LG monitors silently install software through Windows Update

What was reproduced

Connecting some LG monitors to a Windows PC can automatically install software that promotes McAfee subscriptions, according to a report by VideoCardz based on testing by Gamers Nexus. The behaviour was reproduced with an LG UltraGear 34GX900A-B after monitor owners reported it, and no user approval was involved at any point.

Windows Update first installed LG extension and software component packages. Windows Reliability Monitor then showed “LG Monitor App Installer” appearing about a minute later. The installation displayed no consent prompt and did not require the user to approve the download — the software arrived as a device-associated update, not as something the owner chose.

Gamers Nexus tested the application across 32 consecutive system boots. It displayed a McAfee promotion during 31 of them; on the remaining boot it promoted one of LG's own monitor utilities instead. The McAfee popup offered a 30-day trial that would convert into a paid subscription.

Older monitors and broader concerns

The behaviour does not appear limited to newly purchased displays. Gamers Nexus also received the popup on an LG UltraFine 32UN880-B bought three years earlier. Complaints about LG Monitor App Installer date back to at least 2024, and the recent rise in reports suggests that more models may now be receiving it.

The Microsoft Store lists access to the internet and to all system resources among the application's capabilities. Gamers Nexus also raised concerns about the broader categories covered by LG's privacy documents, which go beyond what a monitor utility would appear to need.

Not only LG, and how to block it

Automatic installation through Windows Update is not unique to LG. Dell also uses the mechanism to deliver Alienware Command Center when Windows detects a compatible Alienware monitor or peripheral. VideoCardz notes that its own new Alienware monitor repeatedly triggered an application installation after being connected through DisplayPort, and that the same Group Policy setting was needed to stop it.

Users can enable “Prevent automatic download of applications associated with device metadata” under Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, System, Device Installation. This blocks Windows from automatically downloading applications linked to connected hardware, but it may also prevent useful monitor or peripheral software from installing, in which case the software has to be downloaded manually.