Editing the registry

[spydermonkey]

I found out I have this pesky little AdWare search bar I want to get rid of. So I did a google and came up with the following information.

PerfectNav Removal Instructions 

Please follow the instructions below if you would like to remove PerfectNav manually. Please notice that you must follow the instructions very carefully and delete everything that is mentioned. In most cases the removal will fail if one single item is not deleted. If Bazooka still detects PerfectNav after stepping through the removal instructions, please double-check by stepping through them again. 

Start the registry editor. This is done by clicking Start then Run. (The Run dialog will appear.) Type regedit and click OK. (The registry editor will open.) 
Delete 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE \ Classes \ CLSID \ {A045DC85-FC44-45be-8A50-E4F9C62C9A84}', if it exists. 
Delete 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer\Browser Helper Objects \ {A045DC85-FC44-45be-8A50-E4F9C62C9A84}', if it exists. 
Exit the registry editor. 
Restart your computer. 
Delete the following directory and its content: 
%ProgramsDir%\PerfectNav\ 
Note: %ProgramsDir% is a variable ( ? ). By default, this is C:\Program Files. 
Start Microsoft Internet Explorer. 
In Internet Explorer, click Tools -> Internet Options. 
Click the Programs tab -> Reset Web Settings.

I want to write a perl script that will check and remove this for me. This is something I've NEVER done before, so these are my questions.

1) How do you scan the registry for a certain string?
2) If found, how are these things removed?

Thanks!

 

[Rieekan]

While I've never used it, take a look at the documentation for Win32-Registry-File on CPAN.

- Rieekan

 

[stevexff]

You've never done this before. Rieekan's never used it either. Sounds like a registry backup (maybe two, even) is in order before you start...

 

[chazoid]

Another one you might want to look at is Win32::TieRegistry
I use it to delete/add specific keys, but I've never tried using it to search for strings. I'd try it now, but I'm reluctant to mess with it on my work PC. Definitely take steveffx's advice on backing up the registry.

btw, *don't* try to use Data:umper to dump the entire registry

 

[PaulTEG]

backup is the order of the day ...