Monitors have two software surfaces: the PC and the display
LG Monitor App Installer reaches a conventional display through Windows. Smart monitors add a connected OS, accounts, and services to the screen.
LG has removed a McAfee trial recommendation from Monitor App Installer after monitor owners objected to the app and its commercial prompt. The company says McAfee was never installed automatically. For a limited period in the United States, the Installer offered people a choice to download the trial.¹
The episode documents one route for commercial software to enter the experience of an ordinary monitor: Windows recognizes the hardware and links it to an app from the manufacturer. The screen still relies on the PC to run that software. Smart monitors create a separate route by running a connected operating system, apps, and services inside the display, including when the PC is off.
The PC route has a documented offer inside LG's Installer. On the display, the advertising evidence is one G80SD owner report, not the category as a whole. Available evidence does not show that ads subsidize monitor prices or establish that smart monitors use the automatic content recognition, or ACR, documented for televisions.¹ ⁶ ¹⁰
A conventional monitor opens software on the PC
LG Monitor App Installer is a companion application. It locally identifies a compatible connected LG display, then presents tools such as LG Switch, OnScreen Control, Calibration Studio, and Dual Controller. LG says the Installer neither collects nor transmits personal or usage data and installs each suggested program only after the customer chooses it.¹ That is a manufacturer statement, not an independent audit published with the notice.
The delivery channel comes from the Windows driver model. Microsoft separates a base driver, device-specific extensions, and an optional Hardware Support App, or HSA, distributed through the Microsoft Store and associated with the device.² Its documentation for UWP device apps also records how Windows can install a matching application when hardware is recognized through its association metadata. Microsoft says this metadata route is deprecated and will be removed in a future Windows release.³
HSA defines a relationship between hardware and an app. It does not endorse what a manufacturer puts in the app, just as Store distribution does not make a commercial recommendation necessary for the driver. Core monitor operation can remain in the driver component while calibration, display controls, and other conveniences live in software.
That separation helps explain why Installer appeared on computers already using an LG monitor. LG acknowledged the objection and says it is changing the flow so customers can decide whether to install Installer itself.¹ The notice describes work in progress and gives no timetable or affected-model list.
McAfee was an offer inside Installer
The McAfee recommendation came one layer later. LG says the U.S.-only trial prompt ran for a limited period and required a customer choice; the antivirus did not install itself. The company removed the offer after feedback and says it has no plan to recommend McAfee or other third-party software through Installer.¹
Online discussion blended two events: arrival of the hardware-linked app and the pop-up offering another product. In r/pcmasterrace, monitor owners compared unexpected Installer appearances, removal options, and whether McAfee had actually been added. The thread's author clarified that McAfee was absent; the ad came from LG's app.⁹ Those accounts show the source of user surprise. Technical behavior and data handling still rest on the LG and Microsoft documentation.
For a conventional display, the control surface remains the PC. Installer and any accepted utilities appear in the Windows installed-app list, where they can be reviewed or removed. Declining an extra offer does not change the base display function described by the DCH model, although removing a vendor utility can take away its Windows shortcuts and controls.²
A smart monitor contains another software surface
A smart monitor combines HDMI or DisplayPort inputs with its own connected environment. Samsung's Smart Monitor range runs One UI Tizen and offers streaming and Samsung TV Plus without a PC. Samsung says smart functions require a Samsung Account plus agreement to Smart Hub terms and privacy notice; without signing in, operation is largely limited to external sources such as HDMI.⁴
Samsung also puts Gaming Hub on the M9 and promises free One UI Tizen upgrades for up to seven years for Smart Monitor models released in 2023 or later.⁵ The source does not describe a separate seven-year security-patch commitment. Services and availability vary by region.
The monitor therefore acts as a platform endpoint. It can open a streaming service while the computer is off, switch between PC input and native apps, and receive interface changes through firmware. The display adds its own account, terms, and settings to those already present on the attached computer.
Owners discussing Samsung's G80SD in r/Monitors illustrated the resulting friction. They described a promotional video filling the Tizen 9 home screen after an update, uncertainty about returning to the earlier system, and a preference for launching directly into the PC input.¹⁰ Other participants objected to the number of recommendations and to a gaming monitor behaving like a smart TV. The thread cannot represent every Samsung model, but it shows why buyers now assess interface policy and software updates alongside panel quality, ports, and refresh rate.
Television ACR remains a precedent, not proof
Samsung documents Automatic Content Recognition on its U.S. Smart TVs. When an owner consents, the service can collect viewing history, television identifier, and IP address; the support page provides an opt-out path in settings.⁶ Samsung Ads separately presents Smart TV ACR as an advertising and measurement asset in Brazil.⁷
Both pages concern televisions. They do not confirm ACR on Smart Monitors, and their settings or practices cannot be transferred to another product category. They establish that Samsung operates an advertising business around consumer screens. A smart monitor has an architecture capable of receiving post-sale services and content, but public material does not disclose the revenue generated by each model or any effect on its purchase price.
Smart Hub terms, privacy notice, account requirements, and settings reveal the continuing software relationship before connected features are enabled. A buyer planning to use only a computer can check which functions remain available over HDMI without an account. On a conventional monitor, the corresponding review happens in Windows' installed-app list and installer prompts.
Sources
- LG Monitor App Installer · LG Electronics · https://www.lg.com/za/support/announcement/lg-monitor-app-installer/ · accessed Aug. 26, 2026
- DCH Design Principles and Best Practices · Microsoft Learn · https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/develop/dch-principles-best-practices · accessed Aug. 26, 2026
Show 8 more sourcesHide sources
- UWP device apps · Microsoft Learn · https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/devapps/ · accessed Aug. 26, 2026
- Samsung Smart Monitor 2025 · Samsung Brazil · https://www.samsung.com/br/monitors/smart-monitor/ · accessed Aug. 26, 2026
- Samsung Releases Smart Monitor M9 with AI-Powered QD-OLED Display · Samsung Newsroom · https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-releases-smart-monitor-m9-with-ai-powered-qd-oled-display · May 13, 2025
- Use Viewing Information Services on Samsung Smart TVs · Samsung Support · https://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS10010616/ · accessed Aug. 26, 2026
- Samsung Ads: Brazil · Samsung Ads · https://www.samsung.com/us/business/samsungads/life/brazil/ · accessed Aug. 26, 2026
- Ads and tracking infiltrated TVs. Now they're coming for monitors · Ars Technica · https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/08/ads-and-tracking-infiltrated-tvs-now-theyre-coming-for-monitors/ · Aug. 2026
- Windows update silently installed LG bloatware, which causes a McAfee pop up · r/pcmasterrace · https://www.reddit.com/r/pcmasterrace/comments/1uk7v0v/windows_update_silently_installed_lg_bloatware/ · July 2026
- My Samsung G80SD homepage is pretty much an ad now after an update · r/Monitors · https://www.reddit.com/r/Monitors/comments/1sn66ti/my_samsung_g80sd_homepage_is_pretty_much_an_ad/ · Apr. 2026
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