My customer has had several technicians before me who handled their services, none of which knew how to write down passwords or other vital documentation.
I was faced with an issue regarding ESET NOD32 today. A couple of computers had an old (undocumented) configuration of their antivirus.
As it turned out the clients had Protected setup which means you cannot access the settings, or un/reinstall the program without a specific password. It also happened to not be set up to talk to the appropriate Remote Administration-server.
So to start things of I needed to either reset the password or get the client to connect to my Remote Administrations-server to get the right policy. I decided to go with resetting the password.
There are three ways of doing this, listed below in my preferred order;
A) Hack it!
If you have physical access to the client you can do the following.
- Reboot into safe-mode. (only needed if NOD32 is in self-protection mode).
- Remove the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Eset\Nod\CurrentVersion\Info\PackageID
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ESET\ESET Security\CurrentVersion\Info] "PackageID"=-
- Reboot
B) Use official tools (uninstall)
This article describes how to uninstall ESET NOD32 without supplying the password, using “ESETUninstaller”.
This solution requires a third-party program (from ESET), that’s why it’s not my first option.
http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page=content&id=SOLN2289
C) Contact Customer Support
I hate waiting for customer support. So that’s why this is my last way out.
http://kb.eset.com/esetkb/index?page=content&id=SOLN333
Hope this helped you. Let me know if you find any other ways of working around this issue!
Been looking for this for weeks, excellent solution, thank you!! :)
Thanks a lot!!!! This saved my Ass today :)
What will happen if I remove the registers key (hack it) will the password be removed or the software will be deleted?
The password should be removed, the software will not be affected. Please keep in mind this workaround is about a year old, so no guarantees.
Backup your registry first if choosing that approach.
what i do if i didn't find "PackageID"?? help please
i have eset smart 9
ESET Antivirus setting password reset, forgot my password, How do I remove
https://www.knowerstech.com/eset-antivirus-setting-password-reset-forgot-my-password-how-do-i-remove/
Thanks the 1st option made more sense and it worked. Thanks alot
I upgrade to ESET Endpoint version 7. Not find "PackageID" on registry. Can anyone help?
Would like to remove the password instead of uninstalling.
Thanks. it was helpful.
I used your method to remove ESET Endpoint on Windows 7 Pro. Worked perfectly. The program had been installed and maintained for some years by a now defunct 3rd party security support service, so password unknown to any of us. Unable to administer the antivirus program and was causing serious compromise in performance, with no rights to password reset by company. Used 1st method: booted into SafeMode Admin account, used regedit, deleted PackageID key (~ same location), rebooted, performed uninstall without being blocked by lack of password, rebooted, deleted hidden files, rebooted, clean uninstall. The internet is a wonderful source of info. Thank you. Thank you.
Glad to help Cathy!