Update: We reached out to LG for a statement, and it has denied claims of automated McAfee installations, stating: “LG Electronics reiterates that McAfee is not installed automatically and is never installed without explicit user consent. The LG Monitor app installer is distributed through Microsoft’s official Windows distribution process, which included McAfee as an option.
“McAfee will be installed only if a user actively chooses to proceed with the installation and gives consent. Under no circumstances is McAfee installed automatically or without the user’s authorization. The LG Monitor app installer does not access, collect or transmit any customer personal data..“
The original story continues below…
- LG monitors are reportedly installing bloatware on Windows 11 PCs
- The LG Monitor app installer includes a McAfee pop-up window and is automatically installed when you connect an LG monitor to a PC.
- There is a solution for this, but it is a rather complicated matter.
It’s no secret that Windows 11 users have expressed frustration over OS bloat for years, and unfortunately, LG’s monitors are reportedly making the situation worse.
As reported by Windows Latest, LG monitors are installing McAfee bloatware on Windows 11 PCs without consent, and there is evidence of this in the change log of the LG monitor app in the Microsoft Store.
Even if you don’t install the app yourself, Windows Update will do it and then show you a McAfee pop-up window. All you have to do is connect the LG monitor to your PC and the automatic installation of McAfee is also displayed by checking the Windows Reliability Monitor, which documents a “successful Windows update” for the LG Monitor app installation package.
We reached out to LG for comment but have not yet heard back. In the meantime, there appears to be a fix that requires users to do the following: press the Windows key and R, type ‘gpedit.msc’, then press Enter.
From that point, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Device Installation > “Prevent automatic downloading of applications associated with device metadata”, then select the ‘Enabled’ box and apply.
In theory, this should prevent unwanted apps from being installed, specifically on devices like LG monitors that do so via device metadata.
And if you already installed the LG monitor app manually, you should delete it because, as noted, the description in the Microsoft Store suggests that McAfee is a critical part of the monitor app.
Bloatware can be problematic for Windows 11 users because it hogs system resources, and LG is contributing to that system drain, not to mention the annoyance of continually seeing that pop-up.
Like LG, Microsoft has not yet commented on the matter. I hope Windows 11 users want an answer of some sort, especially given the fairly complicated steps required to bypass these automatic installations, and frankly, this shouldn’t require any extra effort on anyone’s part.
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