Home > Computer > How To Uninstall or Remove Bonjour mDNSResponder.exe

How To Uninstall or Remove Bonjour mDNSResponder.exe

Posted By Raymond In Category: Computer

Feb
10
2008
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Bonjour, also known as zero-configuration networking, enables automatic discovery of computers, devices, and services on IP networks. Bonjour uses industry standard IP protocols to allow devices to automatically discover each other without the need to enter IP addresses or configure DNS servers.

How to uninstall BonjourIf you’ve installed software by Apple such as iTunes, software by Adobe such as Premiere Pro, Skype, Gizmo, chances are there’s already a Bonjour folder in your Program Files. This service starts automatically and runs a process named mDNSResponder.exe which cannot be ended by Windows Task Manager. If you do not want Bonjour to be in your computer and want to uninstall it, sometimes you can’t find any uninstaller for it! Even if you go to Control Panel’s Add or Remove Program, you can’t find the uninstaller there as well.

Here’s how to safely uninstall Bonjour and remove mDNSResponder.exe


Just follow the few simple steps below to remove Bonjour fro your computer.

1. Go to Start > Run > type the command below and hit OK.

“%PROGRAMFILES%\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe” -remove


2. Navigate to C:\Program Files\Bonjour
3. Rename the mdnsNSP.dll file in that folder to mdnsNSP.old
4. Restart your computer
5. Delete the Program Files\Bonjour folder

The first command will stop and remove Bonjour Service from your computer. To confirm, go to Start > Run and type services.msc. Look for Bonjour Service name. If it’s not there, you’ve successfully removed it.

Gizmo Project has created a small tool (35KB TurnOffBonjour.exe) that turns off and removes Bonjour service. However, it will not remove the Bonjour folder from Program Files. You will still need to manually delete the Bonjour folder after restart. The reason why you’re advised to delete the folder after restart is in case there’s a problem, the Bonjour files are still there for you to restore.

If you encountered problems after uninstalling or removing Bonjour, you can download and reinstall Bonjour.
[ Download Bonjour for Windows ]

Update: Here is a little wizard tool called Au Revoir, Bonjour that will remove the Apple Bonjour Service from Windows computers.


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    • black2

      thanks raymond, great topic?

    • bartman

      Wich program install Bonjour ?

    • bal

      Great! this is just what ive needed. i had this bonjour thing in my com and didnt know what it was… thanks. but when i hit ok after run an error message come out.It is —————————
      “C:\Program
      —————————
      Windows cannot find ‘“C:\Program’. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again. To search for a file, click the Start button, and then click Search.
      —————————
      OK
      —————————
      whats the problem? do i have to type it in? because i copied and pasted. any tips would be helpful. thanks raymond! you rock!

    • Michael

      Thanks Raymond, worked for me on Vista Ultimate 32-bit

    • stealth

      thanx ray, Bonjour=completely removed..:)

    • http://www.raymond.cc/ Raymond

      Bal, make sure you’ve entered the double quotation marks at the beginning and end of the command line.

    • irjan

      Thanks Ray, success…

    • http://free-iphone-apple.blogspot.com mark

      @bartman: Programs like iTunes uses it.

    • 2PACroatia

      2bad..when you remove bonjour service, your winsock2 is left behing all messed up
      so I left the service running

    • bal

      ok. Thx raymond. fixed the prob.

    • Grateful

      Thanks – fixed!

    • Akshay

      @bal, The same thing happened to me.
      Just type the url as C:\\Progra~1\\… -remove
      I havent used the double quotes:)

    • Raj

      can u tell me ……this software also use for microsoft windows or not …….

    • Bez

      1. Go to Run on the Start menu, type services.msc and press enter.

      2.In the window which opens, fin the bonjour item. It is usually the only one with a weird name. eg.##Id_String2.6844F930_1628_4223_B5CC_5BB94B879762##

      3.Right click on the entry>Properties.

      4.COnfirm the service name is indeed Bonjour.

      5.press STOP to stop the service. Select Startup Type as disabled to prevent it from running at startup. Apply

      This only stops the service from running. It does not remove it from your pc.

    • care

      this shit is installed by apple, itunes and qtime

    • http://www.mindflow.com.au/ Chris

      Hi, please notify us:

      1. the implications of doing this removal.
      2. possible security issues if we leave the program running, are there any?

