14 DAY TRIAL // Maintaining your computer clean and up and running always starts with the way you install and uninstall an application. If these procedures (especially the latter) are accomplished with a sense of responsibility and the application performing it is as thorough as can be (by this I understand a total elimination of unnecessary files pertaining to uninstalled software), then you have one less thing to worry when thinking about computer maintenance.
Up to now the best way to perform a 100% clean uninstall of an application has been by taking snapshots of the system changes before the app is installed and after and comparing the two. This way you can be sure that all elements added during installation are eliminated and there is little room for failure. However, this method is not spread among users because it multiplies the installation time of a software.
Your Uninstaller! 2008 comes to the rescue by providing a registry scan for elements of the uninstalled application and wiping them out. But besides its uninstall capabilities Your Uninstaller! 2008 features additional tools ready to assist you in maintaining a clean system. You have 21 days for a proper evaluation of the software as none of its features are crippled, after that, if you want to continue using it, a $29.95 fee has to be paid in your name.
This uninstaller provides two functionality modes, a Basic one which practically includes only the uninstall capabilities of the program and a Pro mode one which comes with the full arsenal of options and features. Uninstall view of the software displays all applications installed on your system, including Windows screensavers, marked in red (this can be adjusted in Options menu under Tools). Trying to get rid of these resulted in a useless effort as they could not be removed. Although at the end of the uninstall process I was assured that 3D Text screensaver was eliminated, restarting Your Uninstaller! 2008 brought 3DText back in the list.
However, testing its capabilities resulted in a very fine job with eliminating the leftovers behind improper software uninstalls. It did a very good registry sweep and removed unnecessary files in a snap. Also, the entire process does not take long at all. Compared to another similar tool, Your Uninstaller! 2008 detected 12 registry leftovers after uninstalling an app, while a similar tool found only 4 of them. Needless to say that all 12 items in the registry were all related to the application in question. Sure, at a more thorough scan of the registry there were still traces left behind, but the most relevant ones had been eliminated.
Additional functionality is infused in the software through the startup manager, temporary files cleaner, Start Menu cleaner, IE trace removing utility and Rescue Center. The startup manager included in Your Uninstaller! 2008 meets the standard requirements as it permits the user the addition to start up of new elements as well as disabling or eliminating existing ones.
Scanning for temporary, useless files however, needs a bit of revising as there are limited options available. The tool cannot be tweaked to hunt down other types of files than the ones already included. Also, configuring it to scan for empty folders on a different drive than the system's reveals a glitch: it will not be able to perform this operation but instead will automatically scan the system drive.
In case something that should not be removed is accidentally eliminated, do not fret as the application deletes all junk files directly to Recycle Bin. You also have the possibility of Rescue Center which, according to the description in the help file, should take a snapshot and store current system settings, including files and registry. This way you would be able to revert the system to an anterior state. However, in our case the tool failed to work and at each access asked for a turn on of Windows System Restore (which, guess what, was on).
Start Menu Manager, another instrument available in Your Uninstaller! 2008, is designed to help you towards a better administration of Windows Start menu, meaning that you can clean it up by eliminating dead links, hide the items you do not wish to see there (although paying more attention while installing applications would eliminate this need). During our testing this tool partially did its job as it happened that some folders in Start Menu included in our testing were not made invisible but only their contents. The moment one of these folders is accessed it will appear as empty.
Cleaning web surfing traces is restricted for IE based web browsers only and takes care of cookies, search history, clears all stored passwords, eliminated browser and address history, cleans temporary files and wipes all saved forms. This instrument will also handle the elements in the context menu of Internet Explorer by allowing you to delete or hide them.
Your Uninstaller! 2008 still has a few glitches to take care of but makes for a pretty good uninstaller, easy to use and very user friendly. However, improvements are still to be made in order to rise to the expectations of the price, not only for the uninstall tool but the entire bunch of additional instruments included.
The Good
The application is incredibly easy to use and performs the uninstall operation in three steps: uninstalls application from its own uninstaller, performs a registry scan and then it scans the installation folder for left over files.
The startup manager included comes with all the options permitting the user to eliminate, disable or add a new element in the list.
The Bad
Disk Cleaner utility cannot look for empty folders on designated drives, as it sticks only to searching system drive. Rescue Center did not work during our testing although Windows System Restore had been initiated.
Start Menu cleaner also comes with a few downsides as it failed to hide any folder we fed it. Web surfing cleaning options are limited to Internet Explorer based engines.
The Truth
Your Uninstaller! 2008 makes for a good software uninstaller, especially in Average Level, making a good sweep of the registry for leftovers, but there are still issues to be fixed, in each of the instruments it sports.
Read a previous review for Your Uninstaller!
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
