GoogleUpdate.exe?

By Gary Burge | Published: June 9, 2008

What is GoogleUpdate.exe and why won’t Google allow me to uninstall it?

I think it appeared in the list of services after I reinstalled Google Gears.

I have uninstalled every Google program (Gears, GTalk, Google Desktop, etc.), and disabled GoogleUpdate.exe in the list of services. I even deleted every Google reference in the registry.

When I reboot, however, the some process runs which re-enables the GoogleUpdate.exe service.

As a last resort, I renamed the executable file at C:\Program Files\Google\Update\1.1.27.3\GoogleUpdate.exe to “x_GoogleUpdate.exe”, which is a sucky way to regain control of your own property.

What’s the deal, Google?

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  • http://garyburge.com/ Gary Burge

    I have since learned that GoogleUpdate.exe is (or is part of) Google Gears, a legitimate and useful software program that allows web applications in the “cloud” to be used offline.

    The problem I have with GoogleUpdate.exe is that even though one uninstalls all Google software and all software using Gears, GoogleUpdate.exe still remains, still runs as a service, reinstalls itself, and provides no uninstall facility. Sort of like Sony’s root kit.

    Not the thing I expect from the “do no evil” company.

  • About Gary Burge

    I am an experieced web programmer, techno-activist, romantic idealist, who never quite left the sixties, even though I became quite successful in the Internet space.

    My business philosphy is different now than when I toiled in the bigco world. About a decade ago I experienced a life-altering epiphany: I was sacrificing my personal life and health to feed a corporate monster.

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