How to Remove Pest Trap Software
- 1). Unplug the computer's connection to the Internet. If the computer uses Ethernet, unplug the cable. If the computer connects to a wireless router, disable the computer's wireless modem or turn off the router. Make sure the computer is no longer connected to the Internet before attempting to remove Pest Trap.
- 2). Back up any important documents, images and videos stored on the computer to an external source.
- 3). Click the "Start" button, open Control Panel and then open Folder Options. Click the "View" tab, select "Show hidden files, folders and drives" and deselect "Hide extensions for known file types." The critical files of malicious software are usually flagged as hidden to prevent removal.
- 4). Open the Start menu again, open Search if the entry field is not already available and type "%ProgramFiles%\PestTrap." Press "Enter" to search for any files tied to Pest Trap within the "Program Files" directory on the hard drive where Windows is installed. Right-click the directory for Pest Trap and then click "Properties." Note the path of the Pest Trap directory next to the "Location" entry.
- 5). Open the Search function and look within the Pest Trap directory for any file bearing the ".exe" or ".dll" extension. In Windows 7 and Vista, a Search entry field appears in the upper part of the window. For Windows XP, click the "Search" icon in the menu bar of the window. Type "*.exe" to search for executable files and "*.dll" to search for dynamic link libraries. The processes generated by the Pest Trap executable files must be stopped before removal can continue, and the dynamic link libraries must be later removed. Note the names of the ".exe" files and the location of the ".dll" files.
- 6). Click "Start" and select the Run entry field. If a Search entry field appears in the Start menu, as in Windows 7, the Search entry field can also serve as a Run entry field. Type "taskmgr" into the Run or Search field, depending on the version of Windows, and press "Enter" to run Windows Task Manager. Click the "Processes" tab, select any of the Pest Trap executable files from the list you gathered from Step 4--one at a time--and click "End Process."
- 7). Open the Windows Run command as you did in Step 6, type "regedit" and press "Enter" to run the Windows Registry Editor. Click "Edit" and then click "Find." Type "PestTrap" and click "Find Next." The files for Pest Trap will not include a space between the words, so searching for "Pest Trap" instead of "PestTrap" will limit results. Highlight all of the results, right-click the selection and click "Delete."
- 8). Open the Windows Run command again, type "cmd" and press "Enter" to run Windows Command. Type "cd" followed by a space and the path for the Pest Trap directory where its ".dll" files are stored. If "Pest Trap" was installed in the "Programs" directory on the "C" drive, for example, then its directory path would be "C:\Programs\Pest Trap." Type "dir" and press "Enter" to generate a list of files within the directory. Type "regsvr32 /u" followed by a space and the file name of a ".dll" file. Press "Enter." If the computer has a 64-bit operating system, then the command would begin with "regsvr64 /u." The "/u" command removes the registration of the ".dll" file. Repeat the process with the other ".dll" files.
- 9). Navigate Windows to the Pest Trap directory, select it and press "Delete." Some malicious software can reinstall itself or at least continue to threaten the computer through leftover files, processes and registry entries. By ending the processes, removing the registry entries and un-registering its dynamic link libraries, Pest Trap will not return.