All in all a very sad evolution.

 

[NumberNine]

The profits must go up, even when they have nothing to offer in exchange.
Plan your loyalties accordingly.

 

[Thatsdisgusting]

Yup, lg app update surfaced a half a year ago in windows update, and also found unintended install OSD bloatware from LG on my PC. It didn't work, launched and behaved like a classic malware doing shady things on its own and not reacting on my requests.
But I've managed (I hope) to remove it by manually downloading and installing LG app (that actually does work) with that disgusting OSD manually then removing it alltogether with registry cleanup.

The most disgusting part is that they spread it through windows update&MS store, also my screen is pretty old and manufactured WAY before they've come up with idea installing bloatware without asking
That thing still hangs there, only gp holds it from coming back on my pc

Lucky Goldstar have always been a scumbag company, so no surprise at all. Wouldn't touch their stuff with a 100m pole.

You're literally touching your OLED smartphone screen thousand of times per day everyday...

 

[The Talking Tech]

TVs became more disposable the moment they became "smart" with forced ads everywhere, updates that would permanently corrupt its software, features no longer working, or taken out completely, eventually slowing it down instead of making them better.

That's the way monitors are going if you support them with your wallet.

 

[MasterAce]

Windows gives these corpos free reign while it works hard to protect them from you, the user…

 

[mbrowne5061]

Yup, lg app update surfaced a half a year ago in windows update, and also found unintended install OSD bloatware from LG on my PC. It didn't work, launched and behaved like a classic malware doing shady things on its own and not reacting on my requests.
But I've managed (I hope) to remove it by manually downloading and installing LG app (that actually does work) with that disgusting OSD manually then removing it alltogether with registry cleanup.

The most disgusting part is that they spread it through windows update&MS store, also my screen is pretty old and manufactured WAY before they've come up with idea installing bloatware without asking
That thing still hangs there, only gp holds it from coming back on my pc



You're literally touching your OLED smartphone screen thousand of times per day everyday...

LG panels are also in a very large percentage of non-LG monitors. The monitor foundry market is almost smaller than the silicon wafer market; only a few major suppliers, no small suppliers.

If this trend catches on, the only way to 100% avoid it will be running Linux. Or some kind of Windows utility that gives Windows the same "only what the user approves can be installed, even drivers and system firmware update" capabilities as Linux.

 

[maxxcool7421]

Dont use your monitor as a hub....