      Basically some information to help us choose if we want to leave it in our system or get rid of it.

      BTW – adding to the comment 2 comments above…After you STOP the Service… change it from “Automatic” to “Manual” or “Disable” (to disable it forever)
      At least this way you can easily go back and undo your changes :o}

      Cheeriooooo

    • Add & Remove

      OR YOU COULD JUST REMOVE IT FROM ADD & REMOVE PROGRAMS ???????????????????????????????????

      THATS WHAT I DID, AND ITS ALL GONE,

      I DID USE Gizmo Project has created a small tool (35KB TurnOffBonjour.exe) that turns off and removes Bonjour service. http://download.gizmoproject.com/jasmine/TurnOffBonjour.exe

      AFTER THAT ^ DELETE THE FOLDER FROM C: DRIVE
      C:\Program Files\Bonjour

    • Add & Remove

      And just to add is will not kill your windows install if you remove it,.. like some people are saying it messes up their net connections ???????? what a joke,… close ur browser and remove it like states in my last comment,…

    • No-Man

      Thanks Buddy! You Are Great.

    • http://www.yogatta.com yogatta

      —————————

    • http://www.yogatta.com yogatta

      haha… finally… it can hardly removed by using unlocker. :)

    • http://www.gfxpoll.com Eric

      Quite nice, thank you for the sollution…. it helped me very much!

    • jos

      Sucesso coma execu

    • nick

      i dont have itune or quicktime or any apple soft, so how come i ended up with it

    • Tom

      This insane program is totally messing my wifes computer up. It’s acting like a virus or has been infected or hacked by someone. Her computer runs fine and then boom big time lag on the internet. I noticed this file and have spent all afternoon trying to figure it out. It won’t let me delete it even from the registry! The computer will run fine after a shut down and as soon as I go to eradicate this folder everything stops working. It doesn’t have a remove in the add/remove folder and seems to be fighting my unintall of it. Beware of this thing. I’m thinking it can be compromised by certain agencies trying to access the an individuals system.

    • Amake

      I found it worked best to end the process mDNSResponder.exe through the file manager, then quickly delete the file in its directory before it starts again.

    • Satish

      Another simple way to disable this service this:

      1. Click on Start->All Programs->Administrative Tools->Services

      2. Select Bonjour Service

      3. Right-click and select Stop

      4. Right-click again and select Properties

      5. On the \\\”Startup Type\\\” drop-down box, select \\\”Disabled\\\” and hit the Apply button.

      6. Click OK and close the properties window and close the Services window

    • Beng

      Hey Raymond, I had warnings from Norton about the Bonjour worm attempting to access my system. Problem is, it just didn’t stop trying to access my computer!

      So, you can imagine how pleased I am with your solution.

      THANKS!

    • george

      From the introduction above:

      “Bonjour, also known as zero-configuration networking, enables automatic discovery of computers, devices, and services on IP networks. Bonjour uses industry standard IP protocols to allow devices to automatically discover each other without the need to enter IP addresses or configure DNS servers.

      How to uninstall BonjourIf you’ve installed software by Apple such as iTunes, software by Adobe such as Premiere Pro, Skype, Gizmo, chances are there’s already a Bonjour folder in your Program Files. ”

      ———

      Raymond, could you paraphrase this please? I have the same concerns as Chris in Post 16:

      “1. the implications of doing this removal.

      2. possible security issues if we leave the program running, are there any?”

      I have Premiere Pro among other Adobe Products installed.

      3. What exactly does mDNSResponder.exe do with respect to Premiere Pro or other products? (I don’t file share or use iTunes.)

      4. If I uninstall this Bonjour executable, will the software not run properly? What effect does uninstalling have?

      5. If I leave it running, what if any security risks are there? Does it report back to the software manufacturer or other entities any info?

      Thanks.

    • http://agleoeoleo.wordpress.com Claudio

      Thanks bez – comment #14 – that´s the best way to uninstall for sure…

    • Mark

      Nick, because it is also used by: \”iPhoto to find shared photos, iChat, Adobe Creative Suite 3, Proteus, Adium, Fire, Pidgin, Skype, and the Gizmo Project to find other users on the local network, TiVo Desktop to find digital video recorders and shared media libraries, SubEthaEdit and e to find document collaborators, and Contactizer to find and share contacts, tasks and events information. Additionally it is used by Safari to find local web servers and configuration pages for local devices, and by Asterisk to advertise telephone services along with configuration parameters to VoIP phones and dialers. Software such as Bonjour Browser or iStumbler can be used to view all services declared by these applications and more.\”

      *Quoted from Wikipedia

    • Homefries

      Just to repeat what Bez said above,.. when you’re using services.msc, you’re not going to find this thing by looking for a “Bonjour” service. You’re going to find it by looking for a bizarro tag like “##Id_String2.6844F930_1699_4223_B5CC_5BB94B879762##.

