CNET TechTracker forum: TechTracker Uninstaller dangerous; how to disable?

The response fails to address the problem described in the original message. I am not (intentionally) using the TechTracker Mac Uninstaller to remove items from my system; I am simply dragging them to the Trash; from that point on, Uninstaller inserts itself, unbidden, into the process. That would be OK, I guess, except that, as I reported, on two occasions, Uninstaller has crashed, leaving my Applications folder in serious disarray, with random files (completely unrelated to the application I'm attempting to discard) in the Trash, where I would be in really bad trouble if I did not spend a significant amount of time restoring them to their proper place.

I am not trying to find out how to use TechTracker Mac Uninstaller nor am I trying to learn how it works, which is what the CNET response addresses. Until CNET has resolved the serious problems that has occurred with Uninstaller, both the crashing and the mangling of the Applications folder, what I want to know is how to disable Uninstaller, totally and completely. Located, as it is, in


/Library/TechTracker/TTEngine/Contents/Resources/Uninstaller


it is clearly not a standard type of application; and I do not know how to get to it, much less get rid of it. That, fundamentally, is what I want to know how to do.

Hi,

At this time there is no way to disable the Uninstaller while TechTracker is installed on your machine - we are working hard to improve the TechTracker service, and this will be addressed in future versions. We apologize for any inconvenience in the
meanwhile.

Regards,
Jen
CNET TechTracker Support

Does the uninstaller log the files it moves to the trash? As the first user indicated, the uninstaller moves files that are UNRELATED to the application to the trash. I wish I had known this before agreeing. Thankfully it doesn't delete them outright. However, I am left with a trash bin full of files that belong somewhere, and I don't have the "put back" option I normally would have when something is moved to the trash.

Hence, I need to know where each of these 427 unrelated files go. I hope you were intelligent enough to have the uninstaller keep a log (hope because clearly something's not right on your end when you create an uninstaller that works the way yours does).

Your immediate response is greatly desired!!!

I never came back to describe the process I had to go through to restore all the files back to their original locations. This was only possible because I started to restore the files shortly after they were moved to the Trash and because my harddisk had not yet been reindexed. Accessing the old index of my harddisk, I had to search for each file name individually to reveal to me what the original location was (this had to be done from Terminal). It was a very long and tedious process!

More than a year ago (as the warning informs me, yes, I am aware that "This thread is more than 420 days old"; C|Net's subsequent silence is one of the primary reasons for this new inquiry), I posted a problem concerning the unstable, unpredictable TechTracker Uninstaller. In February, 2012, a C|Net representative replied that the solution I was seeking, viz., turning off the problematic application, was not currently possible; but that it would "be addressed in future versions." Since that time, I have received no update. What is the status of the Uninstaller and the ability to turn it off? In October, 2012, some kind user posted tentative instructions for disabling TechTracker Uninstaller; but before I go flailing about in the system, performing operations with whose results I am not entirely familiar, I'd prefer to have C|Net ring in on the issue with a more formal and official reply. Anybody out there?

I doubt you're going to hear back from c|net on this. If they didn't reply to my semi-inflammatory post, I doubt that they are going to reply at all. Regarding your questions, I have seen updates for c|net TechTracker download since I posted. However, they have not improved the issues we brought up originally. I honestly don't understand the thought-process at c|net for forcing this subpar product on us (by secretly incorporating it and not allowing us to disable it through the app).

It's interesting that you just replied because I was just looking back at my post the other day to disable the Uninstaller on another computer of mine. Still works like a charm (I realized I never came back to state that it worked) in OS X 10.8 as it did in OS X 10.6.

However, if you're uncomfortable making system changes like I suggested, then there's not much more you can do apart from uninstalling c|net TechTracker completely. That is, if it actually lets you uninstall it. My digging for a solution turned up the insidiousness of the TechTracker application, the duplication of itself in hidden locations, and its ability to not only restart itself regardless of how you terminate it but also to reinstall itself if you try to delete it in any traditional way. Again, I'm not really sure what c|net is thinking on their end. The software acts more like a virus or malware than any other app I've ever seen before.

Good luck!

Over the years I do not believe I have ever encountered a software publisher that exhibits lower quality applications and as embarrassingly poor responsiveness. Although I hoped that my pointing out C|Net's horribly misdirected first answer in this thread and the year-long empty promise of its second response might, somehow, cause it to provide some information of value, my expectation is that the only real purpose will be to allow me to vent my frustrations about a company whose lack of shame seems to be matched only by its technical incompetence. That any company would permit such a destructive application to remain uncorrected and not even deliver a way of disabling it is almost beyond belief.

It is helpful to have you confirm that your proposed technique for shutting down this miserable excuse for a computer program has been successful. As long as it was just a method that "should work", I was reluctant to make changes regarding an application that already behaves so badly. The last thing I want is to have it start doing even more bizarre and destructive things.

Now that you report that your steps do, indeed, work, I'll set out to remove this irritant from my life. Thanks for the information.