One of the best programs out there for giving more control over Windows functions to users, Revo Uninstaller does far more than fast uninstallations. It has several levels of programs removal, from basic to giving your Registry a thorough scrubbing. Revo also provides in-depth resources for researching just what a program is and does, so you know what you're removing, as well as offering a suite of strong system tools. Check out what it can do for you in this First Look video.
Where the built-in and sluggish Windows Add or Remove Programs option fails, freeware Revo Uninstaller picks up the slack. Revo is robust and fully loaded, making even the most insidious Registry-altering program breathtakingly simple to eradicate.
Four levels of removal balance against your comfort level mucking about in the Registry, but Revo does all the hard work, ferreting out Registry keys and letting you opt out of deleting them. The main view can be adjusted, and the context menu offers up a list of choices, from fundamentals like Uninstall and Remove from list, to Search Google, Show the installation directory, and quick access to an app's Help file, its About screen, and even an Update link.
Other power-user tools include an Advanced mode to add program-specific Registry key access to the context menu, and a Tools Optimizer containing the Autorun Manager, Windows Tools access screen, and a Junk File finder/killer. The Autorun Manager provides one-stop shopping for start-up tweaking, while Windows Tools pulls together various and disparate basic utilities under one umbrella, and the Junk killer is just killer. The cool Hunter Mode offers click-and-drag uninstall and process-killing functionality. Simply put: Revo will revolutionize your uninstall workflow.
(Credit:
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Every Windows user knows that removing a program is more complicated than just deleting it. During the installation process, several files are dropped into different areas of your system to make a program work. The Windows Add/Remove programs utility was meant to be the tool to use for getting the various parts of programs off your hard drive, but it doesn't always do a great job.
Fortunately, some savvy developers designed uninstall programs to do all the guesswork for you. These applications attempt to gather all the files associated with unwanted programs, so that you can get every component of the software off your hard drive for good.
It's important to note that, while these programs do a great job of rooting out rogue files, my experience is that you still want to check all files thoroughly before deleting them--the best defense against getting rid of something you might need is checking it over carefully. With that, here are my three favorite uninstallers.
Simply pick the unwanted program from the list and hit Uninstall.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Your Uninstaller 2008 lists all your installed programs in a window letting you quickly choose which applications you want to uninstall. Double-clicking on a program begins the uninstall process. Your Uninstaller 2008 runs the available uninstaller which comes with the program you want to uninstall, then it rechecks your hard drive for files the program's uninstaller may have left behind. In my tests, this program worked pretty well to get all the associated files out of my system, but the steep demo limitations are pretty frustrating. You only get two uninstalls per launch of the program before you register ($39.99) and you can only use the program for 21 days.
The sparse interface hides powerful tools to get rid of applications for good.
(Credit: CNET Networks)ZSoft Uninstaller is a free program which uses a similar technique to Your Uninstaller 2008. It first runs the unwanted program's original uninstall option before cleaning up with its own technology. But for a more thorough uninstall, ZSoft Uninstaller offers an analyze function that you can use during the initial installation of programs to track exactly which files are being added to your system. Later, when you want to uninstall a program, you can then click the Analyzed Programs tab and rest assured when you uninstall the program, every associated file will be included. The search box for finding specific programs and the capability to get rid of temporary files are nice additions to this free program.
Use this dialog to choose how thoroughly you want Revo to look for associated files.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Revo Uninstaller, which has been featured recently here at Download.com is another solid free uninstaller. With Revo, you can choose the level of uninstall you want it to perform, from simply using the programs included uninstaller to performing a deep scan of associated files in the registry for a thorough cleaning. Revo Uninstaller takes you through each step of the process giving you the power to save certain files from deletion. Revo also offers a "Hunter Mode" which places a cross hairs icon on your desktop. To get rid of a program, simply drag the cross hairs over a programs unwanted shortcut icon and Revo will find all associated files and take you through the steps for deletion. Even as a free program, Revo uninstaller is definitely tough to beat in this category of software.
Getting rid of old and unused programs is a great way to make room on your hard drive, but sometimes the Add/Remove programs utility is not enough. If you really want to clean up your computer, these uninstaller options will almost always do the trick. As always, if you have a better uninstall program than the ones listed, please let us know in the comments so we can check them out!
True story, happening now. It's 1:48 a.m. on a Saturday morning and I'm hand-picking through a mountain of spyware and adware on a friend's laptop. I've borrowed the laptop and Internet connection to "quickly" finish some work, then quickly realized this was actually going to take all night. After a 20 minute start-up churn, I had only just gotten VPN running and Firefox loaded. It wasn't the interminable start-up that had me worried so much as the two casino icons squatting on the desktop. There's no way they were legitimate on this straight-laced pal's rig.
As soon as Revo Uninstaller finally loaded, it was immediately clear that despite updated McAfee protection, the laptop, ancient by the modern standards of a disposable economy, was riddled with adware and spyware. We're talking 180Solutions, WhenU, TopText, CommonName, and a slew of mysterious-sounding toolbars that never showed up on any browser. Not that I'm blaming McAfee--there are years of security unawareness, lapsed protection, and misclicks that I'm sure are bound to this six-year-old Hewlett-Packard. Assignations of blame don't matter, anyhow. What matters is thoroughly junking the refuse that I angrily know is collecting data and bogging down the computer performance.
These 32 registry items won't be sneaking around on my watch.
(Credit: CNET Networks)I've chosen Revo Uninstaller as my weapon of choice for a few reasons. First, ever since we editors discovered it, it's become a personal favorite. I appreciate the four levels of in-depth removal, and the way the app scours registry and hard-drive files well after completing the unwanted app's built-in uninstaller. It's amazing how many registry entries, program files, and auto-starting dlls remain.
Second, I'm curious. Running a spyware removal program--and there are very good ones--would likely take out most of the adware trash, but would I be any wiser? Late as it is, I'd rather see where the files are hiding out and under which names and pseudonyms. I'd like to eyewitness what the 500 registry entries left behind after the uninstall are called, and get a feel for their cunning. I'm keeping the enemy close. You know, before disposing of it.
By now I've gone through a few demolition rounds, hitting the "brand-named" adware first, and already the desktop looks trimmer. Those garish casino icons have disappeared, their flames deprived of fuel. Adware and spyware beget more adware and spyware, so in some cases, slashing the main app can weaken its spin-offs. Manually deleting those offending icons from the screen, however, wouldn't have done a darn thing to the files in the driver's seat, least of all facilitated the kinds of connections I'm seeing now.
Some of these leftover apps I see in Revo are in obvious need of burning out, like the MBKWbar Toolbar; for everything else, a little Web search helps determine my allegiance while Revo Uninstaller does its worst with the parasite at hand.
It's 2:19 a.m. and the coast is looking much clearer. Of course, caution is necessary any time you get in the vicinity of essential computer processes, but a good uninstaller should help you along. That and my great-grandmother's mantra, "When in doubt, don't," have rung true this far. I'll soon be able to restart the computer to complete some of the leftover file deletion (that's normal,) then set the trusty laptop to defrag overnight. Then I'll come back tomorrow, refreshed, to finish the job with a CCleaner bath and one more antispyware scan just to make sure.
When you uninstall a program, there's a high likelihood that it's left you a little present behind, often in your Windows registry. Like an unclaimed sweater the day after a house party, rarely does this "gift" have much effect. When you've got 700 gifts sitting in your closet, though, you might wish you had room for more important things. Enter: Revo Uninstaller.
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