      Disabling this service stopped it from running and my PC (Windows XP) is running just fine. I’ll keep it for now in case something fubars later.

    • jim

      in run type msconfig you can turn on and off startup programs and services at will

    • Kletimostaph

      This program is also installed along with Adobe products. It is used for updates and crap. I don’t need a an extra program to tell me when to update my products. This item called “Bonjour” IS a security threat leaving a port open on the said machine so that it can send data back and forth between the host company of the product you installed. I’ve dealt with this “trojan” on to many occasions. It lags the internet when you’re trying to watch videos, play games, etc. Best thing I have found to do is just delete it. Good job on the posting with how to get rid of it.

      ~Kletimostaph

    • Kartz25

      I used comment#14 to disable this permanently. This program created an open port on my pc which can allow trojans to use. Once disabled, rechecked on auditmypc-port scanner and confirmed the port was close.
      Good thread Raymond.

    • Mike

      Thank you so much
      It worked amazingly!!

    • buurvrouw

      thank you it works :-)

      1. I did use Gizmo Project has created a small tool (35KB TurnOffBonjour.exe) that turns off and removes Bonjour service. http://download.gizmoproject.com/jasmine/TurnOffBonjour.exe

      2. Navigate to C:\Program Files\Bonjour
      3. Rename the mdnsNSP.dll file in that folder to mdnsNSP.old
      4. Restart your computer
      5. Delete the Program Files\Bonjour folder

    • sick of slackware

      the solution on comment 12 works the best

    • J.Campos

      Thanks Ray,
      It worked like a charm.

      I had the same problem though, as post #3. Next, all I did was erase and retype only the double quotation marks in the command.

      For some reason, when you copy/paste the command, the quotation marks get messed up for the interface.

      Keep the good work!

    • Ian

      I removed all traces of Bonjour using answer 37 but when I try to update Itunes or install Bonjour again it says that it is still running! Search all files and programs finds no trace of Bonjour but it still shows up on “change or remove programs” under the Control Panel. Any ideas?

    • Robert

      Just create .bat file that has:

      c:
      cd \”C:\\Program Files\\Bonjour\”
      mDNSResponder.exe -remove
      pause

      cd \”C:\\Program Files\\Bonjour\”
      rename mdnsNSP.dll mdnsNSP.old
      pause

      :alldone
      exit

      and another file:

      c:
      del \”C:\\Program Files\\Bonjour\”
      rd \”C:\\Program Files\\Bonjour\”
      pause

      :alldone
      exit

      and use it after you reboot.
      wuuuallla

    • cemman

      Hi, I get the:
      “Windows cannot find ‘“C:\\Program’. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again. To search for a file, click the Start button, and then click Search.”

      And my command line as I copied and pasted has the quotation marks in proper places, I checked Bonjour, is in C:/C:\\Program Files… SO wht am I not getting this on?
      Is there a manual way of doing this removing business?
      Like going in to registry/services then search and delate every bonjour entry or something?
      Thanks in advance Raymond

    • cemman

      Hi, I get the:
      “Windows cannot find ‘“C:\\Program’. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again. To search for a file, click the Start button, and then click Search.”

      And my command line as I copied and pasted has the quotation marks in proper places, I checked Bonjour, is in C:/C:\\Program Files… So why am I not getting this on?
      Is there a manual way of doing this removing business?
      Like going in to registry/services then search and delete every bonjour entry or something?
      Thanks in advance Raymond

    • Morty

      Thank you very much….

    • http://didn'twork that guy

      I typed in “%PROGRAMFILES%\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe” -remove but it came up with nothing on an error saying: windows cannot find etc etc….

      Whats happening?

