LG monitors silently install software through Windows Update without consent

Kelteseth

Can confirm. This happened to me yesterday on my Windows 11 machine. Uninstallation was only listed in the Microsoft Store -> Library.

boomskats

Not great, but also not at all surprising. Not sure about other solutions, but one suggested workaround here would be to silently uninstall Windows without consent.

justsomehnguy

And Razer, Logitech, nvidia and everyone else who has it's driver package accepted into WU. No, you can't have a "(o) just the driver" checkbox because... honestly there are a lot of reasons and the device manufacturers are the guys who demand that in the first place.

thejokeisonme

Your OS silently installs malware. Doesn't get much worse than this.

delta_p_delta_x

Workaround: gpedit.msc Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Device Installation Prevent automatic download of applications associated with device metadata Set to enabled OK On home editions sans gpedit.msc: sysdm.cpl Hardware tab Click Device Installation Settings Under 'Do you want to automatically download manufacturers' apps for your devices?', select 'No' Save Changes

kingleopold

They used to call this spyware/malware. Now it's a regular practice by eng. teams and managers inside these big corp. Well played guys :) Congrats with new type of tricks

BoingBoomTschak

[Laughs in Linux/BSD]

anonym29

If you're using Windows on a personal device in the first place, you're pretty loudly declaring that your consent doesn't matter anyway. That's not your computer, that's Microsoft's computer. You're the threat model they lock it down against, you're the schmuck that keeps them fed, and you're the possible terrorist/hacker to be surveilled, tagged, tracked, and monitored. If you care about consent as it relates to your use of technology, you shouldn't be using Windows in the first place, and this has been obvious for well over a decade now.

discordance

McAfee should be classified as a virus

Hikikomori

Last 2 were LG, been looking at a new one but I guess I'll go with another brand that has their panels.

dhash

it's worth noting that the price of these monitors got cut in half due to this news -- great for the linux users out there

sigio

Why do people even install 'drivers' for things like monitors. (Or usb devices running 'standard' protocols). The OS handles these just fine by itself.

GaProgMan

Gamers Nexus have a video about this. Definitely worth a watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9uefFYe6bM

devttyeu

This is so much worse that the title makes it out to be: 1. Your OS installs malware (technically manufacturers software) from a 3rd party vendor in background, zero user interaction 2. Happens as soon as you or anyone with physical access plug in a device into the HDMI port 3. That malware has internet and full system access, no sandboxing 4. It starts with every system boot 5. This software gets installed when you plug in a new LG monitor 6. OR ALREADY HAD AN OLDER LG MONITOR PLUGGED IN, BECAUSE LG APPARENTLY ROLLED THIS OUT FOR MANY OLDER MODELS TOO!! 7. And yes, if you think that's horrendous, as mentioned in the video below, that also applies to 'Professional' LG monitors! This situation has.. no precedent as far as I can tell.. GamersNexus has a video diving deeper into what LG did here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9uefFYe6bM

jdw64

In Korea, pretty much all devices come with Windows. It's hard to live outside of Windows. Most programming is done in CPP,C#, and even when people use C, the majority are working on top of an IDE. The OS kernel layer only really appears in things like Samsung phones—the vast majority of work is on the application layer, and most consumers are on Windows on their desktops. It seems unavoidable

astonex

Shame on Microsoft for allowing this

throwa356262

Last time a company abused platform driver delivery to install adware, Microsoft threatened to pull their drivers altogether. But those were different times...

luciana1u

we finally cracked self-installing software, it just turns out the payload is McAfee and the installer is an HDMI cable

inigyou

They also come with terms of service which assert that you will inform everyone in the vicinity of your TV that their voices are being recorded by your TV.

tialaramex

Assuming they don't get a revenue cut, pushing back on Microsoft can in principle be effective here. Microsoft decides what happens here, and presumably today they just take it on trust that hardware makers know what software to install. New driver? Sure. McSpam installer? OK. Maybe they have a guideline saying "Don't ship unrelated garbage" but today it's not enforced because why would you do that? If the Microsoft customers (particularly larger corporate customers) tell Microsoft they hate this that policy will get tightened or if there isn't a policy one is introduced, and outfits like LG get told if you do this again we're taking away your update privileges, 'cos our customers hated this. Because (as I said assuming MS don't get a taste) this is all downside for Microsoft. Pushing back on LG will be less likely to work because you already bought their product, so at most you can insist you'll forgo LG next iteration and they know such pledges evaporate in practice usually. Whereas Microsoft has contract negotiations every day, somewhere a $$$ contract is being renegotiated next week and if "Yeah, these LG popups suck" comes up - even if it's not a corporate system but the VP's niece's video editing suite for her vlog that's strictly unrelated - that Microsoft sales droid reports this was an impediment and it's on the list of things that don't benefit Microsoft.