Platte and that billing software V: a third uninstaller

I am pleased to say that Platte are responding to this blog's exposure of their hidden files and there is now another new uninstall tool up for download. This removes all bar one of the hidden files (although the remaining visible files are untouched) and is therefore an improvement on earlier builds.

Many people are having difficulty accessing the uninstall utility; this link will take you directly to the download.

I 'll explain here exactly what still gets left behind; those who feel that they had an unwelcome intruder in their computer (or don't have their uninstall instructions any longer - you would need to use the supplied code again) will probably still want to seek professional assistance and achieve a full removal. It is to be hoped that Platte are still working on this and finally offer an uninstaller that actually does the job before too long (don't hold your breath though).

If you have not read my earlier posts on Platte, you may find it helpful to do so.

The new uninstaller downloads as before as a setup.exe file:

How do you know you've got the latest one? Right-click on the file and select 'Properties' from the drop-down menu. A small applet opens, and you should go to the 'Digital Signatures' tab. This will show the timestamp as 14 July 2008 09:01:07 :

You run this as before, entering your code. This time I found that the hidden folder on the C drive (and all the files within it) were removed, although the files elsewhere remain. In the C:\WINDOWS\System32 folder there are two icon files for 'Platte' and for 'Get Films Now', plus a third file which is the remaining hidden system file. Its name is a ten figure number followed by .sys, and since the number is different for each computer (and with it being a hidden system file) it can be difficult to find. As I said in my original post on Platte, system files are notoriously difficult for uninstall tools to remove anyway, and this one is likely to be doubly so because of that unique file name. In the photo below it is in the upper left-hand corner. What does it do? That's difficult to determine. I would have said that it was that unique and non-removable identifier they promised (and I still think it is) but since Platte said in one of their emails that the licence is in the registry I must be wrong I suppose. Since its purpose is uncertain it should definitely be removed, either by a professional or by a skilled acquaintance (not by one of your children, however skilled you like to think them):

In the C:\Program Files folder there is still the 'Platte Information Files' folder:

This contains two further files (one of which is executable) plus a shortcut:

Clicking on the first of these files throws up a display of your supposedly deleted Platte account details (this is from the executable file):

The second gives you the details of the contract that was agreed at the time of setting up your account:

So that's it. From having 6 of the 44 files removed we have now gone to having 39 removed and only 5 left behind. Maybe one day Platte will offer an uninstall tool that actually removes the lot. Even now, I do not think it in the slightest unreasonable to bill Platte for using a professional to achieve a complete removal and obviously there is also the question of compensation for Platte's clear breach of the original agreement. I would have thought that a sum of lets say £30 per customer would be pretty fair given all the circumstances.

My next post on this will cover general aspects of computer security, with particular emphasis on how to keep software of this nature off your computer in the first place. I conscious that I promised an analysis of registry changes in an earlier post and I will indeed post on that, but not until it becomes clear that Platte are not proposing any further immediate builds of their uninstaller since reading through registry files is very time consuming. But I'm going to go back on what I said in my original post; I'll put up full illustrated instructions for removing these files safely (since Platte can't manage it).

There remain of course other areas of concern over this software, but I will cover the main ones when I address the security issues. In the meantime, I hope these posts have been of help.


Go to my next post on Platte Media