How to completely remove Avast from your computer. How to completely remove avast free antivirus from your computer
Almost every program installed on a computer places files and folders not only in the installation directory, but also creates additional ones where log files, configurations, etc. can be stored. At the same time, the standard “Uninstall Programs” tool does not search for them, which subsequently leads to cluttering of the hard drive. Let's figure it out how to remove Avast Free Antivirus completely and get rid of all traces.
This antivirus is a pretty good tool for protecting your computer, and it's free. However, users remove it due to the consumption of a significant amount of system resources. Some argue that it blocks web pages that are not capable of causing any damage to the computer. However, if uninstalled incorrectly, it will subsequently be impossible to install, because the OS will display a message stating that another antivirus program is already installed on the computer.
Complete uninstallation is carried out in three stages:
- removal with a standard tool;
- search for additional directories, files and subsequent deletion;
- cleaning the registry.
Open the Run window by pressing Win+R and enter the command appwiz.cpl, 
In the displayed list of all pre-installed applications on the system, highlight Avast Free Antivirus and click remove.
Then the Avast window will appear, where you can choose one of several scenarios: fix, change, etc. Since we are faced with the question of uninstallation, click on the “Delete” button.
Then the removal procedure is carried out, you just need to wait until it is completed. If the computer has a regular processor, the process will take about two minutes, but if it is an SSD, then uninstallation will occur in just 10-20 seconds.
After completion, you will need to restart the OS, which will be reported by the antivirus program itself.
This must be done immediately upon completion of uninstallation. The bottom line is that some Avast-related operations continue to run in the background and cannot be removed without rebooting.
This completes the first stage. If for some reason Avast Free Antivirus does not show up in the list of installed applications, or all sorts of failures occur during uninstallation, download a special application from Avast and use it to perform this operation. You can read more about this application on the official website of the developer. Also, the Revo Uninstaller program is ideal for these purposes.
Now it’s time to get rid of all the created directories and files of Avast Free Antivirus that could remain on the hard drive. Open “My Computer” and highlight the system drive (usually the C: drive, which displays the Windows branded flag).
At the top, in the search bar, type the word Avast.
As you can see, all files associated with the antivirus were not completely deleted. After completing the search procedure, select all the results and try to delete them.
Some of the folders will refuse to be deleted and require administrator rights.
And even after clicking continue with administrator rights, an error will be thrown stating that this operation cannot be continued.
And no matter how many times you click the “Repeat” button, the operation will not be completed; you will only have to skip the deletion procedure for some objects for now.
In order to solve this problem, you need to use a small utility called Unlocker. It is absolutely free and can be downloaded from the official website. After installing it, perform the search procedure again.
Then, on the folder that refuses to be deleted, right-click. “Unlocker” will appear in the displayed context menu.
If your security slider is not set to minimum, the following window will appear:
To get rid of repeated appearances, click on the link “Configure the issuance of such notifications” and lower the slider completely.
When you select all the files again and click on the “Unlocker” line, such messages will no longer appear on the monitor. Instead, a dialog box with a pop-up menu will appear.
In the pop-up menu, find the “Delete” item and continue this action by clicking on “Ok”. The process will start, just wait until it finishes.
After the procedure is completed, the corresponding window will be displayed on the monitor.
Repeat this procedure for the remaining directories that did not want to be deleted without the help of the utility in question.
After the operation is completed, all that remains is to clear the registry of entries made by . To do this, open the Run window using the Win+R keyboard shortcut and type regedit. Confirm the execution of the command by clicking “Ok”.
A registry window will pop up on the monitor.
Using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+F, display the search window, enter the word Avast in it and start the operation.
The search result will not be presented in a batch, but one at a time and highlighted. Both records and keys can be found, therefore, when deleting, carefully read where the word avast is written.
The OS will always ask you to confirm the selected action.
Continue searching and deleting until the following message appears on the screen:
After completing the procedures and operations, Avast Free Antivirus will be completely removed from your computer and all unnecessary entries, files, and folders will also be cleared. This completes the uninstallation operation. The only thing else that can be done is that it will search for unnecessary shortcuts and empty directories and clean the OS of them.
Avast Antivirus is undoubtedly one of the most popular antiviruses. This is due, first of all, to the fact that it is free. But sometimes, when complete removal of Avast is required, it may not be removed.
