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Hello, Apple, but don't call us: How to NOT register?

J

Jennifer

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 20, 2004
33
0
Dear Apple Community,

I was wondering if there was any known way to avoid sending resgitration information to Apple upon first installation of a new operating system on an Apple machine.

I remember back when opening up my iBook clamshell with OS 9 for the first time that there was the choice of "register later" and then one could simply delete the alias "Register with Apple" (which showed up saved in hard drive or on the desktop?) before connecting to the net.

Do any of you who prefer to remain completely private and not send out any information at all happen to know how to do avoid this with Tiger's installation?

Thank you,

Jennifer :confused:
 
Just so you know, registering is very beneficial. There is a check box you can uncheck if you don't want Apple to contact you by e-mail to tell you about any new products. I could be wrong, but I've never heard of Apple calling you by phone or ever selling your information to other people who would call you. To the best of my knowledge and experience, it's a very safe thing.

Daniel.
 
Why, pray tell, would one not wish to register with Apple? Without registering, at least a new system, you will not get Apple Support. Also, it is not as though Apple solicits you via phone for anything, nor do they abuse your e-mail. The only e-mails I receive from Apple are information about hardware upgrades, and it takes less than 7 seconds to remove myself from the email list, however I don't because I actually like getting the email.

Register, don't be an idiot.

TEG
 
TEG said:
Why, pray tell, would one not wish to register with Apple? Without registering, at least a new system, you will not get Apple Support. Also, it is not as though Apple solicits you via phone for anything, nor do they abuse your e-mail. The only e-mails I receive from Apple are information about hardware upgrades, and it takes less than 7 seconds to remove myself from the email list, however I don't because I actually like getting the email.

Register, don't be an idiot.

TEG
Click to expand...

If I reinstall the OS I don't bother the second time. Should I reregister?:confused:
 
Thank you for your answer.

tvguru said:
If I remember correctly, when it asks just hit command-Q and it closes it.
Click to expand...

So, you mean, when the intial entry field comes up prompting for name, address, etc. you have just hit command-Q and you are taken straight to the desktop?
 
Jennifer said:
So, you mean, when the intial entry field comes up prompting for name, address, etc. you have just hit command-Q and you are taken straight to the desktop?
Click to expand...

Yes that is what I meant, as long as I remember correctly though. :eek:
 
I somehow was signed up for Japanese Apple news, which is difficult to unsubscribe from when you don't read Japanese.

In previous versions at least, any person's details with "BOGUS" in the name and surname fields would be ignored (used for internal testing), and no emails would be sent.
 
Thanks so much.

tvguru said:
Yes that is what I meant, as long as I remember correctly though. :eek:
Click to expand...

And you know you can always register over the phone the first time you call into apple for support. This is good for those of us who still distrust online transfer of personal info.
 
Thank you. What I'm wondering about this strategy is . . .

whooleytoo said:
I somehow was signed up for Japanese Apple news, which is difficult to unsubscribe from when you don't read Japanese.

In previous versions at least, any person's details with "BOGUS" in the name and surname fields would be ignored (used for internal testing), and no emails would be sent.
Click to expand...

. . . would you be able edit the user profile later that will be set up based upon this initial registration information?
 
Jennifer said:
. . . would you be able edit the user profile later that will be set up based upon this initial registration information?
Click to expand...

I haven't used the Setup Assistant in a while, so I don't recall if you can change the user name it selects for you, after entering your ("bogus") details.

If you can't, the only things you might need to change afterwards would be the long and short user names. You can change the long user name easily enough in System Preferences, the short user name can't be changed there.
 
yellow said:
Uhhh.... when you set it up, don't have it connected to any network?

No network connectivity, no registration. :confused:
Click to expand...
Thread Over

I setup the machines at work with a dummy account while off the network. Then setup the "admin" account and mess with the uid. I've never had to resgister a machine otherwise.
 
Jennifer said:
And you know you can always register over the phone the first time you call into apple for support. This is good for those of us who still distrust online transfer of personal info.
Click to expand...

Support, what's that?! Were talking about a Mac right?:rolleyes: :p
jjk

Thanks for that info, I wasn't aware of that.:)
 
Could you be a little more specific?

Eidorian said:
Thread Over

I setup the machines at work with a dummy account while off the network. Then setup the "admin" account and mess with the uid. I've never had to resgister a machine otherwise.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'd thought of disconnecting during set up, but eventually one would have to connect.

I suppose then that Tiger (if you are refering to this OS too) does not allow you to set up a separate admin account during set up different from the registration info?

You would alter long name and short name afterwards but from which screen/location (I had always assumed that this would cause problems)?

Mess with the uid? :confused:
 
I had always wondered about that.

whooleytoo said:
I haven't used the Setup Assistant in a while, so I don't recall if you can change the user name it selects for you, after entering your ("bogus") details.

If you can't, the only things you might need to change afterwards would be the long and short user names. You can change the long user name easily enough in System Preferences, the short user name can't be changed there.
Click to expand...


Where is it that you can change the short user name? And won't this cause problems with the "keychain" ?
 
Jennifer said:
Where is it that you can change the short user name? And won't this cause problems with the "keychain" ?
Click to expand...

Quite possibly. You could, of course, just setup a new administrative account right away after finishing the setup assistant, and delete the account the assistant created.

Whether that's more trouble than it's worth, is up to you. ;)
 
UID = Unique Identifier (or User Identifier, depends on whom you ask). Each valid user is assigned one in the UNIX world. The default admin account created at OS X initial boot has a UID of 501. Each subsequent user created follows sequence, 502, 503, etc.

For various reasons that I'm too lazy to go into, one should not change the short username. One should simply create a new account with the requisite information, and move the data accordingly.

If you are worried about personal information being sent via the internet from your Mac, well I suggest that you never plug it into the network. Or use bogus information in the registration field. IMO, you're being a bit paranoid, but that's entirely up to you.
 
Jennifer said:
And you know you can always register over the phone the first time you call into apple for support. This is good for those of us who still distrust online transfer of personal info.
Click to expand...

But you do trust transfer of personal info over a phone line?
 
Jennifer said:
And you know you can always register over the phone the first time you call into apple for support. This is good for those of us who still distrust online transfer of personal info.
Click to expand...

What's wrong with sending personal info over the internet:confused:

I thought it was very secure, with legitimate sites at least. Doesn't Apple use SSL or something like that?
 
tvguru said:
If I reinstall the OS I don't bother the second time. Should I reregister?:confused:
Click to expand...

I do. I do it, because I hope they go through their records and see I've installed OSX many times on the same machines, perhaps signaling some problem on my system.

TEG
 
BurtonCCC said:
Just so you know, registering is very beneficial. There is a check box you can uncheck if you don't want Apple to contact you by e-mail to tell you about any new products. I could be wrong, but I've never heard of Apple calling you by phone or ever selling your information to other people who would call you. To the best of my knowledge and experience, it's a very safe thing.

Daniel.
Click to expand...


Actually, Apple called me out of the blue shortly before my one year warrenty expired on my G5. This was my cell phone no less. They were trying to sell me Applecare.

So, they DO call you by phone for no reason other than to sell you Applecare. Just FYI.
 
When the registration pages comes up do the following:

1 Type the name you want to use for your user account in the name field
2 Hit Command + Q and select Skip
3 Continue as normal setting up your user accounts passwords etc...

OS X doesn't make up accounts for you - It will start by using the name you put in the name field of registration, eg if you put "bob smith" it will start to create a user account "bob smith" with short name "bobsmith" but you get to change any details on the next page. You do not need to register for anything. I don't bother because it is just another step between me and my machine.
 
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