Pulse Secure Stopping from opening at startup Mac

[rjames65]

I have installed Pulse Secure VPN utility version and it automatically opens at startup. Unfortunately, the app doesn't behave like any other, i.e., I cannot disable it through:

System Preferences → Users & Groups → Login Items

I've done some research on the Internet and I found that the file that is responsible for the startup opening is:

/Library/LaunchAgents/net.pulsesecure.pulsetray.plist

If I delete the file, Pulse Secure doesn't open at startup, but whenever I open it, it won't work as expected (won't connect to any VPN).

Does anyone know how to prevent it from opening at startup AND make it work at the same time?

I attach the content of the file if it's of some aid:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>Label</key>
    <string>net.pulsesecure.pulsetray</string>
    <key>LimitLoadToSessionType</key>
    <array>
        <string>Aqua</string>
    </array>
    <key>ProgramArguments</key>
    <array>
        <string>/Applications/Pulse Secure.app/Contents/Plugins/JamUI/PulseTray.app/Contents/MacOS/PulseTray</string>
    </array>
    <key>KeepAlive</key>
    <true/>
    <key>Disabled</key>
    <false/>
</dict>
</plist>

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[zanyterp]

There is no supported way to achieve not having Pulse load and connect
The supported approach is to exit Pulse after it launches; then when you are ready to connect, open Pulse Secure from your Application folder and it _should_ trigger the Pulse tray application (menu bar icon) to load (and the other dependencies required for a VPN connection)

[akanoon]

Has your admin setup location awareness and it is trying to auto-connect?

This is a configurable option.  If you have it configured and don't want it to work like that, you may need to talk to IT.  They may have a reason for wanting it to behave like this, or it is just mis-configured.

[zhanghaofan999]

There's an official report about it with solution:

https://kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Secure_Article/KB26679

[mrc247]

"Using Automater, create an app to run the following script during boot"

I'm sorry, but that's not an acceptable solution in my opinion. Write an application that prevents starting another application, really?

In each application that I know you can configure in the options whether it should be run at startup or not. (eg Skype, MS Teams, Dropbox, etc.)

It is a shame that such an option does not exist in the Pulse Client. :-(

[zanyterp]

I would recommend reaching out to your account team and let them know this is a configurable option you would like our product and development teams to investigate (disabling the launch-at-boot option)

[ariad]

This is the worst answer you could give a client. It just made me hate Pulse Secure even more. Good job!

Meanwhile, I found a way to uninstall this malware -

Mac OS X Pulse Secure Uninstall Guide

[mgilan]

Well, IT might have a reason to configure the VPN to connect after login or when outside of LAN.

As much as this could be frustrating for end-users, I don't want them to have an option to disable pre-installed and pre-configured VPN client—in general, not only Pulse. I wouldn't compare VPN client to Skype, Dropbox, etc.

If you still want to disable Pulse after login, download an app I made years ago.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ydia177zvw38vga/Unload%20Pulse.app.zip

@ariadthere's plenty of other solutions out there—why stick with something you hate?

[ariad]

Since Pulse Secure Desktop Client for Microsoft Windows allows you to disable the automatic launch when Windows boots up, there is no reason why the mac version would not allow it [https://kb.pulsesecure.net/articles/Pulse_Secure_Article/KB22669]. Moreover, there is many ways that the IT guys can prevent you from disabling Pulse Secure if they find it necessary (just like the case with firewalls and antivirus services).

[Jordan]

---

@mgilan wrote:

Well, IT might have a reason to configure the VPN to connect after login or when outside of LAN.

As much as this could be frustrating for end-users, I don't want them to have an option to disable pre-installed and pre-configured VPN client—in general, not only Pulse. I wouldn't compare VPN client to Skype, Dropbox, etc.

---

This isn't being enforced by IT policy, though. It's a defect in Pulse—opening on startup in a non-standard way that cannot be disabled by anyone, including IT—that affects Mac users and not Windows users.

Indeed, the non-standard, unconfigurable behaviour makes Pulse actively problematic for companies with a BYOD policy or separate policies for contractors/OSPs to use their own hardware. This isn't hypothetical: my company uses Pulse, but employees for a digital consultancy we work with are prohibited from installing it on their MacBooks because their IT department considers it unacceptable for an application to behave in this way on their corporate laptops.