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How to uninstall a service? 1

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userinfo

IS-IT--Management
Dec 4, 2002
40
US
Hi there,

Do you guys know how to install a service, windows service or 3rd party service? Not just disable it.
Thanks very much!
 
Hi,

For example, the Windows 2000 has installed many services by default. Besides, some software vendors also run parts of their program as the system service.

So, I am looking for a method to uninstall the unwanted service, instead of disabling them.

Your kind help is highly appreciaed!
 
Which services in particular? If they are parts of Windows 2000 (this is an XP forum by the way), you can usually remove them through
Control Panel->Add/Remove Programs->Add Remove Windows Components. MCSE, A+
 
I sometimes found malicious program also run themselves as system service. Then what about them?
 
Anti Trojan Software and a good firewall will help you with
malicious programs running as a system service.

Check out for a utility that lets you run an app as a service.
 
Sometimes malicious programs can't just be removed by using Anti-trojan software. I've encounterd this before and what I did was to track down where the malicious program itself is, and see what registry keys it is using. I later run regedit and remove the key from there, because these keys are the ones that make this program run everytime the machine is booted. Requires a bit of work and could get complicated. This would be a last resort.
 
hi cod3x,

what kind of register entry do you mean? In the [run]?
thanks!

 
Well, the registry entry really depends on the program. It's hard to tell because different programs set it up in different locations. My best guess is to look under:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SOFTWARE -> Microsoft -> Windows -> CurrentVersion -> Run (or RunOnce)

Most of the time i get malicious software installed, and when i check TaskManager it doesn't seem to appear there, the above location is where I would look. There would be a key there that contains certain commands that make this malicious program run when windows starts.

I have to warn you that messing with registry is not a good idea, if you don't know what you are doing. It can totally mess up your system. My suggestion to you is to find out what exactly is the filename of this malicious program. The filename for it and the location of this program is stored. This makes it easier to find the key that the program is using, by doing a registry search and using the malicious program name as the search keyword. Sometimes I even have to go to the extent of using a Hex editor to crack the program and see where its putting its registry keys or malicious scripts. If your malicious program is a common one, the instructions to remove it should posted be somewhere on the Internet. Do a search and see if you come up with anything. And if you are REALLY UNSURE of what youre doing with the registry, do a backup of the original registry before you do anything. In case anything goes wrong, you could Import the old registry setting back in. Let me remind you again, playing around with registry setting can cause your Operating System to not function properly or not function at all.

Just for curiosity sake, what 'malicious program' are you talking about? What does it do?
 
All services registered in XP are located in this registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services

You can modify the settings directly through this interface. Services can be removed by deleting the appropriate key.
NOTE:
Do not delete an entry within this key if you are not 100% sure you know what you are doing. Some services (most) have dependencies that rely on other services.
 
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