gHacks technology news » uninstall http://www.ghacks.net A technology blog covering software, mobile phones, gadgets, security, the Internet and other relevant areas. Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:26:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Software Uninstaller KUninstall http://www.ghacks.net/2009/10/02/software-uninstaller-kuninstall/ http://www.ghacks.net/2009/10/02/software-uninstaller-kuninstall/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:30:36 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/?p=16874 windows softwareNew software uninstallers have to not only compete with the default Windows uninstallation module but also with advanced uninstallers like Revo Uninstaller which not only uninstall the software but also scan and clean up leftovers that have been missed by the standard uninstallation. KUninstall is a portable software program that offers a similar functionality as Revo Uninstaller does. It will display the installed software programs almost instantly in its interface. The number of programs listed is higher than that of the standard Windows add and remove programs control panel module. Each program in the list is shown with its product name, version, publisher, install location, date, uninstall string and addition information like the company’s website.

A filter on tab can be used to quickly find the desired program in the list. There is also a finder icon which can be dragged onto any open window to uninstall the program or kill the process of it in Windows.

software uninstaller

Programs can be uninstalled by right-clicking on them and selecting the uninstall option from the menu. Another option is the uninstall icon in the top menu which is always accessible. A small menu is displayed afterwards giving the user the option to uninstall the program (this will trigger the default uninstaller) and to scan for leftovers.

KUninstall works faster and more reliable than the default Windows uninstaller. It does however lack several features at this stage in development that make Revo Uninstaller superior. It is for example not possible to select multiple programs for uninstallation (which would be executed one after the other). There are also no filters to hide Windows updates from the product list. The scan for leftovers is very fast which could mean that it is not as thorough as the one offered by Revo Uninstaller.

KUninstall is compatible with most Microsoft Windows operating systems (but apparently only 32-bit editions). It can be downloaded from the developer’s website.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2009/10/02/software-uninstaller-kuninstall/feed/ 4 Revo Uninstaller 1.5 http://www.ghacks.net/2008/03/25/revo-uninstaller-15/ http://www.ghacks.net/2008/03/25/revo-uninstaller-15/#comments Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:33:55 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/2008/03/25/revo-uninstaller-15/ A new version of Revo Uninstaller was just released and I thought it would be nice to inspect the new version since my last review dates a while back. Several new features have been implemented into this new version including improvements in the Advanced Uninstall Mode, interface improvements and safety improvements for the Uninstall Safe Mode.

Revo Uninstaller is a replacement for the mediocre Windows Uninstaller which more often than not fails to uninstall software properly. It’s probably not even the fault of the Windows Uninstaller but many applications leave traces like temporary or configuration files and registry keys behind after uninstallation.

This is where Revo Uninstaller really excels at. It scans the computer after uninstallation (which is initiated in Revo Uninstaller) and lists all objects that have not been uninstalled depending on the scan mode that you select. The choice is up to the user who can simply uninstall the application which would be equivalent to the Windows Uninstaller or choose between a Safe, Moderate and Advanced Mode of uninstallation.

revo uninstaller

The difference between the three modes is the depth of the scan after the uninstallation has completed. As I said earlier I would like to point at some features of Revo Uninstaller that are not so commonly known. The main function of Revo Uninstaller is of course the uninstallation of software, a click on the Tools button however reveals additional functions that I did discover a while ago.

Tracks Cleaner is one of those features that I would like to point out. It can be used to remove traces of deleted files on your hard drives which makes them unrecoverable by normal means. In addition to that it is possible to delete files or folders permanently so that they are not recoverable as well.

The three other entries in the Tracks Cleaner menu are not that useful in my opinion because they cannot be automated. In case you are asking you can delete the recent documents history in Microsoft Office, several traces in Windows like the Start Menu Run History and temporary files and settings in browsers.

It would be nice if the option to delete files permanently would be integrated in the uninstallation process so that it would not be necessary to visit the Tools page to delete them afterwards again.

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]]> http://www.ghacks.net/2008/03/25/revo-uninstaller-15/feed/ 2 Get rid of preinstalled Software http://www.ghacks.net/2006/12/27/get-rid-of-preinstalled-software/ http://www.ghacks.net/2006/12/27/get-rid-of-preinstalled-software/#comments Wed, 27 Dec 2006 17:24:50 +0000 Martin http://www.ghacks.net/2006/12/27/get-rid-of-preinstalled-software/ Did you ever buy a new computer from manufacturers like Dell, HP or Sony ? If you did you know that those computers come loaded with a bunch of preinstalled software products that are normally not very useful and use valuable disk space. One option would be to uninstall one product after the other until you have every last one of them removed from your new computer.

A much faster method would be to use the so-called PC DE-Crapifier to uninstall most of not all of them in one go. Starting the software simply displays a list of products that is currently installed on your computer. This is not the uninstallation dialog that you see when you select it from your control panel. PC DE-Crapifier only scans the system for known products that are preinstalled when buying a new computer.

You may select to remove none, some or all of the programs that are found during the scan. This ensures that you can keep all the programs that sound interesting or have been installed on purpose. The list of programs that PC DE-Crapifier supports is a long one, here we go:

  • QuickBooks Trial
  • NetZero Installers
  • Earthlink Setup Files
  • Corel Photo Album 6
  • Tiscali Internet
  • Wanadoo Europe Installer
  • Get High Speed Internet!
  • Internet Service Offers Launcher
  • Dell Search Assistant
  • Norton Ghost 10.0
  • Symantec Live Update
  • MS Plus Photo Story 2LE
  • MS Plus Digital Media Installer
  • McAffee
  • Norton Internet Security
  • Google Desktop
  • AOL US
  • AOL UK
  • MusicMatch Jukebox
  • MusicMatch Music Services
  • Wild Tangent Games
  • Norton AntiVirus 2005
  • Norton Security Center
  • Norton AntiSpam
  • PC-cillin Internet Security 12
  • Run Registry Entries
  • Desktop Icons
  • Corel WordPerfect
  • Roxio RecordNow
  • Sonic DLA
  • Sonic Update Manager
  • Sonic RecordNow Audio
  • Sonic RecordNow Copy
  • Roxio MyDVD LE
  • Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2003
  • Quicken 2006

As you can see a lot of programs. Please note that some of the listed programs are so called light versions that do not offer the functionality of the full priced product. Others can be trial versions that you can only use for a certain time with the option to buy them if you want to continue using them.

I’d say this is pretty useful if you want a fast efficient solution.

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