I can't uninstall!

[jormor1991]

I have CA Anti-Spyware and CA Personal Firewall installed on my computer, and I don't want it anymore, but when I try to install them, a pop-up comes up and says, "Error E9011: You do not have sufficient privileges to install or uninstall. Try logging on as Administrator." And I am the only account on my computer and I'm already the admin! It's driving me insane! Can anyone help me?

Also, I just installed AVG... is that a good one? Because tbh, I hated CA! And Norton Ant-Virus. I have McAfee SiteAdvisor, and I like it, but my subscription renewed, so I can't used McAfee anymore. Thanks!

[Ges]

Hi jormor1991,
Annoying is'nt it when 'security' software you trusted now turns out to be a pest itself?

Did you know that software that tries its best to prevent from being uninstalled is now being treated as MALWARE itself? About time too.

Anyway, there are a number of ways to get rid of it. One is to use free utlity software that has uninstall tools and another is to visit a malware removal forum. I have recommended with success to various members a couple of methods/remedies.

So this freebie gets rid of a lot of things on your PC;

http://www.ccleaner.com/

Yes it really does stand for CRAP CLEANER. It contains an extremely powerful software removal tool under the heading ( wait for it ), TOOLS. Run it and it should safely remove the CA crap.

Failing this then the CA has installed itself with malware hooks. This is well known as is now treat as actual malware - much to their dissappointment!

Post the problem to;

http://forum.malwareremoval.com

and evetually one of the mods will give you instructions. Please be patient as they are volunteers. Whilst there you may be asked to install simple utilies to run and the report the resultant log files back to them etc.

It should'nt come to that as crap cleaner should work so good luck with that.

As for AVG, I personally use it and have found it ok. However, the AVG ANTI-SPY does have one annoying 'feature' in the fact that it contains a scan/update engine that can, at times, use up literally 40% of your CPU time! Just visit their forums for more info.
I also use Spybot Search and Destroy ( yes I know it's not the best ), but most people don't realise that they have an excellent forum to discuss spyware/removal solutions.

As for McAfee and Norton - well, if you want to spend money then it's your choice but always remember this;

Anti virus software is only as good as the viruses it knows of!

Hence the much needed updates and why one package finds problems that others don't.
One last point - you are constantly told that it is not good to have more than one ant-spyware package installed at a time as they may interfere with each other. This only applies when they are making changes to the Windows Registry - but lets face it - if they are doing the job properly then there should be no problem.
Another reason ( quite valid though ), is if any of them are ruuning in real-time such as firewalls. This WILL cause problems - so don't attempt to install 2 or more firewalls at the same time ( common sense really ).


Hope this helps.

Regards,
Ges.

[jormor1991]

Thank you so much, that's wonderful! Unfortunately, the ccleaner is great, but it still didn't uninstall. It's saying unable to find registry key or something like that. I've registered at the forum, now where should I post my problem?

Also, as of now I have AVG, Ad-Aware Se Personal, and Spybot Search and Destroy on my computer... and CA, but I really want that off as you can see. Is this bad?

[jormor1991]

Ok, so I went into Safe Mode and deleted all the program's files, so when I rebooted, I could finally properly uninstall it. And all this was probably a bad idea, but I'm so sick of my computer being crap. So now I'm using Windows Firewall and AVG for antivirus. Currently I'm running a program called Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool. There are no infected files so far. I also have McAfee SiteAdvisor. I just don't know if I'm protected anymore, but I'm trying to do all I can. I want to take care of my computer, ya' know?

[Ges]

Hi jormor1991,
Glad you're sorted and it did'nt hurt, did it now? Ha ha.
Little point about ccleaner. It complained ( as I suspected ), that it could'nt find the registry key for CA. Naughty CA. Believe me, the registry key was there but was initiating a process in th disguise of our friend known as;

svhost.exe.

Take a look at;

http://www.liutilities.com/products/...rocesslibrary/

just don't buy anything - just for a quick reference!

Although a valid and essential Windows process it usually abused. Also, in ccleaner, did you click on 'Issues'. Don't be frightened to press thr 'Fix' button in future. But no need to now. Also when cleaning ( from time to time is a good idea! ), I have all the boxes set in 'Windows' EXCEPT for 'Advanced' located at the bottom. The 'Applications' is up to you. Suprising how much 'crap' we accumulate is'nt it? Ha ha.

For protection I have the following ( similar to you );

Windows Firewall
AVG antivirus ( not anti-spy ) - costs money!
Spybot Search and Destroy
Ad-Aware Se Personal ( as a second to S&D ).

and find that's enough!! OMG - the poor PC does have to breathe!!!
I only use Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool from time to time. So I would say that you are as protected as anyone else is ( and without parting with a penny! ). As it should be in this day and age. I do not rate McAfee site advisor and remember, each time you visit a site, you have the overhead ( in processor time ), of it searching it's own database to rate the site! Hmmmmm. But that's your choice.

One last point ( oh no says jormor1991!!! ), Do you remember when you bought your PC? Yes of course you do. It was that Super Fantastic Turbo Charged Lightning Speed machine on Steroids. Now it feels like a geriatric.
This is simply because ( putting applications and the crap they leave behind to one side ), Windows slowly over time builds up huge amounts of small refernce files/logs deep in obscurely named folders. Each time you boot or use various utils ( My Computer, Explorer - not IE, COntrol Panel, Search etc ), Windows indexes lots of theses files causing that sluggishness.
If you go back to my friends at the forum, got to the 'Post HIjack Logs Here'
and post a thread named - Very Slow PC. After they've finished 'tearing' your
PC apart it will magically return to that Super Duper one that you first bought. But, as you can see this can take time - depends how many volunteers are there!.

Anyway, I hope this lot has been of help and will be for future use.

Best of luck.

Ges.

PS: For lots of free utils etc I find these 2 very useful and reliable;

http://www.freewarefiles.com/

http://freewarearena.com/html/