LG monitors silently install software through Windows Update without consent

Post by Jtarii » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 6:10 PM UTC

15155 wrote: post #155

reaperducer wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You must be getting downvoted by people who have never run an ad-supported web site. When I used to do that, North American traffic got ads 100% of the time. European traffic might get ads 5% of the time. Otherwise, there were few advertisers that cared. However, this was back before Google AdSense upended the industry, and you could still make a living showing one static ad per page.

It's afternoon in Europe, and folks generally don't like to be reminded of the fact that their market is decreasing in global relevance. In this case, ads are even a product people actively want to avoid , but it's still unsettling to be undesirable. Imagine banning smoking and then getting upset that Philip Morris doesn't want to sell to you anymore.

Post by wnevets » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 6:13 PM UTC

devttyeu wrote: post #20

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…

Post by frollogaston » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 6:17 PM UTC

garciansmith wrote: post #374

timpera wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Windows may not be the best OS for you but it definitely isn't malware.

If Windows continually supports third parties installing malware (without your consent and through Windows update, not some third party updater), at what point can the OS itself be considered malware?

Post by frollogaston » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 6:24 PM UTC

throwatdem12311 wrote: post #237

Installing drivers and software for connected hardware is just something Windows has done through Windows update for a long time. Is this a good practice? I don’t really know. We used to get drivers on CDs, but barely anyone has a drive on their computer anymore. You could download them from the vendor website but these are usually a mess and very difficult to navigate to find the right thing — impossible for your gr…

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Jul 18, 2026, 6:29 PM UTC

adamtaylor_13 wrote: post #165

bcraven wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Prevent this software having unfettered access to your machine by giving some other software unfettered access to your machine"

That's a hot-take, but yeah. Something like that. Probably more like, "Prevent adversarially installed software from having unfettered access to your machine by giving software you specifically requested unfettered access to your machine." If it makes you feel safer, you can just tell it to give you the commands run them yourself. The point is, I'm not a Windows sysadmin so idk how to do stuff like this--claude does.