Solved What is McAfeeOSDetection folder in Program Files?

I was looking through my files and folders to see if there is anything I can get rid of and I came across this one in Program Files. I thought it was strange because I don't have any Mcafee apps installed. I even did a search for it and found nothing even when I tried using Wise uninstaller. It makes me think it's a leftover folder that should be gotten rid of. I'd like to do it the proper way so there are no problems.
When I clicked the folder, there was a file in it called DADUpdater and is labeled as an application. I clicked it and then 3 additional folder appeared. I looked through everything trying to find an uninstaller but found nothing.
Could I simply delete the McAfeeOSDetection folder and that's it?
BTW, I did a google search for that folder name and I can't find a result that uses that exact term. Google keeps changing it to find matches. Here's a couple screenshots to show exactly what I'm referring to as to what the folders and files are.

I suspect it's a left over folder from a freeware/demoware version of McAfee that either came with the device or was installed with some other downloded software

Quite common for these invasive (often spyware) remnants to be left behind when just the standard Windows uninstallation program is used, and more than likely there are many other leftover file remnants and registry entries hanging about

Using RevUninstaller (just the freeware version is adequate) to uninstall (any) software, including using Revo's advanced option, usually gets rid of these remnants.

But, it might be a bit late now. Try renaming the folder (say, to McAfeeOSDetectionOLD) to see if affects your system. If nothing untoward happens after a week or so, delete it

These search results all seem to imply that you used to have McAfee

If that's the case then did you get an uninstall tool from their website and run it?
Is McAfee or DADUpdater mentioned in Settings, Apps?


Denis

Try3 said:

These search results all seem to imply that you used to have McAfee

dadupdater at DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo. Privacy, Simplified.

duckduckgo.com

If that's the case then did you get an uninstall tool from their website and run it?
Is McAfee or DADUpdater mentioned in Settings, Apps?


Denis

Click to expand...

@idgat I have Revouninstaller. Just tried using it but McAfee doesn't show up in the apps list there either. I clicked the Options tab at the top, but didn't find anything after that which would let me find any of the mcafee files.

@Try3 Not that I can find. But I'm now in the process of running the uninstall tool from McAfee you mentioned. It's going slow....
By those Duckduckgo results, I probably shouldn't have clicked on that DADUpdater.

Lenovo25 said:

I was looking through my files and folders to see if there is anything I can get rid of

Click to expand...

If free space is needed:

zbook said:

If free space is needed:

Free up drive space in Windows - Microsoft Support

Learn how you can free up drive space in Windows. Keep your PC running smoothly and up to date by increasing the disk space.

support.microsoft.com

Free Up Drive Space in Windows 10

How to Free Up Drive Space in Windows 10

www.tenforums.com

Click to expand...

It's not so much free space that I need. I'm using a newer laptop now after upgrading to Win11 and having so much trouble with my previous laptop due to the OS getting corrupted that I thought it would be nice to clean up anything that might be on board that could cause problems in the future. Leftover files and things like that.

@Try3 The uninstall process is done, but now it wants me to restart my computer which is something I'll have to do tomorrow since it will cause me to close up things I'd like to have open at this point.
I'm gonna mark this as "solved" right now since I'm sure the process worked out.
Thank you to Try3 and idgat!

Lenovo25 said:

It's not so much free space that I need. I'm using a newer laptop now after upgrading to Win11 and having so much trouble with my previous laptop due to the OS getting corrupted that I thought it would be nice to clean up anything that might be on board that could cause problems in the future.

Click to expand...

1) Please enable Regback:




2) Add WMIC:




3) Run Tuneup plus:






The PC healthcheck from 2023 may be able to be updated or deleted.

Lenovo25 said:

Just tried using it but McAfee doesn't show up in the apps list there either

Click to expand...

No it won't if it's already been uninstalled. Revo looks for certain components, but they're the ones removed in the standard uninstall. Revo's strength lies in being to trace the left over nasties, but only in the it's process of uninstalling the general program components

Lenovo25 said:

It's not so much free space that I need. I'm using a newer laptop now after upgrading to Win11 and having so much trouble with my previous laptop due to the OS getting corrupted that I thought it would be nice to clean up anything that might be on board that could cause problems in the future.

Click to expand...

Not sure I would have chosen the W11 upgrade option for a corrupted previous system, W10 or otherwise

Might be worth a clean install - a complete wipe of the drive (that's get rid of all the McAfee leftovers) and a fresh W11 start

idgat said:

No it won't if it's already been uninstalled. Revo looks for certain components, but they're the ones removed in the standard uninstall. Revo's strength lies in being to trace the left over nasties, but only in the it's process of uninstalling the general program components

Not sure I would have chosen the W11 upgrade option for a corrupted previous system, W10 or otherwise

Might be worth a clean install - a complete wipe of the drive (that's get rid of all the McAfee leftovers) and a fresh W11 start

Click to expand...

I should have clarified that it was a different computer with a corruption problem. It was a Dell computer. I'm keeping that one as a backup now that it's running well enough, but the one I'm using as my main one is a Lenovo. The Dell wasn't eligible for the upgrade, but the Lenovo was. It's not corrupted and I'd like it to stay that way by avoiding past mistakes I made with the Dell. I was having some "Black Screen of Death" crashes previous to more problems which may have caused the corruption. Even a "Reset this PC" operation didn't fix everything. You can read about my ordeal here if you'd like: Dell computer lost internet connection - Windows 10 Help Forums

@zbook
That info looks very interesting since I was having BSOD problems before things got corrupted. Not sure I understand how to follow it all though.
Before the corruption problem started, I'd be using the computer and then the screen went completely black as if turned off. All I could do is cut the power. I think it happened 3 times. Then I lost internet connectivity and couldn't get it back until I did a PC reset, which fixed that problem but didn't work entirely as it was supposed to. Problems still exist, but it has internet and is usable.

Post #7

steps #1 and #2 are tutorials.

step #3 is a bat script that prompts AV for a manual approval then runs in the background.

When it completes there is a pop up with instructions.