Can't uninstall Trend Micro (it's asking for a password)?

From time to time someone will call and report that they cannot:

1. update Trend Micro Officescan

2. and they are unable to uninstall so that they can install the fresh new copy from VIP, because the program asks them for a password in order to do so.

The following is from Sean Crymble (10/2009) and explains how to uninstall Trend Micro if it asks for a password. In troubleshooting it is recommended to first tell the user to try a few typical default passwords (123, 1234, 12345, 123456 have worked for some in the past).

If the default passwords do not work, the caller can (at their own risk) go into the registry and adjust the settings. Use caution when recommending this: it is important to impart how serious registry changes are and that the below process should only be executed with the utmost care. Some callers may prefer to go to ICARE instead to avoid corrupting their registry.

In the cases where Trend Micro has locked itself down (cannot update, unload or uninstall) we have simplified fix instructions.
1. Go into Services and stop the “Trend Micro Unauthorized Change Protection Service” (this prevents a need to boot into Safe Mode).

2. Open regedit and navigate to HKEY_LocalMachine > Software > TrendMicro > PC-CillinNTCorp > CurrentVersion > Misc

3. 3. Right-Click on AllowUpdateNow and click Modify

4. 4. In the popup window, change “Base” from “Hexadecimal” to “Decimal”

5. 5. In “Value data” change “0” to “1”

6. 6. Click ok and close regedit

7. 7. Right-click on the Trend Micro client. Select Update Now and update. All other settings should normalize during the update.

I have only seen one case where this did not resolve the issue and it appears to involve a separate issue with network connectivity. I’m still working with that customer.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Sean