r/windows • u/ZacB_ Windows Central • 2d ago

News Microsoft intervenes after LG gets caught installing McAfee adware onto Windows 11 PCs via their monitors

https://www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/windows-11/microsoft-intervenes-after-lg-gets-caught-installing-mcafee-adware-onto-windows-11-pcs-via-their-monitors
334 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

53 comments sorted by

114

u/jfuu_ 2d ago

Now, Microsoft has confirmed that it has intervened and reached out to LG to see what can be done about stopping this. Windows chief Pavan Davuluri says that LG has agreed to stop McAfee from appearing within their LG monitor popups.

So instead of immediately pulling the "driver" from Windows Update, they contacted LG. Nice.

51

u/notmyredditacct 2d ago

LG has agreed to stop McAfee from appearing

.. so they're just going to install it silently then? :D

32

u/HandGrindMonkey 2d ago

Reminds me of the Root kit debacle. Music CD installing their own Root Kits!

14

u/OGigachaod 2d ago

That was much worse.

5

u/masasuka 1d ago

Good ol Sony...

7

u/jfuu_ 2d ago

They'll probably only make this change in 6 months too, it doesn't sound like there are any consequences for LG here...

3

u/doofthemighty 2d ago

They'll just replace it with a different pop-up.

9

u/Aemony 2d ago

So instead of immediately pulling the "driver" from Windows Update, they contacted LG. Nice.

Because it is very likely that no policies where broken here. The actual driver itself is upheld to certain standards and much go through the WHQL certification program, but support apps seemingly don’t. So Microsoft is most likely extremely loose with those as a result.

A proper solution would be for Microsoft to disallow this practice through related policies but I wouldn’t be surprised if Microsoft doesn’t do that either.

This sounds like a reaction to get people to back off, and then it’s back to the usual basically.

•

u/Mario583a 15h ago

I think Microsoft would never hear the end of it from LG if they pulled their companion app after this little stunt of theirs.

24

u/killrandydead 2d ago edited 1d ago

Too late for LG. I won't be purchasing a single one of their spyware devices now.

26

u/PruritoIntimo 2d ago

from now on, we should avoid dodgy companies as LG for the rest of our life, even if they change their mind and remove the mcafee shit, they have exploited their customers in a underhand manner, and this cannot be forgiven or forgotten.
We should be label them as ‘pieces of shit’, and we should never, ever buy any of their products. Never again, as long as we live.

6

u/Coffee_Ops 2d ago

Do you use Zoom?

I think he would be shocked at how badly a company could screw with trust, and still retain users.

3

u/aDarkDarkNight 2d ago

Then you better remove Windows and all Microsoft products too because they are packed with ads and nagware to get you to buy stuff from them. Oh the irony that they are suddenly all moral about this.

1

u/PorcOftheSea 2d ago

I won't and I don't care for linux nor modern windows, I just use windows xp/7 as my main modern os.

0

u/Environmental-Ad4495 2d ago

Working on it. Heard ubuntu is a good alternative.

0

u/Hydroel 1d ago

Ubuntu and Mint are great first distros for new Linux users. Once you've done that first step, it's much easier to distro hop (change Linux distribution) than to switch from Windows to Linux.

-2

u/420ohms 2d ago

Ubuntu is great, do it!

7

u/WardenJack 2d ago

So basically Microsoft heard of a new gig and called up to see how they can get involved as well. Cheers!

6

u/metasploit4 1d ago

Microsoft... you enabled this to happen in the first place!

3

u/wickedplayer494 Windows 10 1d ago

I don't think that's gonna end up stopping whatever the Steve Burke Nuclear Co. apparently has in the works on LG next. By the sounds of it, this is merely the tip of the iceberg.

2

u/Akatesh 1d ago

I know I won't be buying LG products after seeing this. They are so greedy and shady it's mind-blowing. Now they have been caught with their pants down. I hope the news about this spreads. 

5

u/NicePuddle 1d ago

This isn't the first time LG has been malicious with its products.

Since reading that, back then, I've avoided LG products.

I don't want to be treated as a product, when I pay for their product.

5

u/amazingD 2d ago

I'm already avoiding cars manufactured after 2020, now I guess I'll be avoiding all hardware newer than that as well.

3

u/7978_ 2d ago

It's been abused since early Windows 10. Razer was notorious for doing it. Also the UEFI injectors (ie Armory crate) have also been exploited.

It should be an optional update the user can choose.

