appZapper or appcleaner

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Level 1

9 points

appZapper or appcleaner

hi everyone,

i was planning to get a application that can help me uninstall softwares in my mac, (which is running mac os x lion).

which one is better? appzapper or appcleaner? ( i wont mind about the $, just want to know which one is easier to use, safer, and CLEAN)

if someone used those software before, can you tell me some of the details about it, please? thanks 🙂

i am new to mac and the system dont have its own uninstaller, (in windows, i can uninstall the unwant program in Control Panel). if those two softwares are both not good, what app will you recommend that is better or is there a way to uninstall app in mac os x lion without any third-part uninstaller?

Mac mini, Mac OS X (10.7.3), mac mini 2010 mid

Posted on Apr 30, 2012 4:27 PM

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Answer 1

Barney-15E

Level 10

122,558 points

Apr 30, 2012 4:38 PM in response to haoran

You don't need an uninstaller on the Mac, for the most part.

If it was a drag and drop installation (i.e. you copied the application to your Applications folder), then just drag it to the trash.

If you used an installer to install it, then it should have come with an uninstaller, but sometimes they don't.

If it didn't come with an uninstaller, then you may need to poke around for the drek it left behind. The only really important places are in your StartupItems, LaunchAgents or LaunchDaemons folders which are in your user/Library or in the main /Library.

Some apps will place things in the Application Support folder (also in the Libraries), or straight in the Library.

Also, check that there isn't something in your Login Items in the User Accounts system preferences.

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Answer 2

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Apr 30, 2012 4:39 PM in response to haoran

Neither one is useful. Without getting into very advanced techniques, the only reliable way to uninstall complex third-party software is to use the uninstallation tool, if any, provided by the developer, or to follow his instructions.

Suppose you want to remove something called “BrickYourMac.” First check the developer's website, say www.brickyourmac.com, for instructions. If you don’t find any, email the developer. Failing that, download BrickYourMac.dmg and open it. There may be an application in there such as “Uninstall BrickYourMac.” If not, open “BrickYourMac.pkg” and look for an Uninstall button.

If you can’t remove the software in any other way, you’ll have to erase your boot volume and perform a clean reinstallation of the Mac OS. Never install any third-party software unless you're sure you know how to uninstall it; otherwise you may create problems that are very hard to solve.

The above doesn't apply to simple, self-contained applications, such as the ones you get from the App Store. Those can be dragged to the Trash.

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