30-04-2021

C Cleaner Browser



How to Uninstall CCleaner Browser

(when the uninstaller fails.)

Recently I had the need to do a little cleanup on my computer. So I went to a trusty old tool I used to use called CCleaner. To my surprise It started installing a browser that I did not want on my PC. I noticed the little check mark after I clicked next (sneaky)

CCleaner Browser is Chromuim based so you should just add the extension as you would with Chrome browser, see this post. The cleaner or optimizer works on browsers, apps, and the cache or temporary files generated by them. It helps you to clean up the computer and keep it free from junk. On the other hand, the Registry Cleaner works to remove unused, incomplete, broken, and old entries in the computer’s registry.

I Immediately regretted this install

Browser

I pretty much ended my use and future use for this software at this point, and immediately uninstalled it.

When I tried to uninstall the companion software (CCleaner Browser) (PUP aka Potentially Unwanted Program) the uninstaller program just did nothing,

C Cleaner Browser

Ccleaner Browser Vs Firefox

Browser

Searching Online proved to be useless.

Simply put, all the “How To” articles tell me to “Run the Uninstaller”. Yeah no kidding Sherlock, what happens when the uninstaller gives no error, and no output. Even running from Command Prompt results in No output, or errors.

Regedit search to the rescue.

Ok, here’s the down and dirty way I uninstalled it.

Searching the registry for the uninstaller filename (ccleaneruninstall.exe). I came across a reference to an old legacy un-installer lcoated in the following folder. “C:Program Files (x86)CCleaner BrowserApplication76.0.130.103Installer”

It had a command to un-install the app that read like this

“C:Program Files (x86)CCleaner BrowserApplication76.0.130.103Installersetup.exe” –uninstall –system-level

Simply opening a CMD as Administrator, and pasting this exactly (Including the “quotes around the filename”) into the prompt launched an alternative uninstaller that seems (so far) to have done the trick.

running without the quotes may do the trick as well, but I’m not about to install it again to find out.

Reasons why I started disliking CCleaner after today

Upon research of this issue, I came across some info about CCleaner that makes me want to steer clear now.

  • Bought out by Avast and no longer under the original developers control
  • Forcing users to update their applications even if they choose NOT to check for updates (Huge invasion of privacy, and ignoring privacy settings)
  • Installing web browsers sneakily in their auto-installers.
  • Avast (a leasing security company) had their software compromised, and caused millions of users to be infected with malware capable of stealing data and controlling their computers.

These are some very compelling arguments for NOT using Ccleaner. However there is no need to find an alternative just yet. If you are on Windows 10, a lot of the stuff CCleaner used to do is now built into Windows.

At this point I am no longer using or recommending CCleaner anymore to cleanup the small things in Windows.

Ccleaner Browser Review For Windows 10

In case you scrolled right to the bottom to find the uninstall method, try this link to move back up.

Ccleaner Browser Extensions

CCleaner is able to clean all popular browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox and Edge. As browsers are continuously updated, a new version of CCleaner is released every month to stay on top of any changes and make sure you always get the best clean.

As you use each browser and visit websites, data is collected which can be cleaned. By default, CCleaner will clean all available browsers and a recommended level of data within them. However, you can edit CCleaner’s settings to choose which browsers, and what data within them, should be cleaned. This might be useful if, for example, you prefer to use one browser for day-to-day browsing and another for accessing more sensitive information such as online banking. CCleaner can perform a default clean on your 'regular use' browser and clean all data from your 'secure' browser.

Ccleaner Browser Download Free

To edit CCleaner’s browser cleaning settings:

Ccleaner Browser Review

  1. In CCleaner, click on the Cleaner icon on the left. In this section you’ll see a ‘Windows’ panel which lists all the browsers available for cleaning. The list includes the name of each browser, and all the data within each browser, that can be cleaned (so for example, Chrome’s Internet Cache, History and Cookies).
  2. To choose which browser you’d like to clean, simply select (and deselect) the boxes in the list. For example, if you wish to exclude Edge from being cleaned, deselect every box under ‘Microsoft Edge’ (or click on the Edge icon to select/deselect everything at once). If you’d like to clean only Microsoft Edge's cookies, make sure only the 'Cookies' box under 'Edge' is selected.
  3. Click Analyze to see a list of the exact files which can be cleaned. To clean, click Run Cleaner.