Update: We reached out to LG for a statement, and it has denied claims of automatic McAfee installations, saying, “LG Electronics reiterates that McAfee is not installed automatically and is never installed without the user’s express consent. The LG Monitor App Installer is distributed through Microsoft’s official Windows distribution process, which included McAfee as an option.
“McAfee will only be installed if a user actively chooses to proceed with the installation and provides consent. Under no circumstances will McAfee be installed automatically or without user permission. LG Monitor App Installer does not access, collect or transmit any customer personal data.“
The original story follows below…
- LG monitors are reportedly installing bloatware on Windows 11 PCs
- LG Monitor App Installer carries a McAfee pop-up and is automatically installed when an LG monitor is connected to a PC
- There is a workaround for this, but it’s a rather cumbersome affair
It’s no secret that Windows 11 users have expressed frustrations regarding operating system bloat for years, and unfortunately, LG’s displays are reportedly making the situation worse.
As reported by Windows Latest, LG monitors install McAfee bloatware on Windows 11 PCs without consent, and there’s evidence of this in the changelog for LG’s monitor app in the Microsoft Store.
Even if you don’t install the app yourself, Windows Update will do it and then treat you to a McAfee pop-up. All you have to do is connect the LG monitor to your PC and the automatic installation of McAfee is also shown by checking the Windows Reliability Monitor, which documents a ‘successful Windows update’ for the LG Monitor App Installer package.
We’ve reached out to LG for comment, but have yet to receive a response. In the meantime, however, there appears to be a fix that requires users to do the following: press the Windows key and R and type ‘gpedit.msc’ and then press Enter.
From that point on, you have to navigate your way to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Device Installation > “Prevents automatic download of applications associated with device metadata”, then select the ‘Enabled’ box and apply.
In theory, this should prevent unwanted applications from being installed, especially with devices like LG monitors that do so via the device’s metadata.
And if you have already installed the LG display folder manually, you should remove it, because as mentioned, the description in the Microsoft Store suggests that McAfee is a basic part of the display application.
Bloatware can be problematic for Windows 11 users because it eats up system resources, and LG adds to this system drain, not to mention the annoyance of constantly seeing that pop-up.
Along with LG, Microsoft has yet to issue a statement on the matter. I expect Windows 11 users will want an answer of some sort, especially given the rather cumbersome steps involved in preventing these automatic installations – and frankly, this shouldn’t require any extra effort from anyone.
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