removal posts

Google suggest proves that a lot of people want Norton, McAffee, and AVG off their PCs

by Lee Mathews Aug 20th 2009

Google suggest - sometimes it's helpful, sometimes it's way off the mark. For the guys at Sophos, it's a source of mild amusement. Why?

Well, take a look at the YouTube clip they generously shared with the world. Among the top suggestions when you type "remove" in for the first word of your query? Apart from annoying pests like Antivirus 360 and Antivirus 2009 (both fake antivirus malware) you'll also notice AVG, McAfee, and Norton.

What does it all mean? Obviously a lot of people are searching for information on how to get rid of those programs. Norton and McAfee - well, those two are apps we love to hate. But AVG? Really?

Sure. It's a not-uncommon problem with AVG that something gets bunged up with the installer and you need to remove your current version completely in order to install the new version.

Tags: avg, google-suggest, mcafee, norton, removal, search, uninstall

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Office, Freeware, Windows x64

Easily and completely remove the Microsoft XPS doc writer

by Lee Mathews Dec 19th 2008

I do my best to minimize confusion and headaches for my retail customers. One thing that never fails to confuse and annoy is the Microsoft XPS Document Writer.

Most of them have no idea what it is or how it got added to their list of printers. To avoid phone calls from people saying things like "I thought you sold me an HP," I usually just click the icon, press delete, and go about my business.

Admittedly, that's not the most thorough way to get rid of a printer. To do a more complete job, download Rogosoft's Removal Tool. Not only will it delete the printer, but it also removes the driver, XPS library and Essentials Pack, and cleans up any package files that are left behind.

It's 32 and 64 bit compatible, and works on both XP and Vista. It's also fully portable, and free.

Tags: printer, removal, uninstall, xps

Filed under: Internet, Security, Utilities, Windows, Freeware

Anti-Malware Toolkit updated, supports loads of new apps

by Lee Mathews Dec 12th 2008

Lunarsoft, producers of Anti-Malware Toolkit, have been hard at work since I mentioned it on Downloadsquad back in August.

The handy updater now supports 37 different downloads in five categories, including:

Spyware: Spyware Blaster, CCleaner, RogueRemover, SUPERAntiSpyware, Malwarebytes, Spybot, Hijack This
Definitions: Avast, Avira, Spybot, Malwarebytes, SUPERAntiSpyware
Utilities: Dial-a-fix, JavaRA, Autoruns, Process Explorer, Rootkit Revealer, Unlocker, LSPFix, MS Malcious Software Removal, Windows Installer Cleanup
Uninstallers: Avast, Avira, AVG (x86 and x64), BitDefender, Kaspersky, McAfee, One Care
Recommendations: Firefox, Opera, Thunderbird, Avast, AntiVir, Comdo (x86 and x64), Auslogics Defrag, PageDefrag, UPHClean

Support has also been added automatically create category folders instead of saving everything into your specified download directory.

It's a great application for keeping your flash drive up-to-date with a ton of good, free malware removal tools. Anti-Malware Toolkit is a free application for Windows only. It can be downloaded from the author's site or from Freeware Files.

Tags: cleanup, downloader, malware, removal, spyware, updater

Filed under: Security, Utilities, Windows, Symantec, Freeware, Troubleshooting

5 Windows tools to remove damaged antivirus programs

by Lee Mathews Nov 11th 2008

One frustrating problem I have to fight with on customer computers is damaged antivirus and internet security program installs. Much of the time there's no simple way to get rid of them once something has gone wrong, and they can cause all kinds of headaches.

Fortunately, some of the companies are good enough to provide uninstall tools to help us out.

McAfee: MCPR
While I was putting this post together, their web site starter throwing random errors at me. You should be able to download the remover from this page. If not, get it directly from McAffee or Softpedia.

Norton: Norton Removal Tool
Back when I first used SymNRT (the old name for this app), it did a pretty good job of cleaning things up. I'll warn you in advance: Norton Removal Tool will probably miss some files, folders, and registry keys. Still, it will at least get the program out of your way. It's availble through this Symantec article, or directly from the Symantec FTP or MajorGeeks. [download] and run a quick registry sweep to tidy up.

Tags: antivirus, malware, removal, uninstall

Filed under: Security, Utilities, Windows, Freeware

Anti-Malware Toolkit Keeps Your Aresenal Up-To-Date

by Lee Mathews Aug 14th 2008

For those of you charged with the unenviable task of malware removal and defense, keeping your toolbox current can be a lot of work. Lunarsoft's Anti-Malware Toolkit simplifies the process by providing an easy way to handle downloading.

The Toolkit is really just a downloader which fetches the current versions of programs like Super Antispyware, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, HijackThis, Spybot, Autoruns, CCleaner, and LSP Fix. It also grabs programs that you'll want to install to prevent further issues: Avast, Firefox, Comodo Firewall.

Point it to your USB flash drive or network share, hit the download button and grab yourself a cup of coffee.

While you could do this with just about any decent download manager, why bother? Anti-Malware toolkit already targets most of the tools you're going to need and it's as simple to maintain them as clicking a single button.

Tags: antvirus, cleanup, crapware, malware, removal, spyware, trojan, virus

Filed under: Internet, Security, Utilities, Features, Windows, Freeware

Lesser Known Weapons To Trick Out Your Malware Arsenal

by Lee Mathews Jul 18th 2008

Everybody knows the big names in the battle against malware - Adaware, Spybot, HijackThis. Today we're going indie, focusing on lesser known ways to avoid and remove all that bothersome software that your "friend" crapped up your rig with!

First things first. Try not to get infected in the first place.

It's common sense that if you can keep malware from getting its nasty little claws on your OS you won't have to bother with fancy removal tools anyway. But how to do it? Sure, real-time scanning will catch a lot of garbage, but why not give your PC a little extra help? Here are two really simple methods.

Outfox malicious sites using a hosts file. By making use of the lmhosts file win Windows, you can trick your computer into never seeing sites where a lot of malware originates. Our favorite is MVPS.org's; it's one of the most complete, frequently updated files you'll find on the net. All the nefarious domains are redirected to 127.0.0.1 - good ol' localhost - so any links to their evil apps just won't work because chances are pretty good that your PC isn't serving up WinSuperSpyRemover 2008. Gold.

Tags: cleanup, malicious, malware, removal, rogue app, RogueApp, spyware, trojan

Filed under: Design, Developer, Internet, Web services, Google

How to get your content removed from Google

by Chris Gilmer Apr 18th 2007

Have you ever wondered how you can get your content wiped out of the Google directory, as some newspapers have been vying to do recently? Google has a plan for webmasters.

The Google Webmaster Blog outlines a few methods that site owners can use in order to ensure their content is not indexed by the search engine. This can include a simple robots.txt file that either blocks Google completely or blocks certain directories on a server. The best way to go about removal however, is to verify the ownership of your site through Google's webmaster tools by inserting a small line of code in a webpage. There is a diagnostic tab there called URL Removals. From there you can submit a New Removal Request and choose to remove Individual URLs, a directory, your entire site, or cached copies.

Of course if you end up changing your mind, Google also has a way to reinclude content. Keep in mind, either way could take a few months or more to refresh on all of Google's servers.

Tags: central, directory, google, removal, robots, robots.xtx, search, webmaster

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