how to uninstall daemon tools adware

[ikb555]

I installed Daemon Tools Lite 4.10 on Windows XP. I didn't realize that it installed adware. I'm happy to pay for a non-adware version, but I want to make sure I have every remnant of adware uninstalled before I proceed any further.

However the uninstall directions don't work. There was no option in Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel. There is an uninstall link in the Start Menu, so I used that. However, I then went to the Daemon Tools folder in Program Files and noticed files that didn't get deleted. The most prominent is AdVantageSetup.exe. I can't manually delete the file -- it says "Access Denied". And the process remains loaded on my computer even after a reboot. There is no other UI option to uninstall this and I don't see any documentation to finish the uninstallation.

Does anyone know how to get this stuff off my computer?

[mastermind]

Not to offend you in any way, but how did you manage to not notice all the warnings and information about the adware during the install? The adware is by the way 100% optional, and you can simply uncheck the box during installation.

There are two adware programs - AdVantage and the WhenU search bar. Both can be easily uninstalled via Add/Remove Programs in your Control Panel. You'll find them in the list as "AdVantage (powering DAEMON Tools)" or something similar to that, and "DAEMON Tools Searchbar". You don't have to uninstall or reinstall DAEMON Tools in order to remove the adware.

Just as a personal note: I don't like adware either. Which is why I appreciate that the DT team has made it optional in DT Lite. I've become quite dependant on Daemon Tools, so I have chosen to contribute by paying for it. I now use DT Pro Advanced, which is only available to paying customers, and contains no adware of any kind. If you're interested in supporting the software (without using adware), become a paying customer yourself Compared to other software, Daemon Tools really isn't expensive.

[ikb555]

yes i missed that. for a company that uses adware i appreciate the way they did it. the only problem is that neither Daemon Tools nor any adware applications ever showed up in the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel. Everything did install completely though. Was this a change to the program? AdvantageSetup.exe loads on startup yet there is no mention of the adware application anywhere in my Control Panel. Has anyone else had this issue?

[mastermind]

I don't understand why they're not present in your Add/Remove Programs. Are you using the latest version, 4.10?

Anyhow, the AdVantage application could be present in both your HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry. To permanently disable it, open regedit and "browse" your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Curr entVersion\Run and remove anything that resembles of AdVantage and WhenU. There will be two entries for WhenU. When you've done that, check out HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Run as well, and remove anything resembling with AdVantage. I don't think you'll find any searchbar related entries there.

Now log off and on again or restart your computer to verify that none of them still starts automatically. The AdVantage and WhenU Searchbar related files will now be possible to remove. Remove them if you wish.

Good luck

[ikb555]

Great that worked, thanks.

I was using the most recent 4.10 x86. Also I didn't get any errors during install and Daemon tools was working correctly - so I'm surprised that the problem of not being in Add/Remove programs was unique to me. Anyway it is fine now.