Uninstall Programs The Right Way Remove applications you never use We receive numerous emails from people who install applications and have no idea how to uninstall them. Some try to uninstall applications by simply deleting them. This can cause serious problems with you computer. It's important to use the correct method to uninstall applications. If the program offers its own Uninstall procedure (most programs do), use that: Click start, select Programs (in WinXP select All Programs), then click the folder for the program and the Uninstall feature if it’s available. Otherwise, use Windows’ Add/Remove Programs applet: click Start, Settings, Control Panel (in WinXP you can skip Settings), and double-click Add/Remove Programs (Add Or Remove Programs in WinXP). In WinXP or Win2000, select the program you want to remove and click the Remove button. In Windows 98/Me, select the program you want to remove and click Add/Remove; the applet will guide you through the rest. Repeat the procedure to remove every program you no longer need. It's a good habit to remove any programs from your computer you find you do not use. Most of us install programs at one time or another that sound good but we later find we never use them. Keep your computer in tip-top shape and remove unused applications. It's important to note that spyware/adware and other unwanted programs may have an uninstaller present. However, there's a catch: The uninstaller will remove parts of the program (the part you most likely downloaded it for) but now the spyware/adware or questionable parts. That's why it's imperative that you install and use a good anti-spyware application. At the time of this writing we do not recommend Ad-Aware or Microsoft Anti-Spyware. Neither of these applications will remove some of the most prolific spyware/adware/unwanted software. Microsoft's program is still in beta - which means it's not ready for prime-time as it is still in testing. So, we can excuse Microsoft at this point. Ad-Aware simply does not list all potential bogus programs because they've demonstrated many times that they're afraid of litigation. They'd rather save their own skin, apparently, than yours. We recommend and use SpySweeper (30 day trial here) along with SpyBot Search & Destroy (free - download here). There are other good anti-spyware applications available but keep in mind, several anti-spyware programs are spyware themselves...so be careful! Would you like to make a donation to help Cloudeight help you? How about making our Cloudeight Start Page your start page? Close This Tutorial Window Copyright ©2005 by Cloudeight Internet, LLC