Error uninstalling Avast - what to do?
This usually happens as follows. You go to the Control Panel and select “Programs and Features” there. A list of all programs installed on the computer opens. You find the Avast antivirus, choose to remove it, during which an error appears, meaning that removal is impossible. What to do in such a situation and how to completely remove Avast from your computer if it is not removed?
Avastclear - program (utility) for removing Avast antivirus
The fact is that Avast developers are aware of such a problem as the inability to remove their product. And this is quite a serious problem, because without removing the old antivirus you cannot install a new one on your computer! Since using two antiviruses at the same time will lead to inevitable errors in their operation. The maximum that can be done in such a situation is to scan your computer for viruses, which does not require installation.
Avast antivirus company presented its solution to this problem - Avastclear. This is a special utility that will help you completely remove Avast if it is not removed from your computer for any reason.
Avastclear - Avast antivirus removal utility
All you need to do to remove it is download a small program from the official website using the link below, run it and follow the instructions of the wizard.
Thanks to this program, your Avast of any version will be completely removed from your computer in a few minutes.
Thanks to the fact that more than one million malicious programs are circulating on the Internet today, the majority of Windows users have finally realized that it is difficult to do without an antivirus. The winners today are Windows 8 users, which includes a good program in this class.
Some beginners even prefer to try a dozen other antiviruses in order to evaluate their effectiveness from their own experience. This often leads to the fact that multiple “tails” from old programs remain in the system, which makes it impossible to install a new “defender”. Today we will talk about how to remove Avast. The choice is not accidental: it is this antivirus (because it is free) that beginners most often install on their computers; it is the one that leaves behind many traces in the registry and on the hard drive.
The easiest way
However, there is no point in indiscriminately branding the program itself. Often, users themselves do such stupid things that it is impossible to do without reinstalling the entire system. For example, instead of normally uninstalling a program, they prefer to simply delete its folder from the hard drive. Needless to say, the result of such “arbitrariness” is very sad. To remove Avast correctly, do the following:
The standard “Uninstall Wizard” will launch, which will remove the remnants of the program from your computer. To ensure that there are no traces of it left in the registry, we recommend using the CCleaner utility. Of course, it does not give a 100% guarantee, but it can still “improve” the system.
Uninstall in Safe Mode
Before you remove Avast-6 using this method, you should boot the system in safe mode. To do this, press the F8 button from the moment the BIOS logo appears. In safe mode, the deletion process is no different in its sequence from the one we described above. So what are the advantages of this particular method? The fact is that in this case the system launches only vital drivers and processes. There is nothing superfluous hanging in the memory, and therefore the likelihood of problems occurring is very low. Naturally, in such conditions it is much easier for the uninstallation program to do its job, completely clearing all traces of the antivirus from the registry and from the hard drive. Unfortunately, the simplest and most obvious method does not always give a good result. It often happens that after a standard uninstallation it is impossible to install another antivirus, since its installer refers to the protection program remaining in the system. To prevent this from happening, we suggest using a special utility.
Revo Uninstaller Pro
The name of this program is known to many experienced users. It not only allows you to “correctly” remove other applications from the disk so that no traces are left behind, but also helps to remove their remains from the system after incorrect installation or uninstallation.
Before uninstalling Avast, download and install the trial version. It is valid for 30 days, so there is no need to purchase it for your purposes. You launch the program, after which in the window that opens you see a list of all applications (except OS updates) that are available on your system. You also look for “Avast” there, and then click on the “Delete” button, which is located at the top of the working window. Don’t worry: first, the standard “Wizard” for uninstalling the antivirus itself will open. After its completion, click on the “Reboot later” button, and then click on the “Advanced scanning / start” item. The application will scan the entire system, its registry and all directories on the hard drive, after which you will be given a complete list of remaining files and registry keys. Select the “Select all” item, and then click on the “Delete” button. Restart your computer.
We remove the remnants of the antivirus after it was removed incorrectly
But it often happens that you have already removed the antivirus software. How to remove its remains in this case? There is nothing complicated here. Launch Revo Uninstaller Pro again, and then click on the “Force uninstall” button. A dialog box will open in which you will need to specify the name of the program (Avast), as well as its location on the disk (the “Browse” button).
