How to remotely remove applications with Atera

There are a ton of reasons that you may want to remove applications from a corporate or client environment as an MSP or an IT professional. Perhaps you’re moving to a new software solution, and you want to make sure the predecessor is removed from all endpoints. Maybe you’re aware of some shadow IT or bloatware that shouldn’t be on the network, or perhaps you’ve been alerted to a security concern related to a specific app. In all of these cases and more, you want a quick and easy way to uninstall a certain application, and make sure that it’s gone for good.

Atera offers not one, but five ways to uninstall unnecessary applications, so let’s go through them one by one!

1. Use your software inventory via devices

Start by heading to your devices tab on the left-hand toolbar of the Atera dashboard. We’ve highlighted it below for you.

Set the filters to show the devices that you wish to manage, for example toggling the View settings to only desktops, or selecting by customer or device type. Now, you can click on Manage, next to the relevant customer, and choose Software Inventory from the drop-down list.

Once you’ve clicked on Software Inventory, you’ll get a simple list of all software installed on these devices. Simply click the applications that you wish to uninstall – and choose the Uninstall option at the bottom. It’s as simple as that!

To summarize, to use Software Uninstall on Atera, go to Devices –> Manage –> Software inventory –> choose software applications –> Click ‘Uninstall.

2. Leverage PowerShell or Command Prompt

Using PowerShell or your Command Prompt is our option #2 for uninstalling applications in your customer or corporate environment. Head to Devices and use filters as above to pick out the right customers and devices, before choosing the Manage button – just as you can see in the screenshots above. This time, choose PowerShell or Command Prompt from the Manage drop down list.

You’ll now be able to enter your own Command for uninstalling software. There are a lot of options for commands that you can use – here’s a good external resource to get started, but feel free to do your own research until you find the option that works best for you.

Here’s your summary! Go to Devices –> Manage –> Command prompt / PowerShell

3. Utilize the reports function

From the Reports section of Atera, you can automatically uninstall any applications that you’d like removed. Reports is second-to-last on the left-hand toolbar, right above Admin. Simply click on Reports, and you’ll be taken to the Reporting dashboard. Under the Monitoring icons, you’ll see Software Inventory, marked by the green arrow, below.

Once you click on software inventory, you’ll be able to choose the customer you want from the left-hand filters. In this case, we’ve kept to our good (fake) friends at Lobster Grill. When you click Generate, you’ll see a summary of all software applications, and be able to view the software either in alphabetical order, or you can search by software name or publisher. You can also see at a glance how many devices the software is installed on. When you hover next to the number – you’ll automatically be given the option to Uninstall.

4. Implement automation and scripting

In our bid to make IT management as simple as possible – we love a good IT automation script! Your first step here is to head to Admin, right at the bottom of the left-hand toolbar. In the Admin dashboard, you’ll see Scripts as the fourth option in the Monitoring row.

Once you click on Scripts, you’ll be able to create or upload a script directly into Atera. This will be your own private script collection. Once these are saved, you can then create a profile and set an automation using these scripts.

Now you’re ready for step two. Head back to the Admin page, and this time, click on Patch Management and IT Automation, found to the left of the Scripts option. Click on Add Profile, and name this profile. When you click on the profile, you’ll see an option at the bottom right that says Add Script.

Don’t forget to use the Schedule Automation options at the top of the page to choose the regularity of this action, either once ahead of time, or regularly at a set time and frequency. Save your changes to the IT automation profile on the left-hand side of the page.

Finally, head back to the main Patch Management and IT Automation page, and you’ll be able to see who the automation profile is applied to – as in, which customers will be impacted by the script you’ve set up. Select all the customers, agents and folders which you would like to have this profile assignment, and click save.

Here’s your cheat sheet! Admin –> Patch Management and IT Automation –> add profile –> add script –> set automation –> applied to customer. All done!

5. Try an auto-healing script in your environment

Auto-healing scripts are a dynamic way to manage your IT environment, and ensure that if an error occurs – you’re quick off the mark with a fix. These scripts are set to trigger when a specific threshold or condition is met, for example to track unauthorized software, stopping the installation and even removing it from the network.

Click on the specific profile, and then click the New Item button. Here you can toggle the option to Custom, and add the details that you want for your auto-healing script. This will include how severe the alert should be, the category it’s related to, and which operating systems will be supported. You can click Select under the Run Script section to easily add the right script to the threshold item.

Don’t forget to assign the auto-healing script to the right customers, and you’re all done. For more information about creating auto-healing scripts, check out the Knowledge Base article, here.
You now have five options for remotely uninstalling applications from an IT environment, so the choice is yours!

Effortless Remote Application Removal with Atera

Patch management involves systematically updating and patching software to fix vulnerabilities and ensure optimal performance. Even though we talked about removing remotely application, it aligns with patch management principles by maintaining system health and security through the elimination of outdated or problematic software. Remote monitoring and management (RMM), on the other hand, is central to the blog’s theme as it encompasses tools and strategies for overseeing and managing IT assets from a distance. Atera’s solution exemplifies RMM by allowing IT professionals to remotely handle application management tasks, streamlining the process of software maintenance, and improving operational efficiency. Together, these concepts illustrate how remote tools can effectively contribute to comprehensive IT management and security, including IT asset discovery and application management.