19

My workplace has a bunch of Razer mice.

Every now and again when I plug in my a Razer mouse to my Windows 10 machine I get a malware screen from Razer prompting me to install Razer Synapse software.

Despite having a prompt to “Never Install,” it continues to prompt me to install it occasionally.

The things that can bring up the prompt again include:

  • Plugging in a new/different Razer mouse.
  • Uninstalling/reinstalling USB root hub.
  • Random other reasons I’m not certain of.

This is getting very annoying. In the future we will not buy razor products but with the current line of devices, is there a way to prevent this from happening?

I have asked on the Razer forums but they have gone as far as to delete my followup posts on this issue, so thought to ask here.

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Giacomo1968
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fostandy
  • 1,149

5 Answers5

12

Unfortunately, the answer by Ugbutt85 doesn't solve the issue for me. Every time I plug my Death Adder mouse, the folder C:\Windows\Installer\Razer is recreated, some 13 Mb of crapware is written to it, and started automatically.

Steps to reproduce:

  • plug the device in;
  • go to the "Bluetooth & other devices" Windows Settings;
  • find the device in the list, click it and select "Remove device";
  • confirm the device removal;
  • disconnect the device and connect in again;
  • the Razer Installer is started from C:\Windows\Installer\Razer.

My solution is the following: delete the C:\Windows\Installer\Razer folder and create an empty file with the same name instead. Next time you plug your mouse in, the software will fail to create the Razer folder (because a file with the same name already exists), and no installation will commence.

PS: Editing the Group Policy as described here https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/2500967/how-to-stop-windows-7-automatically-installing-drivers did not help me at all with this issue.

Giacomo1968
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AlexIlin
  • 129
5

Following @Poads advice, I've had success stopping the automatic install pop-up with my Ornata Chroma & BlackWidow Chroma V2 keyboard by doing the following (you will need admin rights to do this):

  1. Plug in the Razer device & cancel the auto-launched installer
  2. In File Explorer, go to C:\Windows\Installer\Razer\Installer (you may have to actually type it in, as explorer does not list the Installer folder within the Windows folder, even with hidden/system files showing)
  3. Right click RazerInstaller.exe, then click Properties, then the Security tab, and then Edit.
  4. With Everyone selected, check Deny for Read & execute, then click Ok. Windows Security will prompt you with a warning about setting denied permission entries, and about changing permission within system files and folders. Click Yes for both of them.

Doing this stopped any install pop-ups for me, no matter which port I plugged into. You can confirm that this method works by:

  1. Re-granting security permissions to Everyone. Open Properties -> Security Tab, then click Advanced, and then Continue. Double click Everyone, then change Deny in the drop down to Allow.
  2. Click Yes on the Windows Security warning, then click Ok.
  3. Open Device Manager, expand Human Interface Devices, and find the Razer device on the list.
  4. Right click on the Razer device, and select Uninstall device. When prompted to confirm that you want to remove it, check the box to Delete the driver software for this device, then click Ok.
  5. After the device is uninstalled, unplug the device from the USB port, and then plug it back into the same port(s). The installer pop-up will launch shortly after.

After that you can re-disable it again. I only had to do this fix once, and it suppressed the auto-launch for both my keyboards on any USB port.

brainsharts
  • 51
3

I do not know if it is a solution... but I removed inside folder from C:\Windows\Installer\Razer, then edited user rights on the folder, so that everyone and system are deny'ed access, and then I did not get the installation anymore.

user1645511
  • 31
2

If I am not mistaken, the mouse probably declares itself to the computer as both a mouse and a pendrive, so it can autoinstall the "drivers". I'm afraid the only option here is to disable "autorun" for any pendrive:

  • Open Settings.
  • Click on Devices.
  • Click on AutoPlay.
  • Turn off the Use AutoPlay for all media and devices toggle switch.
  • To be on the safe side, change to "do nothing" for remobable drives and memory cards.
NuTTyX
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1

I decided to simply delete the Razer exe that's being opened on startup. I then replaced it with a Dummy EXE with the same exact name. I made a empty batch file then converted it to an exe... So far no more popups or issues

I understand this may not be ideal for a worksite of computers, but it's an easy solution for personal users

Poads
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