Windows - Software - Uninstall Artweaver

What the Artweaver uninstaller does

This Automox Worklet™ removes Artweaver from Windows endpoints without a logged-in user, a desktop popup, or a hand-run uninstall wizard. The Worklet enumerates every Artweaver entry in the Windows Uninstall registry hive, reads each one's UninstallString, and drives the bundled Inno Setup uninstaller (unins000.exe) in fully silent mode.

Artweaver ships as a 32-bit application installed by default to C:\Program Files (x86)\Artweaver. Because Inno Setup writes its Uninstall key under the 32-bit registry view, the Worklet checks both HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall and HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall so it works on 64-bit hosts (the common case) and on the rare 32-bit Windows survivor. Per-user installs under HKCU are also scanned.

The remediation script runs in native 64-bit PowerShell, parses the UninstallString returned by the registry, appends the /VERYSILENT and /NORESTART flags, and waits for the uninstaller process to exit. Exit codes 0, 1641, and 3010 are all treated as success – 1641 means the uninstaller initiated a reboot, 3010 means a reboot is queued. Anything else surfaces as a remediation failure in the Automox activity log.

Why remove Artweaver from your endpoints

Artweaver is a digital painting and image editor that tends to land on creative workstations, shared kiosks, and developer machines as a one-off install. When the user moves on or the project ends, the binary stays behind in Program Files (x86), the file associations point at an app nobody updates, and the version reported in your software inventory drifts further from whatever the vendor is patching today. Unused creative software is a quiet contributor to license sprawl and to the long tail of third-party CVEs that never make it onto a security team's radar.

Targeting the creative workstation group with this Worklet on a recurring schedule resolves the registered Artweaver UninstallString on every endpoint and calls it with the documented /S silent switch. Endpoints where Artweaver has already been removed exit at evaluation and contribute no activity-log noise. Endpoints where the binary persists are reported with a per-host exit code, so the next inventory sweep reflects reality rather than the install record from two years ago.

How Artweaver removal works

1. Evaluation phase: The Worklet queries HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall, HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall, and the matching HKCU keys for entries whose DisplayName starts with Artweaver. For each match it captures DisplayName, DisplayVersion, InstallLocation (typically C:\Program Files (x86)\Artweaver), and UninstallString (typically a quoted path to unins000.exe). If at least one Artweaver entry is found, the endpoint is flagged non-compliant and remediation is scheduled. If no entry is found, the script exits 0 and the endpoint is reported as compliant.

2. Remediation phase: For each Artweaver entry, the Worklet parses the UninstallString, strips any built-in switches, and invokes the executable with /VERYSILENT and /NORESTART appended. For example, an entry pointing at "C:\Program Files (x86)\Artweaver 7\unins000.exe" is run as Start-Process -FilePath "C:\Program Files (x86)\Artweaver 7\unins000.exe" -ArgumentList "/VERYSILENT","/NORESTART" -Wait. The Worklet waits for the uninstaller to exit, inspects the exit code, treats 0 / 1641 / 3010 as success, and re-runs the evaluation logic to confirm the registry entry has been removed. Any other exit code is logged with the DisplayVersion that failed, so the activity log identifies which build of Artweaver did not uninstall cleanly.

Artweaver removal requirements

• Windows 10, Windows 11, or Windows Server 2016 and later (the Worklet has no Windows 7 / Server 2008 R2 dependency, but Artweaver itself is supported on those builds and the script will still work there)

• PowerShell 5.1 or later, which is included with every supported Windows build

• Local Administrator privileges to write to HKLM, remove files under C:\Program Files (x86)\Artweaver, and unregister Start menu shortcuts – the Automox agent runs as SYSTEM and already meets this requirement

• Artweaver must have been installed through its standard installer so an Uninstall registry entry and a unins000.exe binary exist; portable extractions or hand-copied folders are not in scope

• No active Artweaver process at run time – if Artweaver.exe is open, the silent uninstaller exits non-zero and the next evaluation will re-flag the endpoint

• Outbound connectivity is not required; the uninstaller is fully local

Expected state after Artweaver removal

After successful remediation, Artweaver no longer appears in Settings > Apps > Installed apps, the Uninstall registry key is gone from both the 64-bit and Wow6432Node hives, and the C:\Program Files (x86)\Artweaver folder is removed by the Inno Setup uninstaller (user-generated content under %USERPROFILE%\Documents\Artweaver is left in place by design). The Worklet exits 0, and the next scheduled evaluation finds no Artweaver entry and reports the endpoint compliant without further remediation.

To validate manually on a pilot endpoint, run Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | Where-Object DisplayName -like "Artweaver*" and confirm it returns nothing. Test-Path "C:\Program Files (x86)\Artweaver*" should return False. If the uninstaller exits 1618 (another installation is in progress) or returns a path-not-found error, an open Artweaver.exe or a half-finished MSI repair is the likely cause; close the application or wait for the in-progress installer to finish, then rerun the policy.