Platte and that billing software III: the new uninstaller

I said in my original post on this topic that when Gareth, a software developer at Platte, offered me an updated uninstaller, I found that it was exactly the same as the first. How could I tell? - I checked the digital signature for the software, and they both had the same date - 8th May 2008. In truth I was somewhat surprised by this since Gareth's email appeared to have taken my complaint about the software seriously, and it was self-evident that if I had found the jRegistryKey.dll once, I would be checking to see whether it had gone the second time around. Since I was online when he sent the email, I did wonder if he had simply sent the email prior to the new uninstaller being set up to the link, so I did download a second time, but it was again the same. Here's that first digital signature showing time and date of release:

Even after putting up my original post I remained slightly mystified, so yesterday evening I did a third download of that 'new' uninstaller to find that it is now at least definitely a new one. It is timed and dated to just before Gareth sending me the email, so I think that my failure to get the new uninstaller first time round counts as cock-up rather than conspiracy. Here's that second signature:

I've run the new uninstaller, and it does indeed remove the jRegistryKey file - the one that leaves your computer potentially open to further access by Platte. I have double-checked this morning, and it is up for general download. If you uninstalled their software via email, I would suggest that you follow those instructions again, as it will make your computer a lot safer. Those who were talked through the uninstall won't find things so easy, and are probably best seeking skilled help with the removal.

Nevertheless, this very much begs the question of why Platte didn't offer an uninstaller that removed the file in the first place, particularly given that Gareth says that "the uninstallers have undergone extensive testing and found to be working in all situations." But then again, it appears that I'm the only person who appears to have had this difficulty. "Indeed this is the first report we have received of problems on a XP based system." And it doesn't deal with the question of the 37 remaining files, since the jRegistryKey is the only one that the new installer removes beyond that of the old one; what sort of extensive testing could we be talking about here?

Here for instance is that hidden system folder on the C drive:

Here's what you find if you look inside it:

And here's what you get if you click on the .htm file (it's now clear that the name is a sequence of randomly generated letters):

There are still two files left in the system32 folder; one of these is the hidden system file (at the bottom of the picture (highlighted), the pm_icon.ico is just above and to the right of it):

The 'Platte Information Files' folder is also unchanged, and one of the files within it is an executable:

So, although the new uninstaller leaves your computer very considerably safer than the old one, it certainly comes nowhere near doing the job. So my advice is unchanged, you should get your computer checked by a professional, if only to confirm that all the Platte files have been removed.

(Ed. 15th July. There is now a third uninstaller available, considerably more effective, see this post for details)


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