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What is growl?

firstapple

firstapple

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 25, 2007
997
50
As the title states...

What is growl and what exactly does it do? I see everyone talking about it, but can't find much info pertaining to it?
 
M

MurphyM

macrumors 6502
Dec 29, 2007
263
0
I've wanted to use Growl for a long time. But I've had endless problems getting the networking part to work. (Growl can send a notification to your Macbook to tell you about something happening on your Mac Pro)

That said, I seem to be alone in my problems. Tons of people use it without any trouble. I have a screencast that shows stuff you can do with Growl.
 
K

KevKaos

macrumors 6502
Sep 1, 2006
400
0
Baltimore, Maryland USA
I just got my new iMac, and my step-daughter highly recommended Growl, but I can't seem to get my hands on it. We searched the Apple site, and found it, but when I use the link for download, I get a 404 error. Anyone know whats up?
 
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uksubs

macrumors newbie
May 30, 2010
1
0
ok so I just looked in my system preferences thing and theres an option for growl, but I have no idea how the hell it got there, is it something that could have came with my macbook pro or will I have downloaded it inadvertently?
 
bobbytomorow

bobbytomorow

macrumors 6502
Nov 10, 2007
429
25
Left Coast
some apps require growl to function properly or, function better, and urge you to install it with the app, so you may have inadvertently installed it without noticing. you can open growl preference pane and click the applications tab to see what apps are using it
 
daihard

daihard

macrumors 6502a
Feb 19, 2008
973
7
Seattle, WA
bobbytomorow said:
some apps require growl to function properly or, function better, and urge you to install it with the app, so you may have inadvertently installed it without noticing. you can open growl preference pane and click the applications tab to see what apps are using it
Click to expand...

I was wondering about this popup telling me a newer version of Growl is available, because I didn't recall installing "Growl" myself. Thanks for the info... glad I googled "Growl" and hit this thread!
 
C

camarillo

macrumors newbie
Jul 15, 2010
2
0
miles01110 said:
Do those of you who have Growl installed without your knowledge, do you use DropBox? There's an option to install Growl in the DropBox installation, perhaps you clicked the option and forgot.
Click to expand...

That is exactly how Growl was installed on my computer! The other day, my brother asked me to down load images into a new program (new to me) called DropBox and now this presents on a daily basis.

Thanks again
 

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camarillo

macrumors newbie
Jul 15, 2010
2
0
Applications that install Growl without your permission

http://growl.info/thirdpartyinstallations.php

Applications that install Growl without your permission
So, Growl got on your system and you don't know how. What happened?
There are two ways this could have happened.
One way is that you were prompted to install Growl and you approved that installation. Either you didn't read the dialog box or you hit the wrong button; either way, you installed Growl without meaning to.
The other is that something installed Growl without your permission.
❉
We distribute a framework to application developers to make it easy for them to use Growl in their applications. They don't have to write all of the pages of code necessary to send messages to and receive messages from Growl; they simply drop in our framework and write a few lines to tell the framework what to do.
We currently offer two versions of that framework. One of our frameworks does not and cannot install Growl. Our other framework will offer to install Growl the first time the application tries to send a Growl notification.
The key phrase there is offer to install. Our framework, when developers use it according to our instructions, asks for your permission before installing Growl, and won't install Growl if you refuse. You can also tell it to go away and not ask you about Growl again.
However, there are a couple of applications that bypass our permission check, or don't use our installer framework in the first place, and install Growl without your permission. Let us be clear:
We do not endorse applications installing Growl without your permission. In fact, we hate it. Nothing should ever install anything on your system without your knowledge and your explicit consent.
 
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rickame

macrumors member
Jan 21, 2006
39
0
99.99% sure I didn't install Growl

Thanks for all this info here...I just googled for Growl cause like others I got a nitice that a newer version was available but never even knew about the existing version on my iMac...Think it happened recently and 99.99% sure I didn't click through and install ant that it installed with something else without my knowledge...don't think that should be allowed...not nice at all:)....Well now I need to figure out if I want it...open to reasons for or against...but guess I need to figure out what it does...Thanks for the info here...Rick
 
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rickame

macrumors member
Jan 21, 2006
39
0
Adobe is the villan

Now I'm 99.99% sure that Adobe put this on....I'd like to know how to remove it...Growl notes how to remove if it was installed with DropBox but not Adobe...I got some free software via work from Adobe...now I don't want anything Adobe...not nice at all...really don't even care what Growl does...just don't want it...Can someone tell me how to remove it?
 
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IndyAnne

macrumors newbie
Nov 18, 2009
3
0
Growl without permission

I am positive that I never heard of Growl and did not authorize its installation on my system -- until a dialogue box opened up offering an update.

How can I uninstall it?

How can I report this to the unauthorized installations police? Oh, wait, that would be me! I am a home user.

Uh-oh -- sometimes I work in a wifi environment that does not require authentication. Could this be a way to open up to malware and other uninvited wares like Growl?
 
