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The Solution To Users Frequently Installing iTunes

S

spinjector

Hi All,

We just had a SOX audit here and we did pretty good. Thank dog it's over! In preparation for it, we pre-audited our user desktops to make sure there were no naughty bits like games, gambling programs, or unlicensed software. We were glad to find there were none of the first two, and very little of the third. But one thing we did find was a lot of iTunes. It was everywhere! Even on machines with only one user - users that we trusted, were computer literate, and did not own iPods or iPhones..!!! Why did this keep happening..??

Well... I’ve just had one of those lightbulbs pop up over my head. I’ve found out why iTunes keeps getting installed so much. It comes bundled with the QuickTime viewer..! If anyone needs the QuickTime Plugin to view the elements of a web page, and they do the “Install Missing Plugin” routine, they get iTunes too!

BUT - you CAN choose to “Install QuickTime without iTunes”, and that works fine. All is peachy keen, hunkey dorey, and AOK. But...there’s another “BUT” coming...

BUT - that's only part of the puzzle. It's not as simple as that. It's much more insidious and creepy, like an intelligent prehensile creeping slime mold from outer space. The BUT chain continues...

BUT - when the “Apple Software Update” window pops up a few days later to ask the user if they wish to download and install the latest updates, if the user doesn’t pay attention and just clicks OK without looking at the window (this never happens, right?), IT STILL INSTALLS ITUNES...!!!

I will refrain here from ranting at Apple in four letter words. I’m sure you guys know the routine. ;-)

In thinking about this, there is only one way I can think to prevent or reduce iTunes from being installed... Install the Quicktime Viewer ahead of time for your users. AND disable the Apple Software Update by setting the update interval to NEVER.

There are a couple of different places this needs to be done. Apple software is very invasive and has MULTIPLE automatic update engines. I've found two so far - but there may be more.

#1 This morning when I unlocked my already-logged-in PC, the Apple Software Update popped up for no apparent reason. It may have been timed or dated, or in response to opening a new Firefox window - I'm not really sure. My Firefox was already running from yesterday. Apple Software Update is the first part that needs to be disabled. You can wait for the window to pop up, or run it explicitly at "C:\Program Files\Apple Software Update\SoftwareUpdate.exe". Then click Edit > Preferences > Never > OK > Quit.

#2 Click Start > Settings > All Programs (XP)/Programs (2K) > Quicktime > Quicktime Player. If this is the first time QP has been run, the update starts immediately, and you can uncheck "Check For Updates Automatically" > Cancel. If that window doesn't pop up, you can get there by clicking Edit > Preferences > Quicktime Preferences. Note that the Preferences window takes forever to open. Once it does, click the Update tab, uncheck the box, and then click OK.

*sigh* <shakes head> <puts on Susan Powter mask> <scary> <screams "STOP THE INSANITY!">
 
If your feelings about Apple-on-PCs are HALF of what I feel about Microsoft-on-my-Macs, then maybe you shouldn't be allowing Quicktime on any of your machines in the first place.
;)
As much as I love Macs and Apple in general, I hear nothing but complaints about the way they sneak their software onto PCs.

It's pretty insidious.

Kind Regards,
David Reaves
 
David Reaves said:
If your feelings about Apple-on-PCs are HALF of what I feel about Microsoft-on-my-Macs, then maybe you shouldn't be allowing Quicktime on any of your machines in the first place.
Click to expand...

Precisely. Additionally your business computers should be locked down to not allow ANY software to be installed. Period.
 
Beware also (and I think apple is already in trouble for this) but that software auto update gadget tries to install Safari browser onto your computer as well...
 
I've got quicktime and haven't had any hijacking of operations or etc.
What happens to typical broadcast machines when itunes "takes control"?

I don't think I've got it on my music server.


Does it cause things to lock up?
 
I support PCs and Macs in a 19 campus and corporate office environment and haven't seen this to be a problem. Properly configuring user privileges is the best way to keep less knowledgeable users from inadvertently installing software your organization deems "undesirable" for whatever reason.

I know we use Server 2008 and AD within our enterprise which makes things pretty easy for the most part, but there are laptops and several hundred Macs that aren't hung on the network. Custom configurations make these sort of problems pretty rare, even on a Windoze laptop where the user has admin privileges
 
Tom Wells said:
I've got quicktime and haven't had any hijacking of operations or etc.
What happens to typical broadcast machines when itunes "takes control"?

I don't think I've got it on my music server.


Does it cause things to lock up?
Click to expand...

If installed with the default options, itunes will take control of a lot of audio types (wav, aac, mp3, etc)

I don't think it will lock up, but I consider itunes garbage bloatware that should be eliminated.
 
Here's a quick follow-up to my own post...

Wow - I just noticed this Apple Origami Centipede has an extra leg... THEY PUT "APPLE SOFTWARE UPDATE" ON THE START MENU!!!

Can I use the "B" word here? Here - play Hangman ... B A _ _ _ _ D S!!!

ALSO I just found out that Quicktime complete obliterated all of my WinAmp file associations, despite having NOT checked that as an option during the install process. And trying to reassociate the file types in WinAmp does not wo0rk - somehow Apple hooked them in as a plugin or something.
 
spinjector said:
ALSO I just found out that Quicktime complete obliterated all of my WinAmp file associations, despite having NOT checked that as an option during the install process. And trying to reassociate the file types in WinAmp does not wo0rk - somehow Apple hooked them in as a plugin or something.
Click to expand...

Yes, it also steals your MIME types, which are oddly enough not changeable through the prefs panel, only during QT standalone setup. Hence any computer with QT installed on it here I can't use to download the syndicated shows if they are .mp3 since it has stolen that association in the browser I don't even get the Open or Save box... bastards
 
gunterm said:
spinjector said:
ALSO I just found out that Quicktime complete obliterated all of my WinAmp file associations, despite having NOT checked that as an option during the install process. And trying to reassociate the file types in WinAmp does not wo0rk - somehow Apple hooked them in as a plugin or something.
Click to expand...

Yes, it also steals your MIME types, which are oddly enough not changeable through the prefs panel, only during QT standalone setup. Hence any computer with QT installed on it here I can't use to download the syndicated shows if they are .mp3 since it has stolen that association in the browser I don't even get the Open or Save box... bastards
Click to expand...
Quicktime Pro offers you the ability to save mp3 files you download in the browser...for a price.

Get firefox instead of IE, you'll be able to save mp3 files for free.
 
gunterm said:
spinjector said:
ALSO I just found out that Quicktime complete obliterated all of my WinAmp file associations, despite having NOT checked that as an option during the install process. And trying to reassociate the file types in WinAmp does not wo0rk - somehow Apple hooked them in as a plugin or something.
Click to expand...

Yes, it also steals your MIME types, which are oddly enough not changeable through the prefs panel, only during QT standalone setup. Hence any computer with QT installed on it here I can't use to download the syndicated shows if they are .mp3 since it has stolen that association in the browser I don't even get the Open or Save box... bastards
Click to expand...

One might wonder why Microsoft leaves the system so open to such 'viral' modification. I don't think a program could hijack OSX nearly so easily, if at all.

Kind Regards,
David
 
You should be able to reset your preferences in My Computer -> View -> Folder Options -> File Types tab.
 
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