How to get rid of pop ups in my iMac?

As I wrote people complain about "pop-ups" all the time. The terminology is vague to the point of uselessness.

That screenshot makes your concern abundantly clear. It shows a Notification regarding an update for remotely managed or otherwise supervised Macs.

Assuming that Mac is not managed through an employer, educational institution or similar establishment then contact Apple: Official Apple Support. It may indicate some malicious interference from an unauthorized source, or it may simply be a bug. In any event Apple will be able to make that determination, something that may not be easily accomplished on your own. In any event don't bother downloading and installing some magical cure-all which is certain to cause unrelated problems that will make things worse.

If you are not certain whether your Mac is managed, read About Apple device supervision - Apple Support and check for the presence of a Profile as it explains under Identify whether an Apple device is supervised. Be sure to provide that information to Apple when you contact them.

Absent something weird, this Mac is managed, or is supervised, which means you will have to contend with that first.

If this Mac is Managed, delete the added management profile(s) installed.

If this Mac is Supervised, you’ll need to contact the IT group supervising it.

You won't be able to remove a supervisory lock, though you can use your original purchase receipt from Apple or from an Apple authorized reseller to request Apple remove the lock. If you don’t have that receipt available for Apple, you’ll need to discuss this with the IT group holding the lock, and they can remove the lock.

bowgross wrote:

This is a personal Mac purchased new from Apple by me for myself that is sitting in my house. I am the admin on it. I have had it for 6 years and this was never an issue.

No new software EXCEPT the “upgrade” to Ventura. Thinking that may have been a mistake.

Am I going to have to pay Apple to unlock something that has been fine for 6 years and now suddenly has been locked by some updating process by them? That doesn’t seem right.

Do you have any profiles loaded?

If you have an profile loaded, can you successfully delete it?

Here is how to view profiles: Use configuration profiles to standardize settings on Mac computers - Apple Support

See if this helps you find it...

1. 1 From the Finder, select the Go menu at top of the screen, and choose Go to Folder.
2. In the window that opens, enter /Library/Preferences, and click Go.

Has anyone figured out how to get rid of this stupid pop-up?

The context of your question clearly suggests it's a macOS software update notification, but since your Mac is up to date I am wondering if you are encountering something else. Describe it, or better yet, post a screenshot of it.

People tend to call anything unexpected unwanted or unwelcome a "pop-up" so more information would help.

I saw some suggestions to delete /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate.plist ...

A file by that name is normally present at that location, so perhaps you already deleted it. That could cause problems though, and could be the reason you are being harassed by a whatever-it-is.

It appears to be even more justification for suspecting that Mac is managed. Were you able to make a determination regarding that question?

Can I delete "/Applications/Install macOS Monterey.app"?

Yes but the annoying Notification is likely to persist.