n-case is an advertising gimmick. It is supposed to function only when you are in a "search mode," and then it claims to "provide you with links to better deals" similar to what you are searching for.

In other words, a device to let people who pay n-case get their ads in front of what you might otherwise find.

Some people actually seem to like it, and the complaint received by Microsoft has been that n-case quits working when some specific other software is installed.

In most cases, File Manager (Start - Control Panel - Add/Remove Software) should be able to remove the program, but Microsoft advises that the standard program removal cannot remove a couple of lines that the n-case install puts in Registry. I haven't seen detailed information on n-case's own removal program, but I suspect that it does NOT do a "clean" removal. Manually editing the Registry is recommended if you want to be sure you've cleaned it all out.

Note that if you have used something like Spybot or AdAware to "break" the program, File Manager (or the n-case removal program) may be able to do a normal removal, since either (or any other) of these programs may remove parts of the program without cleaning up the whole thing.

Most of the anti-spyware programs will only remove those portions of a program that relate to the collecting and reporting of information on your machine. In many cases, removing these "program spy fragments" will prevent the "main program" from functioning, and will often prevent removal of the rest of the program by normal methods.

Sometimes, distasteful as it may seem, the simplest alternative is to reinstall the offending program, then use the normal File Manager uninstall - and then do whatever manual cleanup (Registry and stray files) is needed.

John