We handle support for people who purchase software and the number one issue we consistently experience is the inability to install updated versions of their favourite software.

There are very basic reasons, too. When you first install your software, you’re often asked to reboot. After this procedure, it’s in use. The application may start when you boot your PC, run in the background, checking your system and much more. When you decide to upgrade, people expect to simply install the latest version on top, forgetting the application is being used and that Windows cannot remove active files.

The result is, the application is not fully removed and you’re left in limbo where you can’t always install the latest version either. Security software suffers from this scenario, which is why manufacturers release an official ‘removal tool’ which works in safe mode to remove the suite.

Quickly view and remove unwanted bundleware using the new Uninstaller 8

One solution is to install a dedicated tool which is designed to fully remove installed software and once such tool is the latest IObit Uninstaller 8.

At a basic level, Uninstaller 8 will list all installed applications and enable you to quickly remove them. It will access a ‘stubborn program database’ of known software if it struggles to fully remove your application and will auto clean any leftover files the next time you reboot your PC. Effectively, it will completely cleanse all traces of installed software.

The latest Uninstaller 8 goes further. It will now locate and list any unwanted bundleware, present every toolbar and browser plugin for Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Internet Explorer (but not Opera) and will highlight installed applications by the file size and the last time they were accessed.

You can, as you’d expect, remove Windows 10 apps, view separate third-party installed apps and keep one eye on recently installed applications to make sure nothing unwanted appears on your PC.

There’s a Software Updater, only available in the PRO version, now with a 500% larger database, but with all software updater tools, it’s limited by this database and whoever keeps it manually updated. On our test PC, it only listed two installed applications and claimed they were up-to-date. One of these was Dropbox, which at v54.4.90 claims was the latest version. It wasn’t, it’s now at v55, which makes us wonder how often the database was updated.

Although Uninstalled 8 is free, a $19.99 PRO version will remove advertising plug-ins, unwanted browser extensions, is even better at removing stubborn applications and includes the 1-click software updater.

Download IObit Uninstaller 8.