Solved Uninstalling AutoIt v3

[Pesala]

I found this apparent malware from Softronics, which appears on my list of Apps but not on my list of apps in the uninstall dialog. it is not in C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86) either.

I asked Grok and looked for an uninstall key in regedit too, but found nothing there either.

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

All other instructions seem to be straightforward, but I cannot find any way to proceed. Malwarebytes finds nothing.

[Pathduck]

@Pesala Why do you think it's malware? AutoIt is just an automation scripting tool.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AutoIt

If there's no uninstall entry it probably just means you installed it portable.

I'd just delete the folder.
Then to make sure do a search through the registry and delete anything referencing it.

If anything is malware it's this crap:

[Pesala]

@Pathduck Yes, over the years, Windoze collects a load of crap. I assumed it was malware because it was not in program files, where it should be if it was legitimate.

I checked the properties of the shortcut, and found that the program has been deleted or moved. Perhaps Malware Bytes did it in 2021, and I have never noticed the shortcuts until now.

Deleting the shortcuts will probably solve the problem.

IIRC the Apple software has something to do with support for a video or graphic format.

[Pesala]

@Pathduck I don’t use iTunes or iCloud, and Quick Time support is now redundant, so the Apple “Malware” is now gone. So too is Apple Quicktime 7.

[Pathduck]

@Pesala I doubt Malwarebytes will delete legitimate programs.

The shortcut points to Program Files, but start menu shortcuts could be left behind in some cases after an uninstall or of course if the program is manually deleted.

The most important is to delete the folder + files you found. You could run some kind of registry cleaner like CCleaner or HiBitUninstaller to remove leftovers from removed programs if you don't want to risk (and spend time) searching the registry yourself.

I have all software installed in d:\bin so there's really no location that's "legitimate" - although Program Files has special protection to only allow elevated installers to install there.

[greybeard]

It may be something that was never removed from your Startup folder.
For a single user machine: WinKey + R ¨shell:startup" & Delete the offender.
For a multi user machine: WinKey + R ¨shell:common startup" & Delete the offender.
Edit: If that is the issue.

Better yet use sdelete from Sysinternalssuite.

[Pesala]

@greybeard said in Uninstalling AutoIt v3:

shell:startup

There is nothing unexpected in the Startup folder. Just FastStone Capture and Sizer.

[Pathduck]

@Pesala The best tool for finding what's launching on startup on Windows is Autoruns:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/autoruns

But it gets quite technical and I wouldn't recommend just deleting stuff there unless you know exactly what they are and what they do.

Of course, if you find a reference to AutoIt or Apple stuff you've deleted there, it can be assumed relatively safe to remove.

The Startup tab of Task Manager shows some, but not all.

Sdelete is Secure Delete so not sure what good that would do...

It would be a very crappy malware/virus to try "hiding" itself in the Startup folders. They usually hide themselves much better, like in drivers or services.

Anyway, I wouldn't worry, there's no reason to cry malware just for this.

[barbudo2005]

@Pathduck

Said:

The best tool for finding what's launching on startup on Windows is Autoruns...

I agree with you. Everyone should have this tool installed, as it allows to detect the software that starts at the beginning and of course it is not necessary.