How to Remove Annoyingware (Hard to Terminate Process, Hard to Remove Files)

Cold Turkey Blocker is 1 of those annoyingware. It’s hard to terminate the processes, it’s hard to uninstall or remove files. The scenario is this way:

• Need to block some domains in all browser?
  • Install Cold Turkey Blocker (CTB)
• The action:
  
  • The free version of Cold Turkey has no blocking by password
    
  • Set a block for a domain by a year (1 of the free features)
• Now is the problem:
  • Cold Turkey forces user to install its extension in ALL browsers, or it will force-kill all browser windows in 60 seconds
  • If user accidentally blocked a domain for a year? Too bad, user can’t visit it for a year.
  • The block rule CANNOT be removed! This is the crazy thing.
  • And user can’t uninstall Cold Turkey when a block rule is there; its uninstaller doesn’t allow.

Here’s how to remove annoyingware (not malware, malware is harder to be terminated or removed since they spawn back their own processes and files):

• Find a browser that Cold Turkey doesn’t know so it won’t kill the browser process
  • If user is lucky enough, the new Chromium-based Edge Browser is not killed by Cold Turkey
  • Or go to another computer, download these software to a USB stick; copy over and install on the computer being stuck with Cold Turkey
    • Uninstall Tool: https://crystalidea.com/uninstall-tool/download
    • IObit Unlocker: https://www.iobit.com/en/iobit-unlocker.php
• Cold Turkey doesn’t allow user to uninstall it (when a domain block rule is on)
  • Use Uninstall Tool above to force uninstall Cold Turkey

For the free version of Uninstall Tool, user will face this screen:

What to do next:

• Use IObit Unlocker to force-unlock and delete all folders and files stated under the File System item in the image above
• Use Regedit to remove all registry keys/values stated in the Registry item in the image above
• There’s no need to restart computer, Cold Turkey is now gone.