LG recently forced upon us an app install loaded with McAfee adware through a Windows update. We found that this has been happening to tons of users, made worse by LG's shady history with TVs that instruct buyers to inform house visitors of third-party microphones in their living room. At no point in the adware or application install did LG or Microsoft ask us for consent or permission to install the software and enable its various permissions. On monitors ranging 1 day old in our office to 3 years old, we've been able to replicate these issues -- including on the LG 34GX900A-B that we just bought (and have now returned, following spyware concerns).

Man, I miss the days when all TVs were dumb. All they needed was a coax for aerial TV, and then whatever input for anything else.
If I wanted my TV to be smart, I could do that myself by pluging a smart device into it.

I plugged a mini PC into my TV, then control it from the couch with a wireless mouse and keyboard. Now I can stream all my favorite Internet shows from a desktop browser. No smart TV required!

Yeah except you can’t buy a not-smart TV anymore

True, but I just refuse to connect my Smart TV to the Internet. It can't talk to my PC, it just operates as a dumb display for the mini PC.

roumer is that some brands try and connect to any open WiFi networks or other smart TVs to get on the internet, its disgusting and should be illegal

You can buy not-smart TV like Sceptre.

Is this an windows only issue? They only tested it on one OS. My LGs on my Bazzite system haven't done this. Anyone else on not windows amd have LG seen any random installs?

It's installed through Windows's automatic driver installation system; LG just provides this stuff as a driver package. The monitors themselves can't install anything.

Look for a commercial display. Same thing without the smart elements. They are more expensive though.

My ASUS laptop has this driver utility that gets installed along with Windows automatically that shows McAfee antivirus ads.

Almost got a heart attack first time, thought I got virus on clean install already. Turns out it’s just ASUS showing me ads on laptop I bought from them.

I just looked in my local online electronics shop, and there are lots of decent non-smart TV’s of various brands - Philips, Kivi, Thompson etc.

Using “dumb” Toshiba TV with RPi as TV box myself - it supports HDMI-CEC too, so only TV remote is enough.

Yes you can, they're called Monitors

Samsung has digital signage models that have a convenient "skip" button on the WiFi setup.

So glad I bought 4 of these TVs guys.

It is in their motherboards too. Fortunately you can turn it off in the BIOS setup, which I do and I’ve never felt inconvenienced by not having their utility installed.