Beware of CCleaner: an unfortunate combination of circumstances can mean that other programs are also deleted when you remove it with the clean-up tool.
When removing CCleaner, it may happen that the tool not only gets rid of itself, but also deletes other programs. The topic has received increased attention for about a week after a Reddit user made it public. There is also a corresponding entry in the CCleaner support forum, but it was posted there on March 3rd.
The problem described
The problem occurs when users uninstall CCleaner. This works via the on-board resources of Windows. There you should be suspicious at the latest when the displayed information window overflows with crude entries.
Instead of just removing the CCleaner, all or at least some installed programs on the system are automatically removed, according to the error descriptions. For example, Steam games or music apps have disappeared from users.
The reason for the delete action
When asked by CHIP, Avast explained that the problem affects very few users. These users made the critical mistake during installation. The folder in which CCleaner is installed can be adjusted via the expert installation. On Windows, the default folder is “C:Program FilesCCleaner”.
If you now select a different folder, such as “D:My Programs”, because all program installations are bundled there, you have to look carefully. The installer then no longer explicitly appends the “CCleaner” folder. This is important, however, because removing it will delete the entire folder where CCleaner was installed. In the example, this would be the complete content of “D:My programs”.
If other software is installed there, CCleaner will also clean it up right away. We recreated this in a small test and there is even a small restriction. If other installed programs are in the same folder, they will not be removed if they themselves use their own installation folder, such as “D:My ProgramsEverything”. Only if other programs are also installed directly in “D:My programs” will CCleaner also delete them.
What you can do about it
If you do not adjust the folder when installing CCleaner, you will not be affected by the problem. If you really want to change the installation folder, make sure that “CCleaner” is at the end of the path. Only then does CCleaner end up in its own folder and only remove this during uninstallation.
If CCleaner is located in a folder with other installed programs, you should not uninstall the program right now, otherwise you risk that the other programs stored there will also be removed. Avast is already working on a fix, but it is not yet included in the current version.
Other programs do this a bit more cleverly: If users select a different folder during installation, a folder with the program name is automatically attached. This small detail is missing from CCleaner and is partly to blame for the mess.