Uninstalling Programs

How do you completely uninstall a program from the mac? I googled this and it simply said I could go into my mac hd and drag the program to the trash but does that remove all the files associated with it? Thanks for your help on this in advance. I downloaded and installed something called freepops thinking I could access my yahoo email with the mail program on the mac but it didn't work so now I would like to get rid of it. Also do you guys use anti-virus or any programs like spybot on the mac or is that only a windows issue with viruses and spyware?

You can use AppZapper:
AppZapper - The uninstaller Apple forgot.

You get five free trial zaps.

The best rule to follow when uninstalling programs from your Mac is if the program comes with an uninstaller, use it. Many new programs, even games are now including an uninstaller. So look for that first.

If no uninstaller is included, you can probably use something like AppZapper, AppCleaner or AppDelete. Some are free others are not.

I know it sounds like a cliche, but 99 times out of 100, just removing the app (ie put in trash, then empty trash) is all you need to do.

Unlike Windows, a preference file or library file left behind is NOT OF ANY CONCERN. It's inert without the original app and takes up no significant space whatsoever. There's no "registry" for inert pieces to mess up, because HAMAW -- Halleleujah, A Mac Ain't Windows!

Obsessive-compulsive types who care enough can use App Zapper (et al). I use it, but only because I love the zap sound. Seriously.

As chscag said, a few programs (the big pro-level ones mostly) come with a real uninstaller, and in THOSE cases you would use the uninstaller. Otherwise -- honest! -- just trashing the app is fine.

Like the OP, I'm also curious.

Back in the Windows world I used ZSoft Uninstaller, which would do a complete system scan before installation and then another scan afterwards.

Does anyone know of something similar? I know of AppZapper, AppCleaner, and the like, but those are more after the fact so it doesn't seem to be as complete as a pre-install scanner.

chas_m said:

Unlike Windows, a preference file or library file left behind is NOT OF ANY CONCERN. It's inert without the original app and takes up no significant space whatsoever. There's no "registry" for inert pieces to mess up, because HAMAW -- Halleleujah, A Mac Ain't Windows!

Obsessive-compulsive types who care enough can use App Zapper (et al). I use it, but only because I love the zap sound. Seriously.

Click to expand...

Heehee, yeah I'm definitely one of those OCD types. Even if the file will have no effect, it still bothers me. And as a new Mac user, I'll be testing a lot of apps so knowing that a possibly hundreds of loose files might exist would really drive me crazy

One question though, would using Time Machine work?

Can I make a backup, install a bunch of software and try them out and if I don't want them restore my Mac to its clean state? Or does Time Machine not work like that?

Carioy said:

...

Heehee, yeah I'm definitely one of those OCD types. Even if the file will have no effect, it still bothers me. And as a new Mac user, I'll be testing a lot of apps so knowing that a possibly hundreds of loose files might exist would really drive me crazy

One question though, would using Time Machine work?

Can I make a backup, install a bunch of software and try them out and if I don't want them restore my Mac to its clean state? Or does Time Machine not work like that?

Click to expand...

Still wouldn't worry about it. I installed and uninstalled well over 200 apps a year the first couple of years on my Mac. We all know that would have led to a reinstall on a Win box in about 6 months unless you happen to enjoy a crawling computer. Saw none of that on my Mac.

Hi,

I use App Cleaner now and again. But generally just drag the required app to the trash.

+1 on dragging to the trash. I have AppDelete, but almost never use it.

I agree with bobtomay. Since there is no registry in OS X, usually (and as chas_m points out) it's simply a matter of dragging it to the trash.

If you're paranoid about leaving files behind (plist, etc), you can always do a Spotlight search to ferret them out and delete them. However, once you learn the Unix file structure, you'll have a "feel" for where the left behind stuff is and be able to find them with no difficulty.

Thanks for the help everyone!

It's good to know that the leftover stuff won't slow down the system, but for me another part of it is knowing there is something left over and for some reason it just bugs me

I hope this thread isn't too old to bump up but I think I found a possible solution.

Before you install any app, load up fseventer and it will record all the files that are written and changed.

Then if you choose to uninstall it, first use AppZapper, AppCleaner, or any other app removal program.

Then you can manually go through the file list that was recorded by fseventer.