Which version do I uninstall?

[Kaelkitty]

In the course of following the entrails of another bug on my system (I wont bore you with the details) I have discovered something weird about my Spybot installation.

In my "Add or Remove Programs" window I have the following entries -

Spybot - Search & DestroySize 50.26MB
click here for support information Used occasionally
Last used on 23/12/2008
AND

Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.3 Size 12.68MB
click here for support information Used occasionally
Last used on 01/10/2004

Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.6.2 doesn't show up at all! Even though I know it IS there and working - As of last nights entry:
Spybot - S&D 1.6.2.46 - Latest detection update 30/06/2010!

However, in the Uninstall list WITHIN Spybot itself I found -

Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.3 1.3 (Spybot - Search & Destroy_is1)
uninstall cmd: "C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\unins000.exe"
publisher: Safer Networking Limited

AND

Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.6.2 ({B4092C6D-E886-4CB2-BA68-FE5A88D31DE6}_is1)
install date: 20100514
install location: C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\
uninstall cmd: "C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\unins001.exe"
publisher: Safer Networking Limited
help link: http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=support

I am fairly sure that this state of affairs is WRONG and would like advice as to what to do to correct it. Aside from anything else I only have an 80 gig hard drive and I don't want to waste space on obsolete stuff.

Thanking you in advance for your attention. KK.

[spybotsandra]

Hello,

Version 1.3 is old, so please uninstall that version.
Or you can uninstall everything and download a fresh copy afterwards if you think that your version is compromized.

In order to completely uninstall Spybot - Search & Destroy, please consider the following link.

Best regards
Sandra
Team Spybot

[Kaelkitty]

I have uninstalled the old 1.3 version as per your instructions. As far as I can see 1.6.2 seems to be working fine - it pulled some adware off my system less than two weeks ago and generally appears to be doing its job just fine.

I am still a bit perplexed about the differing entries in the windows add and remove versus the spybot uninstall list.

viz: "Add and Remove"
Spybot - Search & DestroySize 50.26MB
click here for support information Used occasionally
Last used on 23/12/2008 - NOTE THE DATE

AND "Spybot uninstall"
Spybot - Search & Destroy 1.6.2 ({B4092C6D-E886-4CB2-BA68-FE5A88D31DE6}_is1)
install date: 20100514 - NOTE THE DATE
install location: C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\
uninstall cmd: "C:\Program Files\Spybot - Search & Destroy\unins001.exe"

If you have any idea why this might be like this I would like to know.

The program is scheduled to run again in about 3 hours so I will monitor its behaviour. If I have any trouble I will do a complete re-install as per your suggestion, but it was perfectly fine yesterday so I am hopeful that it won't be necessary. Thank you for your quick response.

[bitman]

This was not really a problem, just a side effect of a change made to the installation and uninstall processes in Spybot S&D a few versions ago, between something like 1.4 and 1.5 I believe.

These changes caused the previous installation's information to remain even though most of it had been replaced, just as you found. It really didn't cause any problems itself other than the annoying double entry and a few minor leftovers. The purpose behind the change was to improve the future upgrade process as I recall.

I don't remember if uninstalling the 'old' version caused any of the current version to be damaged, though there were once instructions for how to remove it manually, but I haven't seen these in a year or more.

As long as your installation works, I wouldn't worry. However, if there are any problems simply uninstall and download the newest version to reinstall, since missing files is about the worst that could happen.

Rob