Uninstalling Snort from Windows

Problem

You want to uninstall Snort from your Windows machine.

Solution

To uninstall Snort from your Windows operating system, you can follow these simple steps:

1. Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the Snort directory. Unless you specified otherwise, this is C:Snort by default.
2. Double-click on the Uninstall.exe file to launch the uninstallation.
3. The Uninstall Snort window informs you of the Snort location that is to be uninstalled (Figure 1-8). Click Uninstall to continue.

   Figure 1-8. Uninstall Snort window

    
4. If you have not installed Snort as a Windows service a window appears that states, "Snort not installed as a service." Click OK to continue.
5. You see the progress of the Snort uninstall continue in the window. Once the uninstallation is complete, you see the Finished window stating that the "Uninstall was completed successfully" (Figure 1-9). Click Show Details to see the details of the uninstallation. Click Close to close this window.

Figure 1-9. Successful Uninstall window

You may also want to uninstall the WinPcap driver. If you are using other sniffers or packet-crafting programs such as Ethereal, Windump, or Nmap you will not want to uninstall WinPcap. The following can uninstall WinPcap:

1. Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the default WinPcap directory: C:Program FilesWinPcap.
2. Double-click on the Uninstall.exe file to launch the uninstallation.
3. The WinPcap 3.0 uninstaller program launches, and Uninstall WinPcap 3.0 is selected. Click Next to continue.
4. The next window confirms that you want to uninstall WinPcap 3.0. Click Next to continue.
5. The WinPcap 3.0 uninstall begins, and you are presented with an Uninstall Succeeded window when it is complete. Click Finish to close the window.

Discussion

There are several reasons you may want to uninstall Snort. However, you do not need to uninstall a previous version of Snort to install a newer version. You can update your version of Snort by simply following the installation process for the new version.

See Also

Recipe 1.4