malware which I called "before programs".
In this post I want to talk about programs which remove all traces of a program when you want to remove it from your PC (for whatever reason), or "after programs".
Windows has its own has its own uninstaller (see Diagram 1) but this program does not search out ALL files associated with the program being uninstalled and so, in many cases leaves modifications which the program being deleted made to your PC intact and does not restore your PC to its former state.
Diagram 1
Enter two programs which DO remove all traces (sometimes shortcut icons remain but they don't affect your PC much). One costs money - Total Uninstaller. The other - Revo Uninstall is free. Total Uninstall (more on Revo below) works by taking a snapshot of your PC before installing the program. When you uninstall the program it takes a new snapshot and notices any changes the program made and reverses them. This way, removing a program really does remove all traces of that program.To run Total Uninstall you simply right-click the downloaded program file (usually located on the desktop) and select "Monitor with Total Uninstall" (see Diagram 2). Total Uninstall then takes a snapshot before prompting you to install the program. After installation a new snapshot is taken which notes any changes the program made to the PC.
Diagram 2
Last time I checked, Total Uninstall cost $30. It works well, but there's a program which I think is even better and it's free. It's called Revo Uninstaller. Revo can ALSO reverse ALL changes made by an installed program. I think it's better that Total Uninstaller because unlike Total Uninstaller, you don't need to do anything BEFORE you want to remove the program. Simply install any software however you would normally do that. REVO does all its work when you want to UNinstall the program. As you can see from Diagram 3 below there are four uninstall options or "modes". the "Built-in" mode does exactly what the default Windows uninstaller does. But there are THREE MORE uninstall levels beyond that. I have personally only ever used the "Advanced" mode which has a few, easy to follow stages. (See below)
Diagram 3
Revo first analyzes your PC (like Total Uninstall does, but BEFORE you installed the program) in four stages as per Diagram 4 below.Diagram 4
Usually Revo finds debris from the program scattered in various places throughout your hard drive. Below (Diagram 5) is an image of what Revo found when I uninstalled a (perfectly respectable) program called Handbreak. All files and folders which need to be deleted (remember this is ADVANCED mode) are highlighted in bold. YOU need to check the relevant boxes manually - make sure only to check the bolded boxes, otherwise files you need may be deleted. It's pretty straightforward. Just make sure you check before hitting the 'delete" button. The effort is worth it - this is how you make sure all junk gets removed along with the program.Diagram 5
Once you check the relevant boxes and Revo uninstall those files in most cases (not all) Revo will find some more files and folders which need to be deleted. (See Diagram 7) Again the boxes - this time ALL of the boxes - need to be checked and again double check before hitting delete. (Check that you don't see the names of some other program there) As you can see below all the folders say "Handbreak" so this should be pretty straightforward.Diagram 6
You can download Revo for free here.
Sandboxie, plus WinPatrol plus Revo should make life for a PC user pretty secure. (No guarantees of course, but my PC's have been doing fine).
Revo is compatible with: Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista
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