What Does an Uninstaller Do?

An uninstaller is a computer program that is designed to remove all the parts of a specific program or application. It is the opposite of an installer. A third-party uninstaller, such as Perfect Uninstaller , is an example of a program, which uninstalls other applications.

Most commercial software vendors ship an uninstaller with their applications, but these uninstallers are usually lacking in completeness. The predicament with the application specific uninstall capability is that this feature is typically developed at the end of the software development phase when the developers are in a rush to finish their debug and testing to get the product out the door. Also, as programs get more complex and often integrate third-party components, many of these components are forgotten about by the programmers and without time to complete test the uninstaller function they get left behind when the program is removed. Application companies don't care about the superiority of the uninstaller’s capability since they make their money on the program install and use. The uninstall program is typically an after thought.

With Internet access widely available, many computer owners download and install free software and utilities. Users need to be careful only to download programs from known and trusted sources since many free programs can be adware or spyware programs disguised as useful utilities. Additionally, many freeware programs come bundled with all kinds of add-ons that are intentionally left behind on the users computer after the uninstallation of the main program. These leftovers continue to clutter the hard drive and, in many cases, are still running in the background and slow down the computer's performance. This leads to application uninstall challenges .

The components of an uninstaller typically include the following:

  • Uninstaller: The uninstaller is used to reverse the changes that an application made during installation. The uninstaller function is the workhorse of the application and uses data collected by the logger and analyzer to determine what files and registry entries to remove. Since the basic functions of an uninstaller program are well understood within the software industry, the algorithms and monitor / detection mechanisms used by uninstalling applications is now what differentiates commercial uninstallers from one another.
  • Logger: The logger monitors which files and registry entries were added or changed when a program is installed (ie., it logs what happens during installation). This log file can be used later when the user decides to uninstall the application and reverse the actions taken during the installation.
  • Analyzer: The analyzer capability is where most freeware programs come up short. When an application was installed before the third party uninstaller was purchased, the uninstall application relies on the analyzer function to read through the registry and system files to determine where the programs components are located and are their any other applications that use those components. If another program is not using the system files then you would like to remove them. Conversely, if other programs are using the same system file then it is best to leave the file behind.
  • Other features: With the competition in the standalone uninstaller software business, many programs have started to differentiate themselves with related add-on tools such as junk file cleaner, browser history cleaner, browser cache cleaner, etc. These tools are not directly related to the main uninstaller function, but are added to improve the end user experience by providing additional hard drive cleaning capability.

Perfect Uninstaller , a popular uninstall program, includes the uninstaller, logger, and analyzer capabilities as well as many other add-on cleaner utilities. You can see the complete feature list at Uninstall Any Program .