Expert: Brian Benosky - 7/19/2008

Question

Hello, Brian

I have used firewall zone alarm pro and now I want to uninstall it, but i can't!!
whenever i start it, it shows me an error message saying that "it failed to start because VSPUBAPI.dll was not found"

then, when i try to uninstall it, it says that "truevector internet monitor was not uninstalled"

how can I uninstall zone alarm pro??

thanks

waiting for your reply

P.S. i tried deleting the files manually but the files cannot be deleted


Answer
Hi John

Did you try stopping TrueVector from TaskManager > Processes > End Process?  After stopping the service, try uninstalling.
Also, in the registry, do a Find search for the following, then delete:

vsmon.exe
zlclient.exe
vsdatant.exe

I found the following on one of the forums.  It's a long process, but comprehensive:

If you want to uninstall ZoneAlarm or ZoneAlarm Pro, first run the Uninstaller program: click on the Start menu|Programs|Zone Labs|Uninstall ZoneAlarm (or Uninstall ZoneAlarm Pro). The uninstaller will guide you through the process; answer "Yes" to any files it prompts you to delete.

A. To make sure that you can see any ZoneAlarm or ZoneAlarm Pro system files still on your computer:
- i. Right-click on Start, then left-click on "Explore."
- ii. When the Windows Explorer panel appears, click "View," then "Folder Options."
- iii. Click the "View" tab, then click the "Show all files" radio button.
- iv. Click "OK."

B. Verify that the following have been removed:
- Directories:
1) Zone Labs from C:\Program Files
2) zonelabs from C:\Windows\System
3) Zone Labs from C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

- Files:
1) C:\Windows\System\vsdata.dll
2) C:\Windows\System\vsdata95.vxd
3) C:\Windows\System\vsmonapi.dll
4) C:\Windows\System\vsnetutils.dll
5) C:\Windows\System\vspubapi.dll
6) C:\Windows\System\vsutil.dll
7) C:\Windows\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\zapro
8) C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\zapro
9) C:\Windows\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\zonealarm
10) C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup\zonealarm
NOTE: Please verify that none of the files listed above remain in the directory C:\Windows\Temp.

- Uninstallation Step 2.
Rename the directory "C:\Windows\Internet Logs" (for example, "Internet Logs1").

- Uninstallation Step 3.
Make sure your Recycle Bin is empty.

- Uninstallation Step 4.
It is not generally necessary to remove registry entries if reinstalling ZoneAlarm or ZoneAlarm Pro. However, should you choose to do so, the following registry entries aree associated with ZoneAlarm or ZoneAlarm Pro:

Important Advisory: Deleting registry entries incorrectly may cause serious problems to your operating system (OS) which may necessitate the need to reinstall the OS. Please make sure you are able to perform these deletions correctly before you decide to edit the entries.
For information about how to edit the registry in Windows, type "regedit.exe" from a command prompt. Click "Help," then "Help Topic." Click "Changing Keys and Values."
Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.
To enter the registry, go to Start/Run and type: "regedit." Use Control-F to find and F3 to Find Next.

Registry Entries:
- Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Zone Labs and all its subkeys and values
- Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ZoneAlarm Pro

These registry items start the services required for ZoneAlarm or ZoneAlarm Pro:
- Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices
- Value: MiniLog and Value: TrueVector
- Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\VSDATA95

This is a database that contains a long list of values, but only these values are related to ZoneAlarm or ZoneAlarm Pro and TrueVector:
- Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SharedDLLs
- Values:
C:\Program Files\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm\tutorwiz.dll
C:\Windows\System\vsdata.dll
C:\Windows\System\vsdata95.vxd
C:\Windows\System\vsmonapi.dll
C:\Windows\System\vsnetutils.dll
C:\Windows\System\vsnetu.dll
C:\Windows\System\vspubapi.dll
C:\Windows\System\vsutil.dll
C:\Windows\System\Zone Labs\html.tdr
C:\Windows\System\Zone Labs\vsdb.dll
C:\Windows\System\Zone Labs\minilog.exe
C:\Windows\System\Zone Labs\vsmon.exe
C:\Windows\System\Zone Labs\vsruledb.dll


For each user who has run ZoneAlarm or ZoneAlarm Pro, there are registry keys in
- Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Zone Labs


The following keys allow the user to modify the sound that is played when there is an alert through use of the Control Panel Sounds applet:
- Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\EventLabels\InternetAlert
- Key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps\.Default\InternetAlert\.current

The following keys tell Windows the ZoneAlarm and ZoneAlarm Pro Desk Band is a part of the application:
- Key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{long string of characters}\InprocServer32 (NOTE: The string of characters will vary from system to system.)

- Value: C:\Program Files\Zone Labs\ZoneAlarm\zoneband.dll
The following keys are related to ZoneAlarm and ZoneAlarm Pro's MailSafe Feature:
- Key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ZAMailSafe

There is a value for the extension of every attachment that ZoneAlarm Pro quarantines (.vbs, for example). To find the values and keys to delete:
1) Click on HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT.
2) Press F3.
3) Type "zamailsafe" in the search field (no quotes).
4) Press F3 to find the next value. An example of the value you will see (on the right-hand side of the window) would be: ZAMailSafeExt: REG_SZ: {renamed extension -- zl9, for example)
5) Delete the value. Press "OK" at the prompt.
6) Repeat until there are no more values like the example above. ZoneAlarm Pro quarantines 37 extensions by default. However, any additional extentions you may have chosen to quarantine will also be listed in the registry.

There is also a registry key for the extension of every attachment renamed by ZoneAlarm Pro. The names of the keys will range from .zl0 to .zly. If you wish, you can follow the instructions above to find the values associated with these keys. Delete the entire key which contains these values.

For ZoneAlarm (not Pro), The following keys can be removed:
- Key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\zl0
- Key: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ZAMailSafe
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- Uninstallation Step 5.
Reboot your machine.

- Uninstallation Step 6.
If you experienced difficulty deleting ZoneAlarm or ZoneAlarm Pro files or folders, try removing the items mentioned above AFTER following the steps below:
A. Reboot your system into either Safe Mode or to a Command Prompt (by pressing either F8 at the beep, or holding the Control key during boot).
B. You should now be able to remove the files specified above.


If there are any further problems, just let me know.  Good luck.

Brian