Isn’t LG digging their own graves by pissing off their customers so much? No one is going to buy their shit anymore.
But everyone’s doing it
Most ppl doesn’t want this but won’t make research before a buy. So executive at LG dont have clear data that show it and so it continue. And competitor see this and think why aren’t we doing the same. We litteraly live in a world where we have ads in subscription for streaming service. The normal ppl have a really high tolerance to bs
From the comments on the article:
- Open Settings → System → About → Advanced system settings → Hardware tab → Device Installation Settings.
- Select No to Automatically download manufacturer apps and icons.
Nice and buried so the usual end users never find that setting.
Not from the article, but I have a very simple process that can help people.
Does the monitor you are interested in buying have a built in operating system?
- If yes, don’t buy it.
- If no, buy it.
What built in OS are you talking about? This is affecting normal LG monitors via Windows update.
Go to LGs website and look at the monitors they are selling. Half of them come with a built in OS. It’s like 3 clicks to see it.
Don’t buy a monitor with an OS. Problem solved. And no, this isn’t happening with normal monitors just those with an OS.
And no, this isn’t happening with normal monitors just those with an OS.
Source? None of the articles I’ve seen have made that connection. And nothing about the method LG is using requires an OS on the monitor.
Edit: In fact, AFAICT, the model which they explicitly investigated and reproduced this issue on does not have an OS. So unless I’m mistaken about that, you just pulled this info out of your ass.
To add to this, below are the group policy and registry locations to change this setting to do the same as the comment above in order to allow for automation. Of course with the disclaimer that you should only use these if you know what you are doing.
Group policy
Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Device Installation -> Prevent automatic download of applications associated with device metadata. Set the policy to enabled.
Registry (also works on Home edition)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Device Metadata. Create a REG_DWORD within called PreventDeviceMetadataFromNetwork and set the value to 1.
How reliable is this?
Call me cynical or whatever you like, I don’t trust anything that isn’t a physical switch.
I already had it set, and so far my LG monitor hasn’t caused an LG software to be installed. But I’m on Windows 10 and I guess there’s a chance this software is only for 11.
Microsoft tends to undo settings they don’t like during updates.
It’s so fucking annoying too
It should be a crime.
Probably reliable until the next “feature and experience update” where they move or remove the setting and default it back to allow for all users again and all the soulless advertisers cum their pants because their malware delivered impression counts just went up again
That’s insane it’s buried so deep in the settings. I get why, but that’s terrible
LG is such a sketchy company. Their TVs are spyware and their fridges break down faster than any other brans
Honestly, fridges are a total crapshoot these days. If you have a 15+ year old fridge, never replace it, get it repaired, the quality level in new fridges is terrible.
New fridges are consistently terrible because they share so many shitty parts across brands.
Improvements in efficiency were initially a good things but combining them with going cheap on manufacturing has made everything trash. They chase a .01% improvement while aiming for the thinnest possible materials and skimp on skilled welding so everything falls apart. If any company makes something solid and reliable it gets bought out and the label used for trash.
Depending on the repair, it can be cheaper to buy a new fridge. Most refrigerators aren’t designed to have their compressor easily replaced for example.
I mean, it’s possible, if you really fuck it up in some way, but not from regular use.
Replacing the compressor once is still going to be cheaper than replacing a fridge every 5 years.
In my basement I have a freezer from the 60s. It needs to be defrosted every year or two, but aside from that it’s never needed servicing, not once. I’m telling you, the older it is, the longer it will last.
Good reason not to use LG or Windows.
So LG is on the list of never buy again…good to know…
Pity, they used to make good shit…
Seriously. I have an old LG plasma TV that I was planning to replace with an LG, but definitely not now.
I bought an LG TV last year. I has never been online and never will be. It gets served through a streaming box and that’s all the info it gets.
Same. I have no complaints about mine whatsoever.
The problem was you could do the right thing of keeping it offline, but that it used Windows to install unwanted software. Of course, solution is install Linux, but for the average user who decides to hook up their laptop and is using Windows they’d end up with unpleasant software installed.
And it affected LG monitors too, which means Windows PC users were affected.
Realize that we’re talking apples and oranges here (PC monitor vs TV). I was responding to someone about their invasive TV practices.
I’m lazy and curmudgeonly on my PC, so it’s running an IoT version of Windows 10 LTSC. No such shenanigans here. For now.
To be extra safe you should do
gpedit.msc -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System -> Device Installation -> Prevent automatic download of applications associated with metadata
This is the type of stuff that leads to auto installs of applications such as logitech, razer, and in this case LG companion app.
Can’t really rely on ltsc, since it was utilizing Windows driver install process so any device that tries to do what LG did is a risk. Its why people with LG monitors found that app installed despite not having smart TV functionality.
I’m not sure there are any TV manufacturers that won’t try to fill your screen with ads and track what you’re watching, you just need to make sure your TV can’t access the internet.
