CleanupTool Removal Process (remove Cleanup Tool)

August 28, 2008 – 11:46 am

CleanupTool Explanation

CleanupTool is a fake computer cleanup application that does nothing that the CleanupTool.com website says it does. If you find yourself on CleanupTool.com you will notice that it makes several false claims such as CleanupTool being an efficient and easy-to-use solution to keep your drive always clean and free of unnecessary files. That is completely hilarious because CleanupTool is nothing but an unnecessary program that you do not need.

CleanupTool may offer the purchase of a full version of CleanupTool. Do not purchase it. You will be throwing your money away. You will continually get popups if you have CleanupTool installed on your computer. Make the right choice and remove CleanupTool.

Are you getting popups from CleanupTool? Have you identified that you have CleanupTool installed on your computer? Do you wish to remove CleanupTool completely from your computer?

Why should you remove CleanupTool?

If CleanupTool resides on your computer, it can potentially damage your personal files or you may end up losing data stored on your system. Research has shown that CleanupTool may have the ability to make your computer vulnerable to remote attacks which could result, initially, in loss of money, possibly identity theft, and, eventually, a painstaking CleanupTool removal process.

How can you manually remove CleanupTool

Manual removal of CleanupTool may not be for everyone. Each manual CleanupTool removal step must be followed delicately to completely remove all related files and registry entries from your computer. If you are unsure or have doubts about editing your system registry, then we recommend that you use the automatic CleanupTool removal process.

CleanupTool can be removed manually by following the steps below.

1. With all programs closed, click the Start Menu and go to the Control Panel.
2. Locate the Add/Remove Programs icon and double click it.
3. Locate CleanupTool in the list of programs. If you find it, select it and remove it. If you cannot find CleanupTool, you can continue to step 5.
4. Restart your computer.
5. Close all open programs and windows on your desktop.
6. Open your registry editor (regedit) program by going to Start Menu, type in regedit, and click OK.
7. Find all of the following registry entries and delete them. If you do not know how to do this, then you can read how to edit the registry in Windows.

   KEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\CleanupTool

8. You may need to return to this removal process for removing CleanupTool. You can do this easily by bookmarking or adding a favorite to this page by clicking here. If you are using the FireFox web browser you can press the keys Ctrl and D simultaneously to bookmark this page.

   Image 1. Bookmark PCHubs removal process

   

9. Delete all of the following files that are associated with CleanupTool from your computer.

   %ProgramFiles%\CleanupTool\SysRep.exe
   %ProgramFiles%\CleanupTool\atl71.dll
   %ProgramFiles%\CleanupTool\unins000.exe

   If you need a better understanding on how to search for these files then you can read how to find and search for files and folders here.

   If you have issues deleting any of the previously listed files that are associated with CleanupTool, you can try rebooting your computer into safe mode. Booting into safe mode may allow certain malicious files to be deleted. If you are wondering how to boot into safe mode, you can read our process for starting a computer in safe mode here.

   Image 2. Select “Safe Mode with Networking”

   

10. After locating and deleting the previous files you must remove all directories associated with CleanupTool by going to the C:\ProgramFiles\CleanupTool folder, select it, and delete it. In some cases you may not be able to find this directory. You can still continue to the next step.

11. Restart your computer. You do not need to boot into safe mode at this point. You should have removed CleanupTool completely from your computer. If you find that CleanupTool is still on your computer, you can repeat the steps again or go to the automatic CleanupTool removal process.

Automatically Remove CleanupTool

Automatically remove CleanupTool for free. Free automatic CleanupTool removal process.

Do you wish to automatically remove CleanupTool from your computer? Are you looking for a free method to remove CleanupTool from your computer? If so, you can utilize the free automatic CleanupTool removal process below. Each step is designed to aid in the use of the program SmitfraudFix, which is a free tool created by S!Ri to remove parasites such as CleanupTool. Just so you know there’s no guarantee that SmitfraudFix or any other spyware remover will remove CleanupTool completely. These instructions are provided as a guide and are to be used at your own risk.

1. Download the SmitfraudFix tool to your computer by using our free download link here. Save the downloaded file to your desktop.

   Image 1. Save SmitfraudFix.exe

   

2. Restart your computer into safe mode. Safe mode will allow malicious files that are normally loaded into memory to be easily deleted by the SmitfraudFix program. Do you want to learn how to boot into safe mode? If so, you can follow our process on how to boot into safe mode here.

3. After booting into safe mode, double-click on the SmitfraudFix.exe icon that should be located on your desktop. Follow the on-screen instructions. Option number 2 should be selected once the program starts.

   Image 2. Click on SmitfraudFix.exe icon

   

4. After SmitfraudFix performs the initial removal processes it will ask you “Do you want to clean the registry?” Select Y for yes.

   Image 3. For “Do you want to clean the registry?,” select Y for yes

   

5. Once SmitfraudFix has finished the registry clean you can restart your computer now.
6. CleanupTool should be removed from your computer. If not, you can start the automatic removal process over. It may take more than one try in some rare cases.

There’s no guarantee that SmitfraudFix will remove all files due to the complex nature of new spyware files that are ever-changing. If necessary, you may need to get help from a person who knows about computer and spyware.

(Disclaimers: These instructions are provided to you for free and to be used at your own risk. The free removal process for CleanupTool is not guaranteed to work in all circumstances. We are not responsible for any damages.)