Common End-User Questions
Hello internet friend. Don't panic! We can help you fix the root cause of _BugSplats_.
Have you've recently encountered the BugSplat pop-up and don't know what to do next? If so then you're in the right place!
First off, BugSplat is a type of tool called a ‘Crash Reporter’. That means its job is to appear when application crashes occur. If you’ve seen the BugSplat pop-up it’s because a software application on your computer which utilizes BugSplat for crash reporting has recently crashed.
That means that the best way to remove BugSplat is to simply fix the problem causing your application to crash in the first place.
Importantly, BugSplat is a safe program built by a reputable software company called BugSplat Software (that’s us!). BugSplat is trusted by many developers (people who build and maintain software programs) to find and fix bugs that cause crashes in their applications. BugSplat is not a virus, trojan, or any kind of malware.
If you still need help after reading this document, please feel free to contact our support team.
In the guide below we’ll cover:
Overview
You’re likely reading this because something popped up on your computer saying it’s from BugSplat. That pop-up probably looks like the image below.
That popup is called the BugSplat Crash Dialogue and it is only seen when a software application or game that uses BugSplat crashes while in use.
It is only viewable at that time because BugSplat is a program called a crash reporter and it's job is to report when crashes happen.
As a crash reporter, BugSplat helps software companies understand how their application performs for their users by reporting crashes. This is what the BugSplat application looks like to the development team who build and support your software application.
Software companies that use BugSplat know that knowledge of software crashes will help them improve their applications.
Today, BugSplat is used by many companies large and small to fix bugs in all kinds of software and video games. You can learn more about how BugSplat specifically helps companies fix bugs on our Features page.
Why did I get a BugSplat?
You will only get a "BugSplat" (i.e. see the BugSplat Crash Dialogue) when a software application you are currently using crashes. A crash occurs when a software application runs into an issue or defect that causes it to break.
It is BugSplat's job to report on crashes. Once a crash occurs, BugSplat is called into duty, and a crash dialogue appears on your screen asking for feedback from you about what caused the crash.
Including details about what immediately happened before the application crashed is a powerful tool for developers and can help them fix the issue you just experienced.
Most of the time, restarting the application that crashed will fix the issue. However, if you continue to get "BugSplats," then follow the steps outlined in the paragraph below.
How do I fix a BugSplat?
BugSplat doesn’t cause crashes; it only reports when crashes occur.
Follow the steps below to try to resolve your application crashes. If none of them are successful, make sure to reach out directly to the support team responsible for your application.
Attempt to restart the application. Most of the time, an application will only crash once. Reopen the application and you'll probably be up and running again.
Check for updates. Is there a software update you've missed? Make sure you're using the most up-to-date version of your software.
Check online support documents for your issue. Likely, another user has already experienced the problem, and a quick fix is documented online. Go to your software's website, and search their technical documentation for the problem.
Contact the makers of your Software directly. Most software companies will have a way to contact their support team to get technical help for their products. Find the contact information on their website, and contact them via email, chat, or phone.
Try uninstalling and reinstalling. Uninstalling your computer application and reinstalling it can be dangerous as you could lose data, so please proceed with caution and adequately back up any valuable data that could be lost. Most applications have documents online that help with accomplishing this task safely.
Why you shouldn't "Remove BugSplat."
As we've said above, removing BugSplat isn't a viable path for fixing the problem afflicting your application and making it crash.
BugSplat does not cause crashes. Attempting to remove BugSplat because your application is crashing is kind of like yelling at the firefighters when your house is on fire.
That's because firefighters only show up when a fire occurs. Firefighters don't know what caused a fire to start, and they certainly didn't start the fire themselves.
Similarly, BugSplat only shows up when there's a "fire." In this case, the "fire" is an application crashing while you are using it.
BugSplat is a part of your application's code - it's the part of your application that runs when a crash happens. BugSplat's job is to capture what happened when the application crashed and then pass the information along to the people who build and support it.
The best "BugSplat Removal Guide" is not to try and remove the BugSplat code. Instead, follow the steps laid out above to fix the root cause of your application crash. Most likely, making sure that you're on your application's most recent version is enough.
Warning!!
Beware of websites providing programs that promise to remove or uninstall BugSplat.
There are some sites on the internet that provide free programs for download, claiming to be able to remove BugSplat from a user's computer.
Many of these sites falsely accuse BugSplat of being a virus, trojan, or other malware.
BugSplat has no affiliation with those sites that provide tools claiming to “remove BugSplat.” We have not reviewed or approved any of their programs and we cannot verify what any program from a third-party site might do.
Remember to be suspicious when downloading files from websites and follow common sense like the suggestions listed here: https://www.getsafeonline.org/protecting-your-computer/downloading/.
With that said, we would highly discourage you not to download anything from these sites as they may be malicious or contain malware and viruses of their own.
At best they are trying to sell you something.
Is BugSplat a virus?
BugSplat is not a virus. Instead, BugSplat is a tool used by developers (people who build and maintain software programs) to find and fix bugs that cause crashes in their applications.
BugSplat is a powerful tool that many companies rely on to improve their software's performance. It is not malicous or harmful to your application or the security of your computer.
Does BugSplat cause crashes?
Nope! BugSplat occurs once a crash has occurred. BugSplat collects data on what caused your crash so those responsible for fixing your software (the developers) can quickly do so.
Why does the company that makes my software use BugSplat?
BugSplat is very useful to software companies because it lets them know how stable their software is while in use. This helps them prioritize things to fix as well as saving time fixing things overall.
To show you precisely why BugSplat is useful, we'll use a fictional software company named ACME Software as an example.
ACME Software is a company that is about to release a new version of its software to the thousands of users who use it every day.
In the past, ACME had heard complaints from their users that their software wasn't stable enough and crashed too frequently.
To improve this, ACME decided to use the BugSplat crash reporter to understand how often their software was crashing for its users.
Before releasing their new software to users, the developers at ACME added BugSplat to their application code. This allowed their software application to report back to them whenever it crashed.
After the ACME team finished this process, they did a little more testing, and then they shipped the new version of their software application to their users.
Once their users had the new version of the ACME software, they used it the same as they always had.
However, when some users started running into an issue that caused their application to quit unexpectedly, the ACME software program called the code included from BugSplat to capture the crash.
At this point, ACME users saw the BugSplat Crash Dialogue box and were asked to describe what caused the crash. The dialogue box also allowed for users to leave contact information for ACME to contact them about a fix.
Because ACME had BugSplat included with their software, they quickly learned about the problem in their code. ACME took data collected by BugSplat to find the cause quickly. They fixed it and shipped a new version to their users that didn't crash as often.
Because ACME is now using BugSplat, they had a much better understanding of how stable their software was because they have an accurate crash count and data on their worst crashes.
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