Uninstalling a Windows application leaves multiple traces such as abandoned registry keys, configuration files and shared libraries that are no longer used by any application. When you are looking for a perfect solution to your problem, you are typically downloading and testing dozens of different applications distributed on the try-before-you-buy basis. After you complete your search, you’ll decide on just one application, and will want to remove the other products you’ve tested. But do you realize how much garbage they leave behind even after being ‘completely’ uninstalled?
If you install a comprehensive suite created by a big-name company, you’re getting the best quality software that surely knows how to behave and how to clean up after itself, right? Wrong! Many if not all products leave behind them multiple traces that are more than likely to make your computer behave odd, or even lead to problems that are impossible to predict and hard to resolve.
Want examples? How about a firewall that forgets to remove a system-level driver that filters IP packets? After uninstalling the product, the driver just sits there, doing nothing...