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Issue #407: May 10–16, 2015

Q: Can you tell me how to uninstall Ninja Loader? It snuck in when I was doing research on You Tube. (My fault, I clicked the download button.) According to their site, it is supposed to include an uninstall option; it does not. Various sites suggest registry and start menu manipulations. I’m uncomfortable with that.

– Larry T.
Destin, Florida

A:  On the surface, your question looks like any of dozens of other questions I’ve answered about uninstalling malware, Larry.  The difference is that technically speaking, Ninja Loader doesn’t meet the classic definition of malware.  By your own admission you clicked something that caused it to be installed.  (What has your Geek told you about reading carefully, and not being in such a hurry to click through pages or dialogs?)

Ninja Loader falls under the category of what’s called a Potentially Unwanted Program, or PUP.  These are not programs that “sneak in” per se, but rather, are unintentionally installed along with something else.  PUPs don’t usually install without some type of warning, and they do usually contain an uninstaller, although it may not totally remove the program.  Software that falls under the category of PUP isn’t malicious, and, like Ninja Loader, can actually be a useful product or service.  However, because of the very nature of the way these are marketed (semi-shadily) the ads that are served up by PUPs are far more likely to lead you to something that truly is malicious.

In your search for an uninstaller, your first stop is the Windows Control Panel, under “Programs and Features”.  There you should find an entry for Ninja Loader, which will uninstall it like any other program.  That won’t necessarily remove it from any web browsers that you have installed.  The procedure for that varies from browser to browser, and is a bit lengthy for me to publish in my limited space.  However, any of those sites that you mentioned should contain appropriate instructions to clear it from your specific browser.  If you don’t want to pick one on your own, here’s one for you: tinyurl.com/q6ukl9u.

• • •

Q: First let me thank you for your column, it is of great help to non-geeks like me (You are going to be able to tell by reading my question) I’m about buy a external hard drive and the salesman suggested a “CLOUD” H/D for a lot more money, It’s worth it????

– Carol O.
Freeport, Florida

A: Thanks for the kind words, Carol.  Unfortunately, I can’t answer the question you asked.  You see, as the potential future owner of the device in question, only you can decide whether “it’s worth it”.  The answer may not be the same for everybody.  What I can do is provide you with information that will educate you, and help you make the decision that is right for you.

The key here is grasping exactly what is meant by “cloud” in this context.  The word is thrown around a lot these days, and that can be confusing to lots of people because it doesn’t necessarily mean the same thing every time.  So, let’s discuss the cloud from the perspective of this hard drive.  In this case, your salesman is talking about a device that you will be able to access from both inside and outside your home network.  In other words, both while you are at home, and when you’re away.  It also likely means you’ll be able to access the storage with non-PC devices like smartphones and pad computers.  That leaves you with countless new ways to access and use your data.  I’ll give you a couple to get you started: accessing personal files from work, and storing pictures and videos to show on your phone without using your phone’s storage.  Again, only you can decide whether the difference in cost is “worth it”.  I’ve covered other aspects of cloud computing in some of my recent articles, including another one about cloud-based storage.  In case you missed them, you can always catch-up on back issues over on my website at ItsGeekToMe.co (not .com!).


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