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7.0

Removal of useless left-over software registry keys

Asked by brnbrg in Windows 98 Operating System

Tags: registry, useless, vbouncer, key, remove

I share a PC for research with others. All modifications, downloads and software installations are carefully monitored, but recently 3 keys appeared under \HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software that are nowhere else in the registry as well as in the overall file system. I hope I can attach a screenshot when sending this, it shows a key for ISTbar, a self-installed application where one of the researchers told me, he removed it with Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. 2 other guys told me, the same thing happened with Webdialer, apparently a Trojan Horse-type offshore pornographic self-dialing algorithm and VBouncer, an undesired system utility. Now, my question is 2-fold:

1) Can I simply remove such left-over keys from this specific location in the registry if there is abosolutely no other reference to these programs, their folders or files any more, or could this damage the registry? Note, that I had once a bad experience with a registry "cleaning" utility and since then prefer to watch what I install and how I uninstall it, and that has worked fine, since I don't allow any crap. With these Trojan Horses though, the other guys swear that they installed themselves against their will and that they removed them right away.

2) The install of VBouncer was slightly different. When running msconfig, I unchecked it from Startup (and that was AFTER I uninstalled VBouncer), then removed the ...\RUN- key in accordance with the IDG Book "More Windows Secrets" Part II - Local Secrets on page 693 and that works well, all leftovers in Startup are gone when following the procedure outlined there. But in the registry, VBouncer is not a key by itself. Instead, it is a subkey as follows:

\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VB and VBA Program Settings\VBouncer\Settings

Is \VB and VBA Program Settings a needed and valid key so that I have to leave it there, or is it a deception by the VBouncer people to make you think it is something meaningful? If it is meaningful, what is it for? If it has to remain there, can I then simply delete the \VBouncer key and with it the \Settings key underneath it?

Thank you very much in advance.

Sincerely,
Bernard

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20091111-EE-VQP-92

Removal of useless left-over software registry keys

Asked by brnbrg in Windows 98 Operating System

Tags: registry, useless, vbouncer, key, remove

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