When you uninstall software via Windows’s Uninstall a Program Control Panel applet you often end up with program traces on the hard drive or the Registry. The leftovers are often files that are generated by the application after the initial program installation (and therefor not part of the uninstallation routine).
A weakness of the default program uninstaller in Windows is that it cannot scan the system for leftovers. If you install and uninstall lots of programs, you end up with orphan files and Registry entries that take up space and may even cause other issues like organizational issues with empty folders on the system.
IObit Uninstaller has just been released in version 2. The portable software is comparable to Revo Uninstaller in functionality. Version 2 has received several new and improved features, including a new user interface, a new forced uninstall mode to find programs in a program search that are not in the standard program listing, multi-language support and better and more secure leftover scanning options.
The program opens incredibly fast on execution. The program listing is populated immediately. Each program is listed with its name, size and install date. All columns are sortable so that you can list the most recently installed programs or programs that take up the most space on the computer’s hard drive.
A right-click on an entry in the program listing opens a context menu with options to uninstall the program, remove the entry from the listing (handy if the program is already uninstalled but the listing remained as a leftover), to open the file folder or to search for the program online. The only search searches for the full program name and version on Google.
The uninstaller features a standard and advanced uninstallation mode. The difference is that the advanced uninstall runs a scan for leftovers after program uninstallation, while the standard uninstall won’t.
IObit Uninstaller creates a system restore point before the program can be uninstalled.
The scan searches on the hard drive and in the Registry for leftovers, and displays items found in list form on a new screen after the program uninstallation.
A batch uninstall option is available to uninstall multiple programs in rapid succession. You need to enable batch uninstall first. This adds check boxes to all program entries so that you can select multiple programs in the listing.
It is interesting to note that the uninstaller tries to uninstall all programs at once with the least amount of user interaction.
The left sidebar of the program window offers additional listings. This includes toolbars that are installed on the system, a listing that only includes software that has been recently installed, a listing for large programs, one for programs that are rarely used and a Windows updates listing. The functionality remains the same in all listings.
A click on Forced Uninstall opens another menu with options to add a full program path, a program’s exact name, or a program via drag and drop to the window to uninstall it even if it is not listed in the installed program listing.
IObit Uninstaller 2 is available for download at the IObit website. It is freeware and compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system.
How does it compare to Revo Uninstaller then? IObit Uninstaller 2.0 detects more installed programs than Revo Uninstaller (121 to 92 on my system) which can be at least partially attributed to missing Microsoft software entries in the Revo Uninstaller listing.
Both programs share the same functionality. Both create a system restore point before uninstallations, and both scan for leftovers on the system after uninstallation. Revo Uninstaller comes with additional tools, like an Autorun Manager which IObit Uninstaller does not offer. The latter on the other hand offers additional handy program listings, like the listing of rarely used programs.
What I like about IObit Uninstaller 2 is that it appears to be a bit easier to select the relevant leftovers for deletion.
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I’ll have to add this to the arsenal of tools.
Nice breakdown on the differences with Revo
which has been my main uninstall tool for a while.
My I ask if CCleaner have the same ability.
Iobit Uninstaller 2, Smart Defrag and a host of other tools also comes under the Advanced System Care 4 suite. I think it would be better to install this suite rather than installing each application individually.
I have to concur with Robert Palmer (Robert Allen Palmer ?) that your have ferry nicely deduced, the difference between the two uninstallers. And ferry good from IOBit that there recognizing more installed programs the Revo, this is a plus point. One for me crustily important fact I am missing in your article namely: With one of the two is cleaning better the left overs from the uninstalled programs? Any thoughts about that Martin?
To be honest, I do not have the patience to make tests in virtual machines to find that out ;)
My name is spelled differently and unusually ending in AR, not the common ER.
Most people do not notice, understandably. My name has an Italian origin.
Robert Allen Palmer was quite a good musician I am told and I have
have enjoyed all the “Simply Irresistible comments over the years.
I understand this because I now that I do not have to tell you that patience is a virtue ;)
“IObit Uninstaller 2.0 detects more installed programs than Revo Uninstaller (121 to 92 on my system) which can be at least partially attributed to missing Microsoft software entries in the Revo Uninstaller listing.”
My portable Revo shows all Microsoft’s software/updates/hotfixes…. Total 271 entries on a XP SP3.
IObit Uninstaller 2.0 tracked only 144 applications !!!
Did you add the Windows Updates list to the count if IObit Uninstaller? It is displayed separately
Thx. I did not :-)
Windows Updates 104. Total for IOBit 248, total for Revo 271.
I believe Iobit Uninstaller can identify and uninstall 64-bit applications as well as 32-bit programs. Revo Uninstaller Free will only find 32-bit applications. For those of us with 64-bit operating systems and 64-bit applications, the Iobit Uninstaller offers a significant advantage.
However, it has been my experience that for 32-bit applications, Revo has identified more leftover registry entries than the Iobit product, so i continue to use both.
Interesting observation, thanks for sharing.
What worries me though is that IObit has a bad reputation on WOT. Should this be of concern? I don’t really like Rovo-uninstaller as it picks up around 15 out of 60 programs I have. So that isn’t an option.
Iobit is a Chinese software company perhaps best known for it’s free, all-in-one, system optimization solution Advanced SystemCare. This product has been downloaded over 100 million times for use on PCs worldwide. In spite of such widespread use, I have never seen any report of spyware, tracking or other malicious activity associate with this or any other Iobit product.
However, in November 2009, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware (a well-known anti-malware product) accused Iobit of stealing their intellectual property — more specifically, incorporating the Malwarebytes database directly into Iobit’s competing anti-malware product Iobit Security 360. The evidence was very convincing, but not definitive (see http://forums.malwarebytes.org//index.php?showtopic=29681). Negative comments posted to WOT reflect this controversy. In June of this year, Iobit discontinued Security 360 and replaced it with a cloud-based security product called Iobit Malware Fighter.
The issue raised is corporate ethics (to some an oxymoron), not the safety of Iobit products. Check the facts, draw your own conclusions and then act as you deem appropriate.