Hi,
The other day I installed Defender and uninstalled MS Antispyware. Now I'm thinking about reversing that. Is Defender supposed to be a fancier version of MS Antispyware or what? I'm just not sure why they've created a program that does what another program they had already created already does. There are several advanced tools that Defender doesn't even have that I liked.
Am I missing an obvious point??
sonsie
My take on it is this, right or wrong:
I don't even see them as the same application, or progression of MS AntiSpyware to Windows Defender, they're completely different animals altogether in my views. Now rather or not they have any of the same code in them I don't know.
I would image for an anti-malware app you'd probably be better off with Windows Defender, hence it's more up-to-date, and will have continued support and so forth.
I don't even see them as the same application, or progression of MS AntiSpyware to Windows Defender, they're completely different animals altogether in my views
hmmm...they're both antispyware, so it seems like they're the same animal, just different colors, so to speak. Based on the help manual for Defender, they do exactly the same jobs - Real-time spyware protection, Microsoft SpyNet community, Spyware scanning.
I would image for an anti-malware app you'd probably be better off with Windows Defender, hence it's more up-to-date, and will have continued support and so forth.
I'm way behind in computer savvy so maybe I'm missing something, but I don't get what you wrote at all. They're both Microsoft, both relatively new, and both beta versions - what leads you to believe MS Anti won't have continued support or be up to date? Unless they developed Defender to replace MS Anti
MS Anti was around for a while, then you'd see people talking in a forum here and there about this Defender that would be coming out. When it became available, people were announcing that "Defender's out!". I dunno my logic said that if the same company is producing 2 products that do the same thing, the second one must be an improvement. LOL That's what I get for trying to reason like a programmer.
I didn't really switch on purpose, but I think I'll switch back to MS Anti.
btw, if I uninstall a program using the Add/Remove Programs function, shouldn't the program still be on my computer? In the same folder in Program Files?
sonsie
I'm way behind in computer savvy so maybe I'm missing something, but I don't get what you wrote at all. They're both Microsoft, both relatively new, and both beta versions - what leads you to believe MS Anti won't have continued support or be up to date? Unless they developed Defender to replace MS Anti
Windows Defender is the replacement for Microsoft AntiSpyware.
btw, if I uninstall a program using the Add/Remove Programs function, shouldn't the program still be on my computer? In the same folder in Program Files?
Huh? If the program uninstalls properly it should remove all traces of itself, however in reality that rarely happens. Neither Windows Defender nor Microsoft AntiSpyware remove everything they place on the system, they both leave stuff behind as files on the hard disk, and data in the registry, which is the reason to use something like Total Uninstall (Last Free Version) to track all installations so that they can easily be removed without having to manually hunt down loads of crap.
Windows Defender is the replacement for Microsoft AntiSpyware.
Okaayyy...now I get it. Thanks.
If the program uninstalls properly it should remove all traces of itself, however in reality that rarely happens.
ok, bear with me a minute cuz this is probably really obvious to most people - I have programs like Webshots, Nero, CCleaner, etc in a folder labeled 'Downloads'. I can install them, use them, then decide to uninstall them. After I uninstall them, they're still in my folder and I can install them again at a future date.
Due to a minor prob with MSAnti, I decided to un- and reinstall it. I went ahead and uninstalled it, but when I looked in the 'Program Files' folder, all that was left were logs. So now I'm confused - why are some things deleted during uninstall and others aren't?
sonsie
Why weren't the logs removed? Because they were created after the program was installed. All programs follow a general rule that they do not remove files that were not initially installed by the program. This is a safeguard to prevent data loss. For instance: Intuit's Quicken stores its data files in the program's installation folder (which is retarded, but that's a story for another post). If you uninstalled Quicken and it deleted your financial information, you'd be pretty sore. So most programs only remove files installed by the program initially. Logs get left behind by MSAS/Defender as they are considered user data.
Why weren't the logs removed?
No, not what I was asking. My original question was:
btw, if I uninstall a program using the Add/Remove Programs function, shouldn't the program still be on my computer? In the same folder in Program Files?
And then I gave this example:
I have programs like Webshots, Nero, CCleaner, etc in a folder labeled 'Downloads'. I can install them, use them, then decide to uninstall them. After I uninstall them, they're still in my folder and I can install them again at a future date.
Due to a minor prob with MSAnti, I decided to un- and reinstall it. I went ahead and uninstalled it, but when I looked in the 'Program Files' folder, all that was left were logs.
So my question is, why are some programs deleted when I uninstall them, and others aren't. I wanted to reinstall MSAnti so I opened that folder in Program Files. I only mentioned the logs to emphasize that they were all that was left in the MSAnti folder - there were lots of files and a couple of folders before I uninstalled - applications, app extensions, etc, but it was gone after the uninstall.
Oh, and thank you for the explanation about files that you gave. I didn't know any of that, and it's good to hear about the built-in safety feature that prevents data loss.
sonsie
So my question is, why are some programs deleted when I uninstall them, and others aren't. I wanted to reinstall MSAnti so I opened that folder in Program Files.
What, Huh? Your question originally had me confused and still does!
I'll try to explain anyways:
When you uninstall a program it's executable files (.exe, .dll, .ocx) shouldn't still be in the Program Files folder, they should have been deleted with the uninstall, the only remaining files should be what DJLizard already explained.
Now if you're talking instead about the originally downloaded file, e.g.; some_app_v12-setup.exe it will still be available for installation/re-installation in your Downloads folder.
Now if you're talking instead about the originally downloaded file, e.g.; some_app_v12-setup.exe it will still be available for installation/re-installation in your Downloads folder.
yessss..that's what I was referring to. I guess my terminology leaves something to be desired.
So after I uninstalled MSAnti, the .exe file should have still been on my computer. For some reason it wasn't - all that was left of MSAnti were my logs. I went to the MS site to dl it, saw Defender, and decided to give it a try. My dissatisfaction with Defender was what prompted me to post.
I'm sorry this turned out to be a much longer and more involved question than I intended. I try to be real clear, but that doesn't help if I'm not using the right words. Communication is a difficult art - and we're all speaking english! Is it any wonder there are arguements and divorces and wars?
Thanks Andavari and DJ for your help and patience.
sonsie
Hmm, while we're on the subject .....
I was away from my machine for some time (couple of weeeks) , I came back expecting quite a bit of updating (inc. MS defender) - all went okay, so I thought, but MS defender did not (apparently) update.
And to this day it shows an exclamation mark in the toolbar. If I open it up, it says It has not been updated in x days (increases as we speak). Forcing it to update manually has no effect. It still complains (@ toolbar) always. (Even tho after manual update it says it is up-to-date)
I use auto / manual update & windows update - it still says the engine definitions are out of date .... what to do ??
(freaking MS)
Any ideas ?
Thanks,
B
I had the exact same problem and this worked for me:
To resolve this problem, follow these steps:
1. Remove the current signature file. To do this, click Start, click Run, type Msiexec /x {A5CC2A09-E9D3-49EC-923D-03874BBD4C2C}, and then click OK.
2. Open Windows Defender. To do this, click Start, click Programs, and then click Windows Defender.
3. Check for new definitions. To do this, click the Help options arrow next to the Windows Defender Help icon, click About Windows Defender, and then click Check for Updates.
This info is from support.microsoft.com.
Hope this works for you.
Jesus people. Plain and simple. When you uninstall a program "most files are deleted accept the main folder of the program" Got it...