JJClements.co.uk » UseVPUninstallPassword http://www.jjclements.co.uk Clem's Technical Blog Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:16:50 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Uninstall Symantec AV with an unknown password http://www.jjclements.co.uk/2007/11/15/uninstall-symantec-av-with-an-unknown-password/ http://www.jjclements.co.uk/2007/11/15/uninstall-symantec-av-with-an-unknown-password/#comments Thu, 15 Nov 2007 13:04:12 +0000 James Clements http://www.jjclements.co.uk/index.php/2007/11/15/uninstall-symantec-av-with-an-unknown-password/ Here is a tip to uninstall Symantec Antivirus (I use the corporate edition) when the uninstall password has been forgotten (NOTE: the default password is symantec) OR you are using a Symantec Antivirus Server to manage clients and the server has been reinstalled or corrupted thus losing the server group root certificate (stored in the 'pki' folder located in C:\Program Files\Symantec AntiVirus, this should always be backed up!).

1. Open the registry editor on the client (regedit)

2. Find the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\INTEL\LANDesk\VirusProtect6\CurrentVersion\AdministratorOnly\Security

3. Change the data stored within the UseVPUninstallPassword value from 1 to 0

4. Clost regedit and try uninstalling Symantec Antivirus from the client. It should now uninstall without prompting for the password.

You can alternatively make the Registry key change (I.e. perform all of the above steps) by saving the following file to your computer, double clicking the file and merging the contents with your registry:

Download Here (you may need to right click this link and use "save as" to save it)

In a situation where you are running a Symantec Antivirus Server managing clients you will probably want to script the registry key change through a start-up script.

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