PC Hell: How to Remove Kazaa

What is Kazaa?

Kazaa 3.0 is a very popular P2P or Peer-to-Peer file sharing program used by people to download music, movies, and other programs. Kazaa owned by Sharman Networks Ltd. has come under fire in the last several years from copyright lawyers, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and others for promoting copyright violations. In fact as of September 5, 2005, An Australian court ruled that users of the popular Internet file-sharing network Kazaa were breaching copyright and ordered its owners to modify the software to prevent online music piracy.

One of the problems, aside from the various legal issues associated with it, is the fact that Kazaa bundles many other programs with it when it installs. These programs including TopSearch, RX Toolbar, Instafinder, Cydoor, Altnet Peer Points Manager, and Need2Find Bar (agreement is shown below) are accepted by the end user to allow to install during the Kazaa installation. Older versions of Kazaa installed Gator, SaveNow, and KeenValue Euniverse as well.Although these programs as stated by Kazaa are not technically spyware, they do slow the computer down in various ways and load upon startup.

How Do I Remove Kazaa and its installed programs?

Simply because of the legal implications, it may be a good idea to uninstall Kazaa. The problem is what is currently installed with Kazaa 3.0 and what can be removed. Follow the instructions below to uninstall the programs and associated files attached to Kazaa.

1) Click on Start, Settings, Control Panel

2) Double-click on Add/Remove Programs

3) Find "RX Bar" and click Change/Remove at the bottom of the window to begin its removal.

4) Find "InstaFinderK" and click Change/Remove

5) Find "Need2Find Bar" and click Change/Remove

6) Find "Peer Points Manager" and click Change/Remove

7) Find "P2P Networking" and click Change/Remove. Warning, this program may have already been removed by a previous step. Don't worry if you cant find it in the list.

8) Find "Kazaa 3.0" and click Change/Remove. Once this is removed restart your computer.

Once the computer is restarted, there are still some files that need to be removed. If you run HijackThis, you'll find the following lines still remaining.

O2 - BHO: RXResultTracker Class - {59879FA4-4790-461c-A1CC-4EC4DE4CA483} - C:\Program Files\RXToolBar\sfcont.dll (file missing)

O18 - Filter: text/html - {2AB289AE-4B90-4281-B2AE-1F4BB034B647} - C:\Program Files\RXToolBar\sfcont.dll

Check these files and remove them with Hijackthis.

Next, Remove the following folders from the hard drive.

1) Open My Computer, Drive C

2) Double-click on Program Files folder

3) Right-click and Delete the following folders

    * ALTNET
    * INSTALFNK
    * KAZAA
    * NEED2FIND
    * RXTOOLBAR

Also delete the file UNINSTALLNEED2FIND.DLL file in the Program Files folder

4) For Advanced Users - Remove the following folders in the Registry

    A. Click on Start, Run, and type REGEDIT and click Ok
    B. Click on the pluses (+) next to the following folders

        * HKEY_CURRENT_USER
        * SOFTWARE

    C. Right-click and Delete the following folders if they exist

        * INSTAFNK
        * KAZAA
        * NEED2FIND
        * P2P NETWORKING
        * RX TOOLBAR
        * SKYPE

    D. Click on the pluses(+) next to the following folders (starting from the top again)

        * HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
        * SOFTWARE

    E. Right-click and Delete the following folders if they exist

        * ALTNET
        * KAZAA
        * MAGNET
        * NEED2FIND
        * P2P NETWORKING
        * RX RESULTS
        * SHARMAN NETWORKS LTD

    F. Close the Registry Editor and Restart the Computer

Now Kazaa and the other associated files should be removed from your computer.

Is there a way to uninstall the programs and still use Kazaa?

If you still want to use Kazaa but uninstall the software bundled with it, I would recommend Kazaap, it advertises itself as the only the only Kazaa Download Accelerator and spyware cleaner on the market that can safely and completely remove all Scumware that have been bundled with Kazaa without breaking Kazaa's "Certification Check

You can download Kazaap by visiting their website at:

http://www.kazaap.org/

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Kazaa Removal Instructions and Help

What is Kazaa?

How Do I Remove Kazaa and its installed programs?

Is there a way to uninstall the programs and still use Kazaa?

Links to Other Important Information