LG’s Smart Televisions and Displays Are Rotten

Michael Crider, PCWorld: […] So somebody at LG decided that, in addition to the basic monitor driver and management app delivered to its users via Windows Update, it would slip in an additional program, “LG Monitor App Installer.” This extra bit of software includes McAfee, or an ad for it — as if there was any difference. C. da Costa, Gadget Review: This is bigger than one bad app. LG and Samsung smart monitors run the same operating systems as their smart TVs — webOS and Tizen — both already built for automatic content recognition and ad targeting. Acer’s monitor privacy policies permit sharing device data with advertisers. The trajectory mirrors the rise of free-to-play gaming: low barrier to entry, monetization creep once you’re locked in. These findings were based on a Gamers Nexus investigation in July. But it is not an isolated incident. This week, Gamers Nexus followed up with another blockbuster showing how LG’s smart televisions find other devices on the same network and, in…