“.NET Framework Cleanup Utility” is a small, portable and freeware application designed to remove selected versions of the .NET Framework from a computer. It is intended to be used when the install, uninstall, repair or patching of the .NET Framework will not work correctly.
When this cleanup tool is run, it will remove the files, directories, registry keys and Add/Remove Programs entries that make up the .NET Framework.

This application has some nice features such as allowing you to choose which version of .NET Framework you want to remove. It also has a silent/unattended mode which I am sure the Technibble scripters will enjoy. Be sure to read the readme.txt file as it contains some handy usage information plus the download links for the .NET Framework installers.
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AppRemover is a small, free and portable utility designed to be a single removal tool for a huge list of security products. It can remove products made by Avast!, AVG, Avira, BullGuard, CA, ClamWin, ESET, F-Secure, Kaspersky, Lavasoft, McAfee, Microsoft, Norman, Panda, Sophos, Symantec, TrendMicro, TrustPort, Webroot and many more.
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Zone Alarm is a well known internet security package and most of the time it works fairly well. However, because this application has to sink its hooks deep into a Windows to protect the operating system, it can cause serious problems when the application does not uninstall correctly.
It seems, based off Zone Alarms official forums that there are a lot of people having trouble removing Zone Alarm and this is where the Zone Alarm Removal Tool comes in. Its a small, portable and freeware and its probably a good idea to have on your USB drive since you probably wont be able to connect to the internet to download it if you encounter these problems with Zone Alarm.
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Adobe Flash Uninstaller is a small, portable application designed to forcefully remove all versions Adobe Flash. While this tool isn’t particularly exciting, it has come in handy a few times on computer repair jobs. The last time I had to use it I had a client who couldn’t play Youtube videos because they got the message:
“Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Macromedia’s Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.”

I checked to see that Adobe Flash was installed and it had been installed. I suspected it was corrupt or something so I removed it using Add/Remove Programs and reinstalled it, same problem. So I used this application to forcefully remove Flash. I then reinstalled Flash and it worked like a charm.
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In past “Repair Tool of the Week” articles I have posted about a few of the removal tools for the most common antiviruses like Norton, AVG and McAfee. Of course, there are many more antiviruses than these and it wouldnt make sense to have a post for each one so I have compiled a single large list of antivirus removal tools. This makes it easier for you to download them all at once to carry around with you on your USB drive.

I have also included a “More Information” link for most of them that takes you to the tools page in case the download link becomes broken in the future or you want to make sure you get the latest version. As of the date of this post, these are the most recent versions of the removal tools.
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In the past, Technibble has featured the Norton Removal Tool and the McAfee Removal Tool and now it’s AVG Antivirus’ turn. AVG Remover does exactly that, it removes AVG.

Why not just uninstall it via the Add/Remove Programs you might say? Because sometimes the uninstaller doesnt completely remove everything. If you try to install a new version of AVG or some other antivirus, you cant because it believes that the old AVG is still installed. This fixes that by running a script that removes all the registry keys that AVG left behind.
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As most technicians should know, “Java” by Sun Microsystems is a platform that allows certain programs to run (such as Azureus) and certain website applets to play. As with any web-capable technology, it is frequently being updated because of security exploits constantly being discovered. However, when you update Java it doesnt uninstall the old version which still leaves you vulnerable.

This is where JavaRa comes in. JavaRa is a small, freeware application designed to do two tasks. First, to check for any Java updates. And second, to uninstall any old versions of Java.

Although not very exciting, this tool is very important to computer security and should be added to your kits.

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There are two software security suites I really dislike – one of them is Norton Internet Security and the other is McAfee Internet Security. Why? Because they are bloated applictions that make most computers run poorly once installed. Often they have been the cause of the problems I had to fix onsite.

A big problem I frequently come across with Norton and McAfee is that both of these products sink their hooks so deeply into a system and once the appliction becomes corrupted it can cause serious stability problems – often to the point where you cannot boot into Windows. To make matters worse, neither product can be uninstalled from Safe Mode easily which is obviously a problem.

Enter the McAfee Consumer Product Removal Tool. This tool will remove the following McAfree Products:
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Revo Uninstaller is a free utility that is like the Windows “Add/Remove Programs” on steroids. Revo Uninstaller will seek out programs you have installed (including ones that arent in the Add/Remove List) and display them so you can uninstall the applications or remove their entry if they have already been deleted. Revo Uninstaller doesn’t stop there though, it has an option called “Hunter Mode” where you can drag a crosshair over any program and uninstall it from there. You can also use the crosshair to prevent applications from auto-running at bootup. Just drag the crosshair over the offending program in the system tray and it will give you the option to turn off auto-startup.

Revo Uninstaller also has a handful of useful Windows tools built in such as a “Junk Files Cleaner” which will seek out junk files with extensions that you pre-define. By default it will seek out .tmp, .temp, .chk, .old, .gid, .$$$, .dmp and many more temporary file extensions. This program is definitely worth adding to the kit of any computer technicians doing system tuneups.
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This one was recommended by our helpful forum member Techpro; You buy a brand new brand name PC, boot it up and it greets you with many advertisement icons with free trials and your system tray is full of update programs that use all of your internet connections resources. This should be a new computer, not one already loaded with adware and applications that make it run poorly like Norton Antivirus or McAfee. PC-Decrapifier is a tool that can remove all the crap in just a few clicks saving alot of time that would have been spent removing them manually.
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