Mirar Toolbar's New Uninstall Pages

I have not been to the Mirar Toolbar Uninstall Pages for quite some time and cannot say when exactly its purveyor, NetNucleus, changed its uninstallation format. If the pages are not a direct reply to Sunbelt Software's letter of January 31, 2007, they certainy address most of the uninstall issues cited in the letter.

As of February 16, 2007, there are two uninstall pages for Mirar Toolbar (a.k.a. Related Page). The traditional uninstall page (http://remove.getmirar.com/ uninstall.html) provides a step-by-step removal that one apparently can no longer follow without the site detecting that Mirar Toolbar is installed in one's computer. For this reason, I can not presently describe the uninstall further from direct experience. A check-off box is provided for the user to declare: "I know Mirar Toolbar doesn't launch popups or any other advertising, or modify search settings, but I would still like to uninstall it."

There is also now a "Mirar Support" page (http://www.mirarsearch.com/
support/uninstall.html) that describes uninstalling the toolbar from the Windows "Add or Remove Programs" utility. The "remove" command does not actually remove the software but instead it establishes a link with the Mirar Uninstall page(s). Removal must therefore be accomplished while connected to the Internet.

The uninstall procedure by all appearances still includes a series of advertisements as described in the Sunbelt letter:

...even when the Mirar uninstall entry does successfully open the Mirar web site to download the uninstaller, users are not immediately given the uninstaller. Rather, users are confronted with a long web page imploring them to click through still more advertising for "online offers" (see Figure 4 above). At the bottom of the page is a prominent graphic button to "Submit" the form containing the offers, which users might mistake for a button to continue with the uninstallation. Only users who notice the comparatively small "No Thanks" link at the very bottom of the page will be able to continue the uninstall.

This would seem to be the "survey" described in the text for Step 6 of the support page's step-by-step instructions:

The uninstaller will ask you to complete a survey, if you wish to skip this
step you may do so by clicking "no thanks" at the bottom of the page.

The support page now clearly brings the users attention to the "No Thanks" link but does not describe the nature of the "survey" (a series of product offerings).

What is not clear is whether the uninstall still does not remove all of the toolbar-related files. According to Sunbelt:

...the uninstaller provided to users does not even perform a complete
uninstallation, as it fails to remove the NetNucleus domain additions to the Internet Explorer Trusted sites zone.

NetNucleus has clearly tried to upgrade the public face of its Mirar Toolbar uninstallation process while retaining the advertising advantages it has built into the process. The extent of legitimate improvement remains to be seen. The complete removal of all Mirar-related files would seem to be a key indicator.

It has also added an actual online survey/complaint page at http://mirarsearch.com/support/contact.html. The survey is cognizant of the complaints that have been made against Mirar Toolbar and invites user feedback.


Also See:

• Sunbelt Tangles with NetNucleus. (February 7, 2007) NetNucleus, purveyor of the Mirar Toolbar, threatens to sue Sunbelt Software for labeling it's product "Adware". Sunbelt replies with a devastating overview of Mirar's stealth installation methods (and more).
• Is Google Associated with a SearchMiracle Knock-Off? (April 27, 2005). "A question begs the asking: How does NetNucleus generate revenue from its Mirar Toolbar search directory if it enters search terms in the Google Search Engine?"
• How to Remove Mirar Toolbar. Don't want to uninstall? Then remove it yourself!