Microsoft pressures LG into killing unwanted McAfee ads
Microsoft has intervened to stop LG from automatically installing McAfee antivirus pop-up ads on Windows 11 PCs via monitor driver updates. LG has agreed to disable the pop-ups, though the company maintains that installations were always user-consented.
Why it matters
This highlights the ongoing issue of 'bloatware' and aggressive advertising practices in consumer hardware and software ecosystems.
Microsoft has intervened to stop Windows 11 users with LG monitors from being bombarded with annoying McAfee trial pop-ups. In response to complaints about the LG bloatware, Microsoft’s Windows chief, Pavan Davuluri, said that LG has agreed to immediately disable the McAfee pop-up from its LG Monitor App Installer, and pledged that Microsoft will “keep improving here with our ecosystem partners.”
This crackdown follows backlash about large pop-up ads for McAfee antivirus and LG’s own apps appearing on Windows 11 PCs after being connected to LG monitors. Upon connection, a Windows driver update was silently installing LG driver updates and the LG Monitor App Installer without explicit permission from the user — with reports about the auto-installing issue dating back to 2024.
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