Webcast Recap: Uninstalling Applications with PDQ

What? You say you missed our last webcast? Well no mess no stress…we got you covered! Last week Lex and Kris took us through uninstalling applications. Now, uninstalls are generally pretty easy to do but lucky for you Lex and Kris point out some things you might not know. Lex kicked things off by moving into the driver seat for a change so hold on tight, you may be in for a rough ride during this blog post.  So with that, let’s talk uninstall strings and how PDQ Inventory can help do the hard stuff for you. Take it away Lex!

Uninstalling applications using PDQ Inventory

Show application uninstall. :53

The differences of EXE vs MSI. 3:09

Building an uninstall report to show different uninstall strings for the same apps. 5:50

New Report > Basic Report. Then, define the report name and look at the applications vs. the computers.

Question: What’s the most complicated application uninstall you’ve managed (like those that don’t believe in silent parameters)? 11:05

Uninstall packages in PDQ Deploy

Thank you Lex! I hope you guys are still awake and following along because you don’t want to miss this! Now, Kris takes over and shows us the lazy way to do uninstalls with PDQ Deploy. Your ears are perking up now, I knew it. Also, one word…PowerShell. Kris is the PowerShell master and always finds a way to incorporate it so enough said, just keep reading.

Uninstall step using a PowerShell script 20:04

Question: Is there a way to get it to auto-select yes for an uninstall with no pop-up window? 22:43
Question: We used the agent to manage external users, could we put PDQ on each network with the same license? 24:46
Question: How would one find the silent uninstall command for an app (without using Google Foo)? 28:12

Question: What is the best way to uninstall the Agent for a mass of computers? 31:44 
Question: What if the uninstall is password protected lise ESET Antivirus? 32:59

Scheduling uninstalls. 34:10

PDQ & A – Our all-knowing genies grant your IT wishes

Question: How can I remotely uninstall applications that a user has installed without admin privileges? The software I am referencing is typically installed and is in their AppData Folder. Software such as “Slack”. 37:15
Question: How do you uninstall user installed software (and how do you prevent users from installing)?  38:39
Question: What’s the best way to create a package that will auto uninstall software that installs user/appdata? 40:02
Question: Can you use %username% for uninstall strings for per user installed applications? 41:15

That’s a wrap

Well, that’s it folks! Thanks for reading and as always don’t forget to tune in every Thursday to our weekly webcast for awesome industry tips and tricks. Our webcast is live on YouTube and interactive every Thursday, at 10AM MT so you won’t want to miss out.