How to properly uninstall GShade to remove malware

Final Fantasy XIV’s latest plugin controversy involves malware in the popular GShade add-on, something completely separate from the game itself. That said, this plugin is used heavily by the Final Fantasy XIV community, as well as for many other well-regarded PC games. GShade’s developer purposely put a questionable function into the program, which they say is there to deal with third parties attempting to redistribute copyrighted assets within GShade without permission. To counter this, an anti-tampering function was added to GShade’s installer to trigger restarts in the event that a third party, external software or library utilized the GShade installer’s functions without actually running it.

With the recent news that GShade is no longer being updated, it is not a bad decision if you want to safely remove it from your computer. Here is how to properly uninstall GShade completely from your PC.

Related: Final Fantasy XIV community abandons most popular plugin because of developer deceit

How to remove GShade from your PC

GShade does include an uninstall option from the Start Menu. However, if for some reason you cannot uninstall it normally, or the program remains in your Start Menu after uninstallation, you can manually remove the following files, folders, and registry entries from your PC:

Core Folders:

• %ProgramFiles%\GShade
• %ProgramData%\GShade
• %Public%\GShade Backups
• %Public%\GShade Custom Shaders

For individual game installations, there are several folders and a handful of “possible” files depending on the configuration:

• gshade-addons
• gshade-presets
• gshade-shaders
• d3d10.dll
• d3d10core.dll
• d3d11.dll
• d3d12.dll
• d3d9.dll
• dinput8.dll
• dxgi.dll
• GShade.ini
• GShade.log

Registry:

• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\GShade

How to switch to ReShade from GShade

If you find yourself still wanting to utilize a graphical enhancement plugin in Final Fantasy XIV, many communities recommend switching back to the original program that GShade is modified from – ReShade. The Community has banded together to provide this process, which involves installing ReShade before uninstalling GShade and modifying contents in specific folders. Following their instructions will assure that the transition to Reshade from GShade goes smoothly and painlessly.

Related: The Final Fantasy XIV plugin debate has reached a grim reality

Many players relied on GShade to make Final Fantasy XIV’s graphics better or help with disabilities, so the move back to ReShade will be a jarring, yet important process. Final Fantasy XIV will be getting a graphical update in the near future, meaning GShade’s popularity would have been affected regardless of developer deceit.