Google Software Updater

Update II.-- Reboot after doing all the work. OS-X doesn't clear caches which may have some remanent links to Google file which want to run. Rebooting clears the caches, and if everything works, you should not see anything Google in the console log after the reboot.

Update.-- Another lesson. When I tried to update Chrome and it failed, but it still installed the system and user version of Google Software Updater in the user's Library/Google folder, and it ran every hour after that. I used the sudo command to remove the system level, but forget the user level.

I learned is that you can remove the Google Software Updater folder (simple move to trash), but you also have to remove the launch agent, which is in the user's Library folder under LaunchAgents as com.google.keystone.plist file. This is the file the system launch agent runs which starts the updater.

Original Post.-- I wrote a recent post about Google's Software Updater app, how intrusive and incidious it is on your computer running in the background. I wrote the tool to remove it, using the "nuke" options works to  permanently remove it from your computer.

What I forgot to write and learned today is that you can't update any Google app without it. I tried to update Google Chrome which I use with Website which have problems with Safari  and to test my Website, but it wouldn't update because the updater wasn't installed.

This means Google is not only watching what apps you have, it's controlling how you use the apps, preventing you from updating them without installing their software updater, which then launches when you login or reboot and runs every hour.

With that I removed Google Chrome, and the open source browser Chromium which Chrome is based on. I kept Google Earth and Earth Pro which I have, but likely can't update unless I install the software updater.

But I can update that app or install any Google app, and then remove the software updater. If you keep any Google apps, you can't uninstall (no nuke option) the Google folder in your user's library with the software updater bundle but it doesn't go anything without the Google software updater daemon running.

Anyway, that's the story to date. Google has embedded their software updater into all their apps which won't allow you to install or update them without it. Talk about intrusive, incidious software, corporate big brother.

As the adage now goes with computers and mobile devices, "Nothing is free, everything has a price, namely your privacy."