Success on a Mac Sept 29, 2017:
The "official" Google-given method given to stop the Google Software Update is this, but it doesn't always work. The updater sometimes, on some systems, finds a way to reset itself and update anyway.
In Terminal: defaults write com.google.Keystone.Agent checkInterval 0
The most foolproof method is to deny Chrome the permissions it needs to install the update software and run it. Empty these directories:
/Library/Google/GoogleSoftwareUpdate/
~/Library/Google/GoogleSoftwareUpdate/
Then change the permissions on both folders named GoogleSoftwareUpdate
so that there's no owner and no read/write/execute permissions.
In terminal:
cd /Library/Google/
sudo chown nobody:nogroup GoogleSoftwareUpdate
sudo chmod 000 GoogleSoftwareUpdate
cd ~/Library/Google/
sudo chown nobody:nogroup GoogleSoftwareUpdate
sudo chmod 000 GoogleSoftwareUpdate
If you want to be double-certain, then do the same for the folder Google one level up.
cd /Library/
sudo chown nobody:nogroup Google
sudo chmod 000 Google
cd ~/Library/
sudo chown nobody:nogroup Google
sudo chmod 000 Google
I did this immediately after installing the Chrome version I need for my machine, and it worked perfectly. Now when I check About Google Chrome it gives me the error "Update failed (error: 10)" It's still trying to update, but it can't do it any more.
I have the directory
~/Library/Google/GoogleSoftwareUpdate/GoogleSoftwareUpdate.bundle/Contents/Resources/GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgent.app/Contents/Resources/
, but it doesn't containinstall.py
. What should I do? – ma11hew28 – 2014-11-12T04:08:18.3831@MattDiPasquale: checkmy answer below, I have stated what is the new command. – Henrique de Sousa – 2015-01-27T00:26:01.283
This seems to be very version-specific, so people answering or commenting on this, please state whether your comment applies to 10.8, 10.9 or 10.10 – smci – 2016-09-14T17:32:42.500
According to the Google Updater for the Mac FAQs page, “Google Updater for Mac has been retired”. I think that means after you uninstall it once, it won’t be reinstalled – you don’t have to lock folders or anything to prevent it from coming back.
– Rory O'Kane – 2019-04-06T06:51:11.000@RoryO'Kane Tanks dawg. But after exercising the nuclear option their ain’t no chance of it ever coming back! XD – Kaizer Sozay – 2019-04-06T08:26:14.120
3
More seriously, according to this page, the command to do it is
– kinokijuf – 2014-03-19T06:47:21.353sudo /Library/Google/GoogleSoftwareUpdate/GoogleSoftwareUpdate.bundle/Contents/Resources/GoogleSoftwareUpdateAgent.app/Contents/Resources/install.py --uninstall
2Thanks. They are completely evil. I'm never going to install google software again. – Kaizer Sozay – 2014-03-19T14:27:29.407