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LG monitors silently install software through Windows Update without consent

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Re: LG monitors silently install software through Windows Update without consent

#301
post #140

windows update is a well known malware vector, how does this warrant any news? if you absolutely have to use windows, you either go through the effort of stripping the particular version you chose from all the spyware and malware it comes packaged with and gut the malware loader paths out of it, or you accept that you're running a botnet node you have little to no control over.

this is the only valid, reasonably sound and grounded comment in this entire discussion, bravo.

Re: LG monitors silently install software through Windows Update without consent

#302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMHO it's the best OS as a games developer, Visual Studio just doesn't have anything remotely close. And all console toolchains are windows only. But genuinely as a C++ dev I much much much prefer it over MacOS or even Linux for work.

Of course this is a “I need the OS for work” situation. It reminds me a lot of 20 years ago when we’d say things like “I’d love a Mac but it’s not compatible with anything I do for work,” and that sentiment didn’t last. I definitely wouldn’t predict that Linux is taking over the world or anything but it wasn’t that long ago that playing AAA games on Linux on day one of release was ludicrous. Now the most popular PC h…

Yeah for sure. And I wouldn't be surprised if at least Sony and Nintendo released their toolchains for Linux for the next generation.

IMHO the big difference is in enterprise Vs personal Windows, enterprise Windows can genuinely be a very lean, fast experience that is great for work. But my personal PC running windows is very firmly in the "I wonder what the latest update will break" teritorry.

Re: LG monitors silently install software through Windows Update without consent

#303

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…

>This situation has.. no precedent as far as I can tell.. Printer, mouse, tablet and display tablet makers use this to insert their crapware since at least Windows Vista or Windows 7, I think. The last one I remember is plugging a Razer mouse just to watch it instantly pulling 1.5GB of bloated junk with "telemetry" exfiltrating the data from my gaming PC in realtime. At least it doesn't leave my mouse in a non-workin…

My Logitech mouse does this but it prompts to install their crapware and adds that to the startup programs, it's not automatically installed.

Re: LG monitors silently install software through Windows Update without consent

#305

the paranoid part of me thinks this is a war of attrition, where if every company imaginable has to be taken to task for intrusive behavior that we'll eventually grow numb to it, or that with a large enough onslaught we'll never be able to outpace it. It's not like there is profit to be made from preventing this behavior, and incredible incentives to, at minimum, turn a blind eye.

[dead]

Re: LG monitors silently install software through Windows Update without consent

#306
post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're missing out on 37 different unrelated things being named copilot.

Copilot’s T&Cs clearly explain that it is for entertainment purposes only though.

Does that mean I can complain about anybody that creates an excel spreadsheet at work for violating the T&C?

Re: LG monitors silently install software through Windows Update without consent

#307

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…

Have you been using Gentoo or FreeBSD for a long time and then suddenly remembered Windows exists on the same day this news dropped?

Re: LG monitors silently install software through Windows Update without consent

#308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

not a usb programmer, but are you saying i can buy any old usb chip and program it with any vendors ID and spoof windows into giving me admin? if so, gj micrcosoft.

You could use any programmable microcontroller with a USB interface. Consumer products tend to have fuses set to they can't be programmed again. The latest driver registered with Microsoft for the product you're going to spoof would need to have a vulnerability to exploit. You can't supply any driver.

ok thanks, so its not as bad as i thought.

Re: LG monitors silently install software through Windows Update without consent

#309
Windows works well most of the time for most people. I have a couple of Windows PC's, both exotic and standard, and I get what I paid for out of them. Humans love to hyper fixate on the failure cases when they're bored, and this is just one of them for Windows.

Mostly anyone who has a need to work for privacy and making their own lives difficult by removing automations deserve working through the barrier of entry to do so.

Re: LG monitors silently install software through Windows Update without consent

#310

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> and it worked great since it would pull all necessary drivers after installation without you going hunting on the internet like in the Windows XP days. A driver shouldn't be a front-facing program that shows ads of any kind. It should be sandboxed and follow strict APIs to talk to the OS and that's it - any extra options should be shown inline in the main e.g. printer or mouse dialog.

How exactly do you propose to sandbox drivers running in kernel space? Do you even know how drivers work? (I'm guessing no, based on this comment)

There are people working on this problem honestly. The general solution 10 years ago was a micro kernel. Today, I’m not sure. The linux model is starting to look dated, with similar problems elsewhere. Modern hardware design looks less and less like classic textbook design, with all kinds of random chips having direct memory access to memory the cpu uses on some shared bus. Where even things like on board blue tooth chips can become attack vectors on the system.

There was a good keynote on the topic 5 years ago By Timothy Roscoe

https://www.usenix.org/conference/osdi21/presentation/fri-ke...

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