Chromium is an open source web browser developed by Google and is where the Chrome browser is based on. Although this is a legitimate software some people create a fake Chromium software which they inject with a malware which is then bundled with freeware or shareware and made available to various download sites. When your computer has this modified version of Chromium installed it can pose a security risk for your system. It’s also difficult to uninstall this infected browser from your computer once it has been installed. In this latest installment of our troubleshooting series we will tackle the Chromium can’t uninstall issue.
How To Fix The Chromium Cant Uninstall Issue
A chromium browser that is infected with malware is quite easy to identify. Some of the known problems that you might encounter when using your computer with an infected Chromium browser are as follows.
- Your notice the Chromium browser on your computer even if you didn’t install it. This occurs because the malware is often bundled with other software and will install automatically.
- Your default browser is changed to Chromium.
- Chromium isn’t listed in Control Panel > Programs and Features and can’t be uninstalled conventionally.
- The default search engine is replaced with an unknown search provider.
- You get constant redirects, pop-ups and new tabs while browsing.
- Your computer runs increasingly slow.
- You get ad pop-ups and notifications that cannot be blocked. They often prompt you to download additional software
Determine which Chromium is installed
The first thing you will need to do is to determine if you have the legitimate Chromium or malware infected Chromium installed in your computer. To do this just open the task manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) then check if you have multiple instances of the Chromium browser running on the Process Tab. If there are multiple instances of the browser running then this could be an infected version which is slowing down your computer as it is using a lot of resources. If there is only one instance of the browser running then this can be a legitimate version.
Uninstall Chromium from the Control Panel
If you have the legitimate version of Chromium installed in your computer you might wonder why it is still available even after uninstalling it from the Control Panel. This is a known glitch and will most likely be fixed in a future update. What you will want to do in this case is to manually delete the Chromium folder in the AppData folder.
- Press (Windows key + R) to open the Run window. Type “appwiz.cpl” and hit Enter to open Programs and Features.
- From the Programs and Features list, right-click on Chromium and choose Uninstall. Follow the on-screen prompts to remove it from your computer.
- Reboot your computer
- Open a File Explorer window and navigate to C (Windows Drive) > Users > “Your Personal Folder” > AppData > Local.If you have hidden folders disabled you will have to enable this. Click on (Windows key + R), type “control.exe folders” and hit Enter to open Folder Options. Then, go to the View tab and select Show hidden files, folders and drives under Hidden files and folders. Hit Apply to confirm the changes.
- In AppData, locate the Chromium folder and delete it completely – make sure to clean your Recycle Bin after deleting it from AppData.
- Restart your computer.
Check if the Chromium can’t uninstall issue still occurs.
Try to use an uninstaller program
Because of the open source nature of Chromium there are several components that might have been added to it that can’t be uninstalled normally. In this scenario you will have to use an uninstaller program such as IOBIT Uninstaller, CCleaner, or Revo.
To uninstall Chromium using IOBit Uninstaller
- Download and install iOBit Uninstaller from the official website.
- Make sure to check Custom Installation and prevent any bundled software from installing to your PC.
- Open iOBit Uninstaller
- Click on All Programs in the left-hand panel, then find Chromium in the right-hand panel.
- Click the Recycle bin icon associated with the Chromium entry.
- Check the box next to Automatically remove residual files, then hit the Uninstall button.
- Restart your computer.
Check if the Chromium can’t uninstall issue still occurs.
Manually remove the Chromium Malware
If your computer has the Chromium malware then you can try to manually remove this by following the steps listed below.
- Open the Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc)
- From the Processes tab and locate the Chromium processes. Right-click on one of the Chromium processes and choose Open File Location. Take note of the file location by leaving the file explorer window open.
- Close every Chromium process (Right-click > End Task) in Task manager and quickly move down to the next step.
- As soon as every process has been closed return to the malware location folder and delete the main executable (Explore.exe). If right-click and Delete doesn’t work, manually drag the file to your Recycle Bin.
- Delete the rest of files from the Explore folder
- Delete the Explore folder as a whole.
- Delete the leftover Data folder and move upwards in the folder hierarchy to Local.
- Delete the Games Bot folder from Local.
- Empty the contents of your Recycle Bin and restart your computer.
Check if the Chromium can’t uninstall issue still occurs.
Use Malwarebytes to scan your computer
After manually removing Chromium from your computer you will need to scan your system using Malwarebytes to remove any remnant data of the malware.
- Download & install Malwarebytes from the official site.
- Open Malwarebytes and click Scan from the left-most panel. Then select Threat Scan and hit the Start Scan button.
- Wait until the scan is complete
- Check if it removed any registry entries or browser related files by clicking on View Identified Threats. Then, make sure all threats are selected and hit the Quarantine Selected button.
- Restart your computer.
Check if the Chromium can’t uninstall issue still occurs.