    • Mr. Virdot

      In DOS
      C:\>”c:\Program Files”\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe -remove
      Removed service “B”
      2. Navigate to C:\Program Files\Bonjour
      3. Rename the mdnsNSP.dll file in that folder to mdnsNSP.old
      c:\>rename “c:\Program Files”\Bonjour\mdnsNSP.dll mdnsNSP.old
      c:\>rename “c:\Program Files”\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe mDNSResponder.old
      4. Restart your computer
      5. Delete the Program Files\Bonjour folder
      C:\>del “c:\Program Files”\Bonjour
      C:\>rd “c:\Program Files”\Bonjour

    • zac

      For the ones saying
      I get “Windows cannot find ‘“C:\\Program’.

      If your Windows version is not the english one, then the directory will be named c:\\Programme or c:\\Programmi or something like that.

    • http://tychance..com The Ghost Of Whitby

      Thanks allot.

    • Sue M.

      I used the Au Revoir Bonjour software that you recommended above. Worked perfectly. I’m running windows xp 5 with sp 2. Went an manually removed the folder, then ran cc cleaner to get rid of the rest. Then cleaned up my firewall.

    • myzo

      Thank you

    • Bev B

      You rock Raymond! Thanks for all above info (& comments). I used the TurnOffBonjour.exe after I changed the .dll file to .old (not sure I needed to do that as well but since I already had…. didn\\\’t hurt) Then after pop up said it was stopped, rebooted & was able to FINALLY !!! delete. Tried for almost a year to dump that thing. Glad I Googled and found your site.
      Thanks again, Bev

    • george

      i got this after installling abobe photoshop / Illustrator and Indesign CS3 on my computer didn’t know what it was so i kill it with my firewall.

      Now thanks to the inst to remove this little bugger its completly gone from my pc..

      thanks a million.

    • dusty

      if i remove this, will my iphone fail to be recognized? do i need it for iphone?

    • Mike

      This Service is installed when you use ANY Adobe CS3 Software or Apple QuickTime.
      You can stop the service and No problem.

    • Justin

      The windows clean up worked a treat… finds it.. deletes it… job done.

      I tried all the RUN commands and none of them found the file. Itunes just refused to start an install until the little devil had been removed

      It constantly said “cannot remove old bonjour”

      Windows clean up did it first time.

      Thanks for the help.

    • NNM

      I hate this bonjour thing.
      Where did it come from? It messed up my network.
      I hate apple, so I never installed any of their products. I hate Adobe too, so never installed any of their products on this computer.
      No quicktime, no itunes, no pdf reader, … Using firefox only, not updating or using ie. So, WHERE DID IT COME FROM??

      It’d be really useful to have a full list of programs that add this virus without user permission.

    • http://l2d0ll Maya Williams

      Thank you so much Raymond! Really helped me! This bonjour has messed up my files.. Bonjour = nice day in French (seems like the one who created it had a very dark sense of humor LOL), anyway thanks again Raymond you helped me very very much!!!

    • Hadrien

      Thank you, Raymond, for this clear and effective removal tutorial.

    • NNM

      I found the culprit!
      It was “Lacie Ethernet Agent”, which itself did not even give the option to choose install dir, and immediatly adds “Bonjour”. That sort of thing really makes my chin drop…

    • Jem

      This does not work for Window Vista users. Please give instructions for removal for Vista users.

    • prgressiveOne

      The link to Au Revoir Bonjour is down! Any chance to help me to find it somewhere else?

    • Alan Wasner

      Thanks a million for this helpful post. We accidentally installed Bonjour when trying to download quicktime, it slipped in there on us, with Itunes and other apple stuff. The above stated fix worked just fine. Only problem is now the windows XP computer doesn’t recognize it’s network device drivers as being active. But that was the problem I had after installing Bonjour. Just gotta figure out how to get the PC back to what it was.

    • Cindy

      Revo Uninstaller will show Bonjour in it’s installed programs and uninstall without issue.

    • Geo

      sweet! thanks!

    • UU0113

      good instruction but all you guys forgot an important thing: unregister the DLL before renaming it!

      this can simply be done by:

      REGSVR32 /U mdnsNSP.dll

      This removes the information in the registry referring to this specific DLL.

    • Tristan

      it did not work i deleted bonjour but everytime i try to install a new version of itunes it says that can not remove bonjour crap and it the second step what do u mean run

    • Dawn

      I have the same problem as Tristan post 66, I cant install the update to itune because the cannot remove older version of bonjour comes up and cant instal a newer version of bonjour same reason… So my itunes is f%$Ked HELP PLEASE>>>>>!

