WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2026|No. 8326
News · Technology · LG

LG monitors show McAfee pop-up ads after automatic app installation

LG's Monitor App Installer automatically installs via Windows Update and displays unwanted McAfee ads on users' screens.

A screenshot showing a McAfee pop-up ad on an LG monitor desktop, as reported by Gamers Nexus.
A screenshot showing a McAfee pop-up ad on an LG monitor desktop, as reported by Gamers Nexus.
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LG’s monitors come with an unwanted addition for Windows: McAfee pop-up ads

The LG Monitor App Installer installs itself by default, and has started pushing unwanted ad notifications to users’ screens.

by Stevie Bonifield Jul 20, 2026, 12:14 PM EDT

A video from Gamers Nexus explains how, after connecting a new LG UltraGear monitor to a PC running Windows 11 for the first time, Windows Update is silently installing LG driver updates and the LG Monitor App Installer, without so much as a permission pop-up or notification. The app doesn’t appear to include special controls of its own, instead simply pointing users to LG’s other apps, as well as McAfee antivirus.

DO NOT BUY: LG’s Spyware TVs, Monitors, and Wiretapping Concerns - YouTube Gamers Nexus 2.63M subscribers

There are reports about LG’s app auto-installing as far back as 2024, but Gamers Nexus’s test follows recent user complaints on Reddit about large pop-up ads for McAfee and LG’s own apps suddenly appearing in the bottom right corner of the home screen, which popped up for GN on 31 out of 32 bootups.

McAfee is shown alongside LG’s own apps on the Windows Store listing for LG Monitor App Installer.

Microsoft allows developers to pair a Hardware Support App in the Windows Store that automatically installs based on the device’s metadata, but even its description here includes a warning:

The automatic installation feature does not provide a notification to the user when the app is installed. Some users may find this experience confusing and frustrating, and give your app a bad rating.

As The Verge’s Tom Warren has pointed out in the past, Dell similarly auto-installs its Alienware Command Center app on Windows when you connect an Alienware monitor, but the notification spam is an extra twist.

Users have reported ways to block

PAN's pipeline reviewed approximately 1 open sources for this article. No human editor reviewed this article before publication.

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