After you click on the “Scan” button, the utility will try to find a standard uninstall program. If it is not there, a full search will be carried out for all remaining files and paths in the registry based on the information received. Further - as in the previous case. The user will be shown a complete list of “tails” that need to be removed.
Special utility
Before uninstalling Avast, you can do it even simpler: go to the manufacturer’s official website, and then download from there a special program designed to remove the antivirus, as well as thoroughly clean the system of all its traces. Working with this utility couldn’t be easier: the downloaded file does not need installation, so right-click on it, select “Run as administrator,” and then once again confirm your intention to remove the program.
As a rule, in this case the uninstallation is truly reliable; there are no leftovers in the registry.
Cleaning the computer manually
Sometimes it even happens that even after all the above actions, some keys of this malicious antivirus continue to remain in the registry. Of course, you can simply reinstall the system, but not all users want to spend a lot of time restoring all programs and documents from scratch. To manually clean the registry (we warn you right away that this is a long process), you need to open the “Start” menu, find the “Run” field there, and then enter the RegEdit command there. The “Registry Editor” will open, after which you will need to press the F5 button. A search field will open in which you need to enter the word Avast and press Enter. The program will search the registry for all keys that contain this value. A window with search results will open. Select the found values with the left mouse button, and then delete them by pressing the Del button. To move to the next key to delete it, you must press the F3 button.
By the way, are there any reasons why this antivirus can be so difficult to remove? After all, it is produced by a completely respected company, whose programmers should not make such gross miscalculations! Indeed, it is often better to resolve uninstallation problems before you decide to click the “Delete” button. To do this, go to the Avast settings and uncheck the “Enable Avast self-defense” checkbox.
This service, for unknown reasons, in other cases continues to remain on the computer even after its program has been removed. Of course, other antiviruses detect it and therefore refuse to install it.
Update
Finally, in the most severe cases, you can try updating the version of Avasta you are using. It happens that problems with correct removal appear only on the old version. Try installing a new one on top of it, and then delete the application using any of the methods that we have already written about above. This is how you can get rid of Avast. Removing it is not that difficult, but it doesn't hurt to follow the instructions exactly.
In this article I want to touch on the problem of uninstalling Avast antivirus, because people often contact me about this issue. You won’t get much money for uninstalling Avast, you’ll only lose more time. The whole problem is that it is difficult to remove (or rather, removing Avsat is not difficult, but then you have to clean out the registry for a long time). Avast leaves a lot of garbage behind on the computer and in the registry. Entries in the registry are especially unpleasant. The problem is that if you once had Avast antivirus installed (especially for those who had a trial version of the program) and its license ran out, then you won’t be able to install it a second time, or rather, you’ll install it, but it won’t work anymore, because that upon re-installation, an entry about the end of the license is already written in the registry.
In general, I would not recommend using this antivirus. Believe me, it’s better not to spare money and install a normal antivirus program, for example Eset Nod 32 or the well-known Kaspersky. Moreover, the price of a license for a year, for example, Eset Smart Security, is only 1,690 rubles, and for 3 computers. That is, if you chip in with three friends, comrades or relatives, it will come out to a total of 563 rubles (I’ll look it up on the calculator right now), and that’s for a year (well, plus the interest for transferring money via the Internet will be about 600, and the extension for another year is somewhere around 400 rubles). You pay once and, as they say, sleep peacefully all year and don’t have to think about how to remove all sorts of Avasts. Based on my experience, I would advise everyone to install Eset Smart Security (and not just Eset Antivirus, but Eset Smart Security since this version is more suitable for active Internet users). Kaspersky, of course, is also good, but I do not advise installing it on old computers or with low productivity.
In this article we will look at 3 ways to remove Avasta antivirus.
METHOD 1. How to completely remove Avast (standard removal using built-in Windows tools followed by cleaning the registry)
So, we will use standard Windows tools. The method is very confusing for an inexperienced user, and it is worth using it if you have already uninstalled Avast and traces of it still remain.
