Disable Apple Software Update Screen

The Apple Software Update kept appearing on my computer to remind me to update iTunes, QuickTime, and iCloud. I wanted to disable it, but I couldn’t figure out where or how it was running. I didn’t find it in my Startup folder or in the registry anywhere. Here is how you can prevent the Apple Software Update screen from appearing.

Windows 10, 8, 7, & Vista

1. Click the Windows Start button in the lower-left corner and type task scheduler in the Start Search box. Open the “Task Scheduler“.
2. Expand the “Task Schedule Library” section.
3. Select the “Apple” folder.
4. Right-click “AppleSoftwareUpdate” and select “Disable” or “Delete“.
   

MacOS Sierra

You can also prevent automatic “App Updates Available” message from appearing in macOS.

Option 1

1. From the Finder, select the Apple Menu then choose “System Preferences…“.
2. Choose “App Store“.
3. Uncheck the “Automatically check for updates“. Alternately, you could deselect only the specific type of updates you would like to disable.
   

Option 2

1. From the Finder, open “Go” > “Utilities” > “Terminal“.
2. Type the following, then press “Enter“:
   sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.SoftwareUpdate AutomaticDownload -boolean FALSE