The Opera ghost browser

[blue max 7]

I've just upgraded from the free software after a decent trial to the professional version. I used to run Opera as a browser but have since uninstalled it so it no longer appears in any program list on the system.

However it is still listed on CCleaner under the Applications tab.

How do I remove this ghost reference? Or does CCleaner default to state a range of browsers (unlikely, I'd say...)?

[nukecad]

There will be a leftover from the Opera uninstall still lingering somewhere on your computer which CCleaner is still finding.

Many apps when uninstalled will leave traces behind.
(Some do it deliberately, so that if for instance you try to install more than one free trial they will know you've already had one).

It's probably a registry key, possibly a file association somewhere - ie. if you had/havea certain file type set to open in Opera then there will be a reg entry for that.

If you are confident using the Registry Editor then you could search it for anything 'Opera' - Usual warning: Don't use the Registry Editor if you are not confident in doing so, you could mess or even brick your machine if you are not sure what you are doing in there.

If you are on Windows 10 you could ignore it until the next Windows Feature Update which should (may) remove the ghost.
(or you could reinstall Windows, but that's a bit drastic for a minor annoyance).

Revo uninstaller is good at finding those leftovers and removing them, use with care and read up about using it before trying.
If you get the Free version of Revo then the easiest way is probably to reinstall Opera and then uninstall it again using Revo.
Revo will use Operas own uninstaller and then search for leftovers, if you tell it to, again be careful and use with care (you don't want to remove the wrong thing).
The Pro version (or Pro trial) can even clear up leftovers from things that were uninstalled before you got Revo using a special mode, again read up about it before trying.

[hazelnut]

Look in C/Program files also C /ProgramData  and C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Programs\Opera for left over folders.

In regedit go to HKEY _CURRENT_USER... Software

And                  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE...Software

 

[blue max 7]

Thank you folks, for some excellent advice. I'll get on to it right away  and see what turns up using the various approaches suggested.

I already had the idea to re-install Opera and then uninstall, so I'm glad to hear my thinking was on the right track. I'll start with a peek at the registry and then make a decision that I feel comfortable with.

Cheers.

[blue max 7]

Reporting back on this issue....

Just a cursory look through the  Program Files (x86) folder turned up some past Opera files, which had somehow missed the previous uninstall process. I manually deleted the parent folder and contents myself.

I then  installed and paid for Revo and used the 'Forced Uninstall' tab to look for 'opera' leftovers in the registry keys. This found numerous entries under Client, News, Mail and other Microsoft sub-headings. I selected all components that specifically were sub the "Opera" name in the tree and after creating a restore point, then deleted them.

This step appears to have worked without damaging anything else. I've opened and closed routine programs, shut down and restarted etc. without noticing anything amiss.

However CCleaner still reports Opera in the Apps list. Ha!  I'm now wondering if I need to wait until the next upgrade to overwrite the old Opera settings?

[nukecad]

17 minutes ago, blue max 7 said:

However CCleaner still reports Opera in the Apps list. Ha!  I'm now wondering if I need to wait until the next upgrade to overwrite the old Opera settings?

You may need to uninstall/re-install CCleaner to get rid of it from the applications tab now that the Opera leftovers have gone.

You'll have to re-enter your registered name and licence key after re-installing so make sure that you have a note of them first.
(They can be found at Options>About>Licence Information, or on your purchase email).

When uninstalling/re-installing (which we do more than most when helping out here) we tend to use the 'Slim' installer from here: https://www.ccleaner.com/ccleaner/builds
It's a little bit smaller/quicker than the Standard installer, but installs the same CCleaner.

[blue max 7]

Ta... I'll give it a go!

[blue max 7]

This has been an intriguing experiment with a bizarre consequence. Following the further advice I received from you, I did two sequential uninstall/installs of CCleaner - first with the slim version and second with the normal installer. Neither of these actions 'fixed' the problem of it finding evidence of a ghost Opera somewhere in my system files. I rechecked and verified via Revo that no further flotsam and jetsam using the name 'Opera' was present on my  system, yet CC was able to find something, obviously.

Then, as a last resort, I downloaded the download handler for the latest version of Opera, in order to get the program, install it and then remove it. I hoped that would clear any buried remnants lurking somewhere.

Strangely, the download manager itself I could get easily enough trim their server, but it refused then  to download the actual program module!. Kept reporting that the download had failed, but did not give a reason. I tried multiple times without success.

This issue is doing me no harm; I don't intend to use Opera and therefore it's merely an annoyance related to cluttering, and of mainly academic interest - rather fascinating actually. 

 

[nukecad]

That is odd.

Possibly there is still something Opera related that is not using the word Opera?
It may need a Windows update to finally get rid of all traces.

As you say things like this are more of an annoyance than a problem, but do point up that most uninstalls leave traces behind.
If you weren't using CCleaner you wouldn't even have noticed that something Opera related was still lingering.

Just one more thing that I can think of, but uninstalling CCleaner should have cleared it anyway.
Do you have your CCleaner settings saved to a .ini file?
If you have then you could delete it, that should revert CCleaner to default settings so you would have to set any customisation back up again.

As for the downloading that may simply be to do with the fact that it's Black Friday weekend and the internet is overloaded with shoppers.
It was a PITA yesterday, and is still playing up today.

It wouldn't do any harm to check that your AV is up to date and run a scan, maybe even get another option to do a second scan.
I'd suggest MalwareBytes Free as a second malware scanner, I run a scan with it weekly, or even use it as a second AV.
Malwarebytes can even run alongside another AV in realtime - you shouldn't normally run 2 AVs at the same time because they will clash, but Malwarebytes is specifically designed to do that as another layer of protection.
I also use ADWcleaner (now also owned by Malwarebytes) for a weekly scan, that one looks specifically for Adware and Bundleware that may have made it onto your machine.

[blue max 7]

Thanks for all that info. Very useful and excellent advice! I think I'm at the end of the road now. On the way there I did find a few scattered remnants of old Opera stuff in User/Appdata that I had somehow overlooked previously for some reason, and which turned up when scanned with Filelocator Lite. (Along with some other stuff I thought I had dealt with, like Hamster archiver and Yandex remnants (albeit inactive)).  Some of these were deletable from that program directly, but others kept popping back into the file list, resisting arrest. But I did manage to delete them manually and directly from the relevant sub-folders. 

Re the Opera download handler, I also suspected a temporary server load-up but I eventually tracked it to the OperaSetup.exe file, which I think is a 'slim' version. I wised up and downloaded the full installer and that succeeded with zero stress levels. So I have now the latest version of Opera installed and functional. I'm going to play with it for a few days and then do a proper and full uninstall to check any effect on CCleaner's browser list. One way or another, I'm not that bothered from this point on, as all seems to be behaving as it should.

Re AV, i run Bitdefender, which has done well for me. It is up to date and I also initiate manual system scans with it regularly and use its VPN from time to time, such as prior to sensitive transactional sessions. I shall however also take a look at those two progs you mentioned and if they run with BD then all the better!

Good idea about the CC  ini file too. I hadn't thought of that but I shall now get on to it. Thanks muchly and cheers!

 

[ffwafdwafdsf]

[user] app data roaming.

Delete everything inside of "Opera Software" Maybe even Opera Software itself.

[nukecad]

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