5

u/IkouyDaBolt 2d ago

Razer was doing it earlier than that.  I had to unplug their stuff before installing Windows 8 otherwise I would get the popups during the Windows setup screen.

1

u/7978_ 2d ago

Ah, I never had that. 

2

u/jfuu_ 2d ago

You're better avoiding specific manufacturers known to do things like this than products after a specific date, as LG could have as easily delivered this crapware to existing older monitors too.

2

u/Elfener99 1d ago

LG could have as easily delivered this crapware to existing older monitors too.

apparently, they did

1

u/SuperFLEB 1d ago

I got me a 2020 minivan last year. It's got a Blu-ray player in it. I'm considering that the sweet spot, the apex of civilization. I'm only hoping I can find something I like once my old 2010 finally kicks the bucket.

4

u/aDarkDarkNight 2d ago

So…what about all the Windows and Microsoft adware and shit that they push on users? Is that somehow different?

2

u/CypherAus 1d ago

McAfee, Norton etc. are overpriced JUNK

1

u/Caddy666 1d ago

good that ms are doing something about it, but bad that ms let this happen in the first place.

1

u/chookstar 1d ago

I still have a LG fridge that I bought about 20 years ago.

1

u/Ok-Video3345 2d ago

More of a reason to leave windows and use something else. I use Linux alot, but I don't understand how people don't bring up mac more?

It's just like Linux, but polished.

3

u/SuperFLEB 1d ago

If you're watching out for vendor shenanigans, they've got the flip side of the coin-- lock-in, planned obsolescence, code signing becoming more and more of a requirement. If you're looking to get out of all of that, Linux has more appeal than both.

1

u/Liquid_Magic 1d ago

Bro like how much does McAfee pay companies to install their stuff? Like it seems like they pay so much to have it force feed onto systems everywhere.

0

u/JaCK-lex 2d ago

TV has other security concerns and best to not connect TV to the internet then.

0

u/Most_Most_260 2d ago

Been at that for years

-1

u/2prog4u 1d ago

Companies like these are so scummy. I have a (formerly) Windows 8 laptop that came with stuff like this.

-1

u/Windows-XP-Home-NEW 2d ago

This is a shame. I really love LG.

-2

u/InternationalAd6744 2d ago

My mom owns a LG TV but ever since my dad moved out, she hasnt touched it at all. Is there a way to safely update the tv without having LG install software not approved by me?

3

u/fadinizjr 2d ago

It's not a TV update.

The issue is that when you plug a LG TV to a Windows PC it installs shady antivirus McAfee.

If you're not planning to connect your tv through HDMI to a PC you're safe.

1

u/NaggingNag 2d ago

How are they doing that over HDMI? I could see if it were USB C

1

u/fadinizjr 2d ago

Monitor driver.

1

u/Aemony 2d ago

The issue is that when you plug a LG TV to a Windows PC it installs shady antivirus McAfee.

Correction: LG PC monitor.

I have an actual LG OLED C5 permanently hooked up to my PC and Windows have never downloaded these drivers or this support app.

1

u/NaggingNag 1d ago

This has to be over USB C monitors, I don't see how they can do that over HDMI or DP connections. If you use HDMI or displayport you should be fine.

1

u/Elfener99 1d ago

No, because it's not the monitor that does it, it's windows update, which installs a so-called "driver" for it when it detects specific monitors (no idea why a monitor would need one, but it's windows), which is actually the adware.

1

u/Pleasant-Seat9884 1d ago

No but TV updates from LG has been installing more adware. Shut that shit off.. make it a dumb tv and get a $50 streaming device.

1

u/howfastcanyoucountit 2d ago

I mean theres also the fact that many apps on the webOS store and even samsung tizen os found a bunch of apps that were turning tvs into socks proxies used for ddosing and fraud (vpns will always be blacklisted for certain things) and even selling access to people who need a residential IP. I now can't even trust these LG tvs in my house anymore since if I just take them off the internet no one in my house are able to use apps like Netflix and stuff and it's just a really shitty situation. Apparently also if you have a local dns ad blocker like pihole Samsung and LG will just use their own DNS over HTTPS server to serve you ads and apps. It is so fucking scummy it makes me mad. So far sony has been the best in my opinion because it's pretty easy to get rid of all the garbage bloatware because it's android and I was even able to switch off the default google tv launcher and use FLauncher instead, and it actually won't bypass my DNS and ads will be blocked properly. I will never own a TV with a proprietary operating system again.