Open the Start menu and go to the control panel
In the control panel, find and select “Uninstall programs”
In the program uninstall panel we find our Avast antivirus and to remove it, double-click on it with the left mouse button
The Avast installation window will open. Select the “Uninstall” tab and click the “Next” button. The removal process will begin. Follow the program's instructions. At the end you will need to restart your computer
In the “Run” command line, enter the command regedit R12; which translates as registry editor, and click the “Ok” button
This is actually the R12 registry; the heart of the computer (or rather the operating system). Place the cursor at the very top on the line “Computer”
The program will find the first value with Anti-Virus remnants. Delete it by clicking on the “Delete” button
And so on until you delete all values with the word Avast. The procedure can take a long time for an inexperienced user. At the end, when the registry is cleared, it won’t hurt to restart the computer.
Now Avast is completely removed.
METHOD 2. Removing Avast using the antivirus manufacturer's utility.
I will describe it briefly, since it is unlikely that you will need it as much as this utility. Avast also does not completely remove, and after that you will also have to clean the registry.
So go to the manufacturer’s official website at www.avast.ru
On the right side of the site, find the “Support” section.
At the bottom of the site in the “Orders and Offers” section we find a link to the program
In the lower left corner of the browser we find the downloaded file and launch it with one click
The automatic removal process will begin. The computer will reboot into safe mode and run the program. You will only need to confirm the Avast removal process. Then the computer will reboot itself and basically everything is ready.
METHOD 3. Complete removal of Avast using special uninstaller programs.
If you are still a novice user, then I advise you to read about this method to the end.
There are special uninstaller programs that, after removal, also clean up remaining traces of programs from the registry and from the hard drive, thereby preventing the computer from becoming contaminated with unnecessary files remaining after removal. They are suitable not only for removing Avast. but also for all programs. So I advise you to choose the most optimal one for yourself and use it constantly. For example, I use Revo Uninstaller, which I recommend to you. I won’t praise it, watch it for yourself and draw your own conclusions.
So let's run the installed Revo Uninstaller
And we find the Avast program in the list! Select it and click on the “Delete” button at the top.
First, the standard Avast antivirus removal process will follow.
We follow the instructions of the program, but at the end we mark the “Reboot later” item with a dot (that is, there is no need to restart the computer). Click the “Finish” button
Now in Revo Uninstaller you need to scan for the remaining junk files. Mark the “Advanced” item with a dot and click the “Scan” button
The process of searching for unnecessary files and values may take some time, so in the meantime you can go make yourself some tea or make some coffee. After scanning, the program will display the registry values remaining from Avast. Check all the boxes and click the “Delete” button. After completing the process, click the “Next” button
Reboot the computer. Hooray! All is ready.
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There are cases when it is impossible to remove Avast antivirus using the standard method. This can happen for various reasons, such as if the uninstaller file is corrupted or deleted. But before turning to professionals with the request: “Help, I can’t remove Avast!”, you can try to fix the situation yourself. Let's figure out how to do this.
First of all, you should try using the Avast Uninstall Utility program, which is an Avast developer utility.
To do this, enter the system in Safe Mode, launch the utility, and in the window that opens, click on the delete button.
The utility performs the uninstallation process and reboots the computer.
If this method does not help, there is another option. There are special applications for forcibly removing programs. One of the best of them is the Uninstall Tool utility.
Launch the Uninstall Tool application. In the list of programs that opens, look for the name Avast Free Antivirus. Click on the “Force deletion” button.
A warning window pops up. It states that using this removal method will not launch the program's uninstaller, but will simply delete all existing files, folders and registry entries associated with this application. In some cases, such removal may be incorrect, so it should be used only when all other methods have not given the expected result.
Let’s assume that we really cannot remove Avast in other ways, so in the dialog box we click the “Yes” button.
The computer begins scanning for the presence of Avast antivirus elements.
After the scan is completed, we are provided with a list of folders, files and entries in the system registry that relate to this antivirus. If desired, we can uncheck any element, thereby canceling its deletion. But it is not recommended to do this in practice, since if we decide to remove the program in this way, then it is better to do it completely, without a trace. Therefore, just click on the “Delete” button.
Avast files are being deleted. Most likely, the Uninstall Tool will require a computer restart to completely remove it. After the reboot, Avast will be completely removed from the system.
As you can see, there are several ways to remove Avast if it is not removed using the standard method. But it is recommended to use forced deletion only as a last resort.
