If LG violates wire-tapping laws, it's actually your fault.
this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2026
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That's probably only legal in the US.
It’s not legal anywhere. But crime is legal in the US, so good luck getting anything done about it.
But crime is legal in the US
You have to be wealthy for this to apply to you
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I just bought a commercial display as a TV, it's amazing! No smart features, great clarity and brightness. Super durable, lots of nifty nerdy features.
200$ used for a 70"
How's the refresh rate?
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My parents got a "smart" LG TV not too long ago, and I've been trying to make sure they keep it completely offline, but I have a feeling they're going to give in soon. Planning on trying out a Pi-Hole tomorrow on their network
Keep it offline and don’t update it, Pi-Hole can help, but I wouldn’t count on it. I would also go with NextDNS. Suggest they get a device like an Apple TV and only use that. You can block most of LG’s domains router/DNS side.
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I think there’s some confusion in this thread.
This isn’t just about smart TVs.
LG also retroactively hit dumb TVs and dumb monitors, auto-installing a driver through Windows Update to load adware and who-knows-what-else. Dumb TVs are not safe, in this instance.
I know this because it hit me, just this month.
But how does my "dumb TV" have windows update?
When plugged in, maybe windows recognizes the monitor is LG and it's an auto download? That was how it seemed outlined in the video.
That’s precisely what it does.
Monitors can transmit their IDs over HDMI/DP, so then Windows update checks against its database and sees there’s a driver for this device.
To reiterate, it doesn’t actually do anything to the monitor though. Just your Windows install. I think the driver is ostensibly there to install a generic color calibration profile, but as you can see that’s just a pretense.
Hey, 42% discount for Linux users !
100 percent discount for pirates, matey.
Yarrrrr
LG bricked my 5.1 sound system because their soundbar failed an automatic update. There is no way to restore the firmware.
fuck LG. never buying their shit again. completely anti-consumer.
Looks like it's equally a Windows problem as it is an LG problem. Why the fuck are you automatically installing shit off the internet when peripherals get connected?
It’s an abuse of the Windows Update “contract.” It’s supposed to be for installing drivers so devices function, but manufacturers have been abusing it to autoload bloatware for years.
Microsoft being Microsoft. In the 90s and 00s, Windows used to auto-launch programs from CDs when you put them in the drive. No check, just looks for an .exe, and silently runs it. Really good way to get a rootkit installed on your machine.
Autoexec makes sense in historical context.
If you were a PC user in the 90s and put an application disk in your PC, you did that because you wanted to run what was on it.
You were going to run it. All autoexec did was save you some clicks.
CD burners weren't a thing in the 90s and only corporations had sufficient resources to get CDs pressed. So the logic goes that if you were big enough to make CDs then your software was legitimate.
Not to mention that pre-Internet there was basically no financial incentive to make viruses. The threat landscape was different.
But the world changed. CDs became common, malware exploded, even big companies like Sony demonstrated they were untrustworthy, and automatically running executables suddenly seemed like a terrible idea.
So yeah. I blame Microsoft for this current Windows Update malware vector because they shoukd have learned by now. But I don't blame them for Autoexec.
John: We're not gonna make it, are we? People, I mean. Terminator: It's in your nature to destroy yourselves. John: Yeah. Major drag, huh?
Terminator: Judgement Day
Instead of complaining, can we begin a discussion around alternatives? Or could we install an alternative OS on the LG TVs or any of the alternatives? It's difficulty, if not impossible, to buy a non smart big TV.
You can just not connect it to the internet and use a separate device to connect to your media, such as an Nvidia shield or a small computer with similar power.
Luckily the shields allow for wireless adb, which gives you the ability to rip out all of the bloat and install custom launchers.
This isn’t just about smart TVs. Dumb displays and TVs hooked to Windows got hit by this too.
But:
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There is no alternative OS for a smart TV.
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Pretty much all TVs are smart these days.
The solution is to leave the TV disconnected from the internet, and don’t run Windows. Which is quite doable these days.
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This happened with my LG “dumb” monitor!
2020 35WN65C. Nothing smart about it, yet I got a “install Mcafee” popup out of nowhere, to my utter horror.
Well. I’ll never buy another LG display as long as I live. Great marketing there, LG.
It was a good reminder though. Been too long since I took a chainsaw to my Windows partition.
Look at that. It’s purge o’clock.
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Am probably not buying from LG again, Even if its not a smart TV.
The last time I bought a dumb monitor was in 2024. I won't be buying any for a long time.
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Just never tell your TV what the wifi password is.
These nosy-ass companies aren't going to pay for a cellular connection just to spy on your TV.
please connect to the internet to do anything
If the TV can't even display basic inputs without connecting to the internet, I'm returning it to the store as defective.
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I am bringing this TV back for a refund as it doesn't work.
Soon they won't have to because of services like Amazon Sidewalk or the ISP-provided WiFi routers that use the customer's home to sell internet. Your neighbor's Palantir camera that spies on you whenever you leave your house will help your TV spy on you inside your house.
Or let it connect and drop it down a sinkhole on its own VLAN.
No idea if this is actually better, but it's what I do for the free smart things in my house.
I am so great fucking greatful to have been given my dad's old Sony Bravia that's not a smart TV.
I got all the connections like we used to.
I've been clutching on to my non smart tvs. I have two I have a Zenith 70" that my fiancés parents gave to her when she moved out and the bravia my dad gave me 12 years ago which is also 70".
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