Using the Webroot Removal Tool

Think of your antivirus software as a squad of hired mercenaries dedicated to defending your precious PC from intruders. Just as you wouldn’t hire two sets of mercenaries who don’t speak the same language, you shouldn’t use two antivirus applications to defend your computer. For proper PC security, it’s important to have effective antivirus software free of conflicts and confusion, so it’s a good idea to remove any traces of your previous antivirus software before installing a different security application. Often, having multiple antivirus software applications – or even remnants of old installation files of your current product – can cause conflicts with your new protection software. There’s a handy tool for removing old Webroot software called The Webroot Removal Tool that will easily eliminate any traces of previous Webroots.

Running the Webroot Removal Tool is as easy as a few mouse clicks, and then you are on your way to installing a new antivirus software product or an updated version of Webroot. To use the tool, first find and download the manufacturer’s file called WRCleanupTool.exe. The file is only 7.17MB, so it shouldn’t take too long to download if you have a cable or DSL internet connection.

When the file is finished downloading, double click it and the product will run automatically. This should take care of any old files that a regular uninstall doesn’t remove. Another option is using CleanWDF.exe, which is officially designed to remove the Webroot Desktop Firewall, though it will also take care of users who have installed Webroot Internet Security Essentials or WIS Complete as well. If you don’t use the Webroot Removal Tool, you could run into several serious issues.

Running two antivirus software applications at once can slow down or severely cripple your computer's processing speed. Antivirus software generally has two modes: scanning and monitoring. Scanning is when the antivirus software searches your computer for threats and malware. Monitoring is an active, real-time audit of your computer’s processes; if anything is awry, your antivirus software should stop it or alert you.

Having two antivirus applications to scan your computer isn’t necessarily a bad thing – sometimes it’s a good idea to get a second opinion of the files located on your hard drive – but two sets of eyes actively monitoring your PC might lead to conflicts and an overly taxed processor. It’s important to uninstall your old antivirus software before you install a new product because most antivirus software automatically turns on active monitoring during or after installation. Retaining the old software would quickly lead the old and new applications into a conflict for your system's resources.

Your best option is to select one antivirus application and stick with it. Our top pick, and our 2011 TopTenREVIEWS Gold Award winner, is BitDefender Antivirus Pro 2011. BitDefender constantly updates its virus-signature definitions, eliminating the need for a second software's opinion, and its active monitoring with heuristic detection analyzes suspicious files that behave like viruses or malware. Running a second software application that does the same thing is unnecessary and detrimental to your computer's speed and processing capacity. If you’re updating to a new version of Webroot, switching from Webroot to BitDefender, or switching to any other antivirus software, run the Webroot Removal Tool before you install any new software.

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