That isnt enough since even dumb displays like LG monitors used Windows itself to install unwanted software on people’s PCs. Would have to actually disable that setting in Windows or use Linux.
Sceptre makes dumb panels still, limited range of options but better than being spied on if you just need a replacement screen.
I am worried that soon we will need a “decent enough to buy” list because it will be difficult to find anything that is not on the “never buy again” list.
There are only a few companies that make the actual panels (regardless of how the finished TV or monitor was branded), and two of the biggest (LG and Samsung) are the worst offenders in terms of enshittification. It would not take much at all for the availability of new non-enshittified TVs and computer monitors to drop to literally zero.
first on the list:
linux.
Your buying Linux?
But honestly, I already switched on my PC and would like to switch to any open distro on my phone as well, but I’m worried that bank applications won’t work on the “unofficial” system.
you could just go browser mode.
What about contactless payment/NFC? I don’t think a browser allows that?
Dunno. That’s your risky decision to do that. Not mine.
Well LG will probably go to my boycott list
Probably?
In the video, editor-in-chief Steve Burke said that the publication paid $1,200 for an LG UltraGear 3GX900A-B gaming monitor (the monitor’s price dropped to $600 two days later, Burke said) for testing and replicated the behavior “several times” across “multiple” Windows 11 systems.
After LG Monitor App Installer was installed, a pop-up appeared on the screen’s lower-right corner “on every single boot,” Burke said. Most of the time, the pop-up was a McAfee ad. The publication also reported seeing ads for LG Switch, LG Calibration Studio, LG Dual Controller, and LG Channels on rare occasions.
That right there is enough for me to never buy LG again. $1200 monitor that forces adware on your system without ever even asking to install it? Then there’s this…
Once the app is installed, “LG technically possesses permission to use ‘all system resources,’” as well as to “collect geolocation, device data, online activity, contacts, user credentials, transactions, and more,” Burke said.
Yeah, fuck them. Never again.
There are so many surfaces in this world that suffer from wasted potential, are not yet displaying advertisements.
The McAfee ads are just a symptom of a much bigger problem that is Windows allowing 3rd parties to install malware on “your” computer without your consent, or even your knowledge. Which makes Windows itself malware.
ThioJoe on YouTube made a new video on how to disable this.
That’s great. You shouldn’t have to disable this. You should have to enable it. But this again is completely in line with what all these tech companies do. They add these new controls but do not notify the user about them and do not ask about them. It’s the user’s responsibility to periodically comb through the 3000 system settings on a regular basis to ensure they haven’t added anything.
We need to be the one in control of our computing for it to be ‘our’ computer, instead of Microsoft. That requires being able to change what it does via the source code, and sharing those changes with others. Windows is proprietary, no source code and it’s illegal to share it - it can never be ‘your’ computer like that.
There needs to be regulation that divorces commercial interests from the software that let’s you use your devices and all telemetry being optional.
The software that facilitates the use of your device must be agnostic.
If one insists on only using open source software then bad changes can be removed by another dev.
Yes, hence the quotes, but thank you for elaborating.
always has been
[astronauts_on_the_moon.gif]
🌎 🧑🚀🔫🧑🚀
Microsoft responds to accusations that they are selling back door access to their OS, by issuing a vague and obtuse statement, that kind of maybe says that they asked the offenders to stop making the back door’s existence so glaringly obvious.
“Serial killer responds to drive by shooting.”
Nailed it
We’ve connected with the team at LG and as an immediate next step, they have agreed to disable the McAfee pop-up from their app. We appreciate LG working with us toward a shared goal of a better experience for our mutual customers. We will keep improving here with our ecosystem partners.
Corpo speech is awful, but this AI corpo speech somehow is even worse. Someone literally asked AI to come up with some transparent lies to make people believe that they care
This is such a nothing statement from Microsoft. I mean good on them for asking LG to remove the adware for Mcafee specifically but they don’t say anything about keeping this stuff from other auto-installed apps or making the apps ask for user permission (let alone not enabling this bullshit by default).
Remember when autorun.ini was considered harmful?
Cool, a new way to smuggle viruses into corporate environments. Everyone makes sure to disable USB sticks, but you can apparently do similar stuff via HDMI or DP?
Yeah they claim it’s safe because it’s through their store, but isn’t this a direct path to a supply chain attack? One app using electron has one bad npm dependency and it auto installs and updates on every machine? This seems like a security nightmare scenario.
Bu hey marketing gets to put their shit in front of everyone’s eyes so who cares.
I see this whole LG affair as a good thing. Windows users get shown how fucked up their OS and ecosystem is by this, and LG monitors will drop into the discount zone for users who have Linux and don’t have to deal with such shit.
In a sane world you would be correct. In this world you are dreaming, most of the people do not care.
most people do not care, until it personally affects them.
Then they will cry and wail about why anyone let it happen and why didnt anyone do anything to stop it.