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IndyAnne

macrumors newbie
Nov 18, 2009
3
0
More uninvited activity

More to report ...

I just found that the disk image for the Growl app has been downloaded and is open on my desktop -- I DID NOT authorize the download.

A script for uninstalling Growl is offered in the update window. I tried it, but asked to go to the web site instead of opening the script. I get this URL http://growl.cachefly.net/ and the message "page not found"

I'm feeling a little creeped out.

IndyAnne said:
I am positive that I never heard of Growl and did not authorize its installation on my system -- until a dialogue box opened up offering an update.

How can I uninstall it?

How can I report this to the unauthorized installations police? Oh, wait, that would be me! I am a home user.

Uh-oh -- sometimes I work in a wifi environment that does not require authentication. Could this be a way to open up to malware and other uninvited wares like Growl?
Click to expand...
 
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ngocclare

macrumors newbie
Jul 21, 2010
1
0
growl ?

So, I too have just had it appear. Should I keep updating it or take it off my iMac. I am new to Mac and never heard of this. Coming from a problem plagued PC I never downloaded anything I didn't know and i don't know what this is or what it does.

As a basic user is it worth keeping or should I dump it?
 
B

bukalemun

macrumors regular
Jul 21, 2010
118
142
I am a long time reader of the forums, and just registered to reply because I did not like the way the thread has gone throughout the years, people seem to think of Growl as some kind of spyware as they could not find information or could not understand it.

Growl is one of the best applications that Mac OS has and it is very useful for other applications to notify you. You should never remove it IMHO. It is only a framework to notify you about what's going on in an application and legitimate applications use it to function better. Some examples, Firefox, Roxio Toast, Adium etc.

It's best to keep it and not remove it.
 
F

flyguy2

macrumors newbie
Jul 22, 2010
2
0
Malware ?

I just got floating window spam asking me to update 'Growl' - an application that I have definitely never installed (why would I !!).

Digging deeper I found a GrowlHelperApp.app thread running [which I killed]. However Spotlight cant find this app for me so I cant delete. I assume its hidden in some way. BUT I did find a Growl.dmg in the downloads folder so something downloaded it.

Maybe its innocuous (in which case why the 'update' spam ?), but I do not like loosing control of my computer and this kind of behavior is what I would associate with Malware.

Any tips regarding how I can get rid of this ?


IndyAnne said:
More to report ...

I just found that the disk image for the Growl app has been downloaded and is open on my desktop -- I DID NOT authorize the download.

A script for uninstalling Growl is offered in the update window. I tried it, but asked to go to the web site instead of opening the script. I get this URL http://growl.cachefly.net/ and the message "page not found"

I'm feeling a little creeped out.
Click to expand...
 
D

dscasler

macrumors newbie
Dec 8, 2007
12
0
To Remove GROWL

To Remove Growl - go to system preferences, find the Growl icon (on the bottom under 'other') right click (i.e. cntrl click) and remove. I, too was not pleased to find out this crap was running on my machine against my knowledge or authorization.
 
T

trish857

macrumors newbie
Jul 26, 2010
1
0
Growl is super irritating if you use Skype

We finally got around to installing Adobe CS5 on the weekend and, as others have mentioned, it installed Growl without my knowledge or consent. In fact, I only knew something was going on at all because whenever someone in my Skype contact list logs on, or when someone is typing me a message and also when the message is sent in Skype, Growl gives an alert, which is both annoying and a waste of space (it's like seeing everything in double, one at the bottom of my Skype window and one at the top). Until this morning when a message popped up telling me to click to install the newer version of Growl, I didn't even know that that's what was causing the extra messages with Skype. I've read the comments from others saying that Growl is great, but so far it's only been irritating. Maybe if you don't use Skype then Growl is less annoying, I don't know. If it's there to tell me about software updates, then does that mean that the normal software update alerts (which, though slightly annoying with the bouncing of icons when you're in the middle of something, seems to work fine and less obtrusively) will not be coming? Or is Growl just an extra alert system? If it is, then why bother? It's taking up my screen space and I'd much rather it didn't.
 
N

notmarian

macrumors newbie
Jul 28, 2010
1
0
Me too...

I've had macs for years and I have to say that this is the first time that a program was installed without my consent. I cannot find Growl in my applications and am not sure where it came from. I installed an application called Zumo Drive to share files with a colleague...I think that's where my Growl came from.
Like others, I don't need these Growl notifications. I know that some mac people love Growl and make use of it. I'm just bummed that I wasn't asked if I wanted it. I feel like I'm on my crappy PC at work every time Growl pops up to tell me something that I don't really need to know.

:apple:
 
R

rmartin345

macrumors newbie
Jul 26, 2010
4
0
Growl is a notification system for Mac OS X: It allows applications that support Growl to send you notifications.Growl offers you complete control over which notifications are shown and how they are displayed.It could have come with the computer and you never noticed it,just try a google search and read.
 
1=1?

1=1?

macrumors regular
Jun 1, 2010
212
79
I have a question about growl. Can someone respond to my thread with a growl idea?
 
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