In the Apple environment, specifically on macOS, the concept of "deactivate" can apply to various contexts, such as stopping services, disabling startup applications, or turning off specific features. Deactivating unnecessary services and applications can help improve system performance and security. This article will guide you through the process of deactivating services and applications on macOS using built-in tools and command-line instructions.

Examples:

1. Deactivating Startup Applications: To prevent certain applications from launching at startup, follow these steps:

   • Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups.
   • Select your user account and click on the Login Items tab.
   • To remove an application from the list, select it and click the minus (-) button.

   # Alternatively, you can use the terminal to manage login items.
   osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to delete every login item whose name is "AppName"'

2. Stopping Services via Terminal: macOS uses launchd to manage services. You can use the launchctl command to stop services.

   # List all services
   launchctl list
   
   # Stop a specific service
   sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.example.service.plist

3. Disabling System Integrity Protection (SIP): System Integrity Protection is a security feature in macOS. Sometimes, advanced users may need to disable it for troubleshooting.

   # Restart your Mac and hold down Command-R to boot into Recovery Mode.
   # Open Terminal from the Utilities menu.
   csrutil disable
   # Restart your Mac.

4. Deactivating Bluetooth: If you want to turn off Bluetooth to save battery or for security reasons:

   # Turn off Bluetooth
   sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.Bluetooth.plist ControllerPowerState 0
   sudo killall -HUP blued

5. Disabling FileVault: FileVault is macOS's disk encryption feature. To turn it off:

   # Open System Preferences > Security & Privacy > FileVault.
   # Click the lock icon and enter your administrator name and password.
   # Click "Turn Off FileVault".