    • Fernando Alaor

      A warning. Uninstalling Bonjour may cause a problem in
      Windows Socket, which requires a correction later. It was my case, I was unable to connect. The solution is simple and is exposed in the following article from Microsoft:
      http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=811259

    • Nathan

      Hey

      This is not working. Im using Business Vista 32 bit.

      Im unable to run this commad from cmd prompt:
      “%Program Files%\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe” – remove.

      Getting…services failed (5) under cmd prompt.
      Windows is searching if i did it under RUN.

      I did unregister the dll and removed the files and folder.. But still this crap is getting listed under services.exe.

      Any suggestions appreciated

    • Marco

      Hi from Italy.
      Bonjour is a very boring program. I’ve successfully removed it but after that Lacie Ethernet Agent didn’t find “Dnssd.dll” and so failed.
      I reinstall Lacie Ethernet Agent and WITH IT…i do reinstall Bonjour !!!
      Bonjour automatically configures my Kaspersky Firewall like a TRUSTED application, and so can easily go to Internet.
      Inside Lacie application there is a Bonjour setup file that automatically starts when LAcie is launched.
      I give UP !

    • http://ger dude

      #14 is the safest method to deal with this in a stable manner.

      it will disable the service and not cause errors if other methods do cause them.

      dont forget to let your firewall to block the port this nasty bugger sit on.

      go to vontrol pnael windows firewall list then uncheck the Bounjur from the list.

    • http://ger dude

      to those who ask which proramas install this nasty little thing.

      as far as i read this are the apps: QuickTime safari iTunes adobe cs3 family.

      disgusting apple dosent even bother to ntify you about it or give you a uninstaller for it.

    • L

      Thanks very much, worked easily =)

      So tired of companies being allowed to mimic maleware.

    • Rafael Vuijk

      The problem was with the quotes: should be “” not “”.
      Also, it’s %ProgramFiles%, not %PROGRAMFILES% or PROGRA~1 although they all might work.
      So…
      “%ProgramFiles%\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe” -remove
      Anyway, thanks for the hint. No more unexpected hangs and memory eating.

    • Rafael Vuijk

      I see now that the blog software converts the quotes for me. Last attempt…
      "%ProgramFiles%\Bonjour\mDNSResponder.exe" -remove

    • CherokeePlaza

      Thank God for Google and this site. I have tried everything to stop this. I’m using Norton 360 and I’ve even went in to the Norton firewall and blocked the connection, but every time I turn on my computer, this always appears in Processes on my Task Manager. I usually just go in an end the process, and it does stop – at least it disappears from my Processes. I hate ITunes and will never install it on another computer – or anything else I own- but I do use Adobe CS3 so that’s why I ended up with it.

      Can someone please tell me every folder where this appears so that I can go into my Norton Firewall and block them all? It has to be somewhere other than where I’ve already got it blocked. I just can’t seem to find it anywhere else. I’d appreciate any help. I’ve even tried a basic search, but had no luck. Thanks for the great information.

    • CherokeePlaza

      As suggested by Bez (in post #14), I used the ‘Run’ command and disabled the Bonjour service. However, now I’m running into major problems with Internet Explorer freezing constantly! I’m wondering if the fact that I disabled Bonjour AND blocked it from my Norton 360 firewall may be causing this issue through some conflict. Has anyone else experienced similar problems with Internet Explorer after disabling Bonjour services? I’d really appreciate any and all help with this issue. Thanks everyone!

    • baram

      Apple is the same sucks as Microsoft
      They do everything to Spam, Track and use our resources.

      1. Rename the mdnsNSP.dll file in that folder to mdnsNSP.old – the function doesn`t work

    • roshan khatri

      mDNSResponder.exe is a virus my quick heal catch this file and block all tha features about this file… is a virus

    • http://ineedbonjour, Paul

      i clicked on the link to download bonjour software and it took me to a download bonjour print services page, is this the software i need??

    • Amanda

      I tried this, but for some reason it can’t remove all of it from my computer, and even after uninstalling everything Apple related, it still cannot uninstall Bonjour. Any suggestions what to do? I am at a loss!!!

    • http://twitter.com/strifejester Justin Ellenbecker

      I just went into services and disabled it for now it was using 799MB of RAM

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