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Completely disable or remove the Mac App Store

Hello,

I have several Macintosh computers which are on an unmanaged network, however I need to control what applications are installed on these machines without having to dig through Parental Controls on each machine. My question is simple: *how do I go about disabling or removing the Mac App Store from these machines after updating to 10.6.6 properly ?* -- avoiding the update itself isn't a solution as all future updates are likely to have it bundled in as well.

Here's what I've tried so far:

1. Restricting access to App Store.app via CHMOD in the Terminal - messy and would prefer not to have to go this route.

2. Trashing App Store.app entirely - seems to reset the "App Store" link in the Apple menu back to "Mac OS X Downloads..." and does almost what I want except when opening unknown file types, the dialog asks you if you want to search the App Store at which point you hit the button and it does nothing. Seems a bit hacky/messy.

I was hoping there would be some sort of toggle for this via a PLIST or something of the sort instead of resorting to deleting system files etc.

Cheers,
John

Message was edited by: John S.A. - fixed the title.

Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Jan 6, 2011 9:31 PM

Reply
299 replies

Jan 6, 2011 9:36 PM in response to John S.A.

John S.A. wrote:
2. Trashing App Store.app entirely - seems to reset the "App Store" link in the Apple menu back to "Mac OS X Downloads..." and does almost what I want except when opening unknown file types, the dialog asks you if you want to search the App Store at which point you hit the button and it does nothing. Seems a bit hacky/messy.


I'm glad I'm not the only person looking to disable the App Store. A little too iOS and restrictive for my liking.

The best I came up with is what you described above, but you run into the "Search App Store" when you're opening unknown files.

If anyone has a better solution, please let me know.

Jan 7, 2011 8:25 AM in response to John S.A.

Having upgraded I must disable the App Store completely. I would remove 10.6.6 if I could find a way.

I cannot believe Apple would implement such a change without some way to kill it off !! It is not the direction OS X should be going in, but if Apple think they can make money then fine but they cannot force it on us. Anyway, kids banned from the computer until it can be got rid off (might impact their school work but such is life - responsible parents control their kids computer activity).

Ian

Jan 7, 2011 8:39 AM in response to John S.A.

I agree that this is the wrong way Apple is going but I guess one of the reasons could be that they have given up on the corporate market and are focussing on consumers who , judging by the amount of iPhones they have bought, like the iOS type interface which in Lion will become totally integrated.

In my opinion they should have a separate option for a Home and an Enterprise/Corporate version of OSX.

Jan 7, 2011 8:49 AM in response to stellamaris5

I thought on moving from Windows to Mac I would manage to avoid all this grief where you get what the manufacturer wants you to have rather than what you want !! Has Bill Gates got involved in Apple because this is a feature very much in line with the Windows "you get what we want" ethic.

Pity Apple is going the same way as they lose one of the major aspects that distinguish them from Microsoft.

Ian

Jan 7, 2011 9:27 AM in response to Matthew Morgan

Yeah, I'm not really sure what the issue is. I mean, sure, if you leave your itunes account logged in, and you kids unsupervised, you could get a nasty surprise, but that's like saying if you let the kids out of the house with your credit card bad things could happen. Just don't let them use an account on the computer that has your iTunes account auto enabled. Am I missing something here?

Jan 7, 2011 9:41 AM in response to John S.A.

If you have a computer lab or some similar environment where this app is inappropriate, just delete it. That's all you have to do. Yes, that means that the Search App Store button won't work when opening an unknown file type, but that's a minor issue that can be explained away easily by just telling people who encounter that issue that the App Store is disabled.

As to everyone else (not John S.A.) who does not have a good reason to disable it and has some kind of aesthetic or ethical gripe about it... quit the baby-whining! Geez, if you don't like it, you don't have to use it! Delete it or don't, but quit crying about it! You can still purchase and install applications the same way you did before the App Store. Apple is not forcing you to use it, they are not forcing you to enter any personal information.

I really don't get the whole "you get what the manufacturer wants you to have" nonsense. It is an option. Let's keep some perspective here, folks.

Jan 7, 2011 10:03 AM in response to John S.A.

I know this doesn't answer your question directly but users must sign in with their Apple ID before they perform any install off the App store. Isn't this control mechanism good enough? How would you prevent installation of a program loaded off MacUpdate or another web site? Wouldn't the same controls apply here?

Jan 7, 2011 10:52 AM in response to Whitecity

I agree. Mac OS X contains all kinds of programs. That's why you need an administrator password to do things. In this case, just don't give them the username and password for the store. It's that simple.

Now if we are talking principles or something, I have no right to criticize yours; but as I said the OS if full of items where access is restricted ... all modern OS systems are. It's not even about Windows vs Mac; and the Mac App Store is now a feature of Mac OS X. It's not a separate third party program installed by HP or some other provider.

Completely disable or remove the Mac App Store

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