How to remove Avast from a laptop. What to do if Avast is not uninstalled. Problems uninstalling Avast

Antivirus protection is an eternal headache for the user. The choice of programs on this market is quite large and everyone wants to find the optimal solution for their computer. During the search process, you have to install programs from different manufacturers, and not all of them then want to leave the PC voluntarily, perceiving the user’s actions as a threat to their existence. In this article we will tell you how to completely remove Avast from Windows 8.

To remove programs in all versions of Microsoft operating systems, a special Control Panel component is used. Antivirus is no better than other software, so first of all we will use the built-in OS tools.

  1. Call up the “Power User” menu and select the marked item.
  1. The standard Windows uninstall tool will open with a list of programs installed on your computer. Select Avast Free Antivirus by highlighting it with the mouse. The “Delete” button will then appear above the list of software. Right-clicking on the selected program will bring up a small context menu of two items. It can also be used to start the uninstallation procedure.
  1. As a result of our actions, a configuration window will open. In the lower right corner, click the marked button, confirming your desire to get rid of this product.
  1. The computer screen will go dark and a small window with two buttons will appear. Click “Yes” to disable it and return the desktop to its normal appearance.

By the way, it is precisely thanks to this built-in protection that it is impossible to “silently” remove a program from a computer via the command line.

  1. The uninstallation procedure starts, after which we will be asked to complete a survey. This can be done in the area marked with a question mark. Since we have nothing to wish for the developers, we immediately click on the highlighted button.

The computer will restart and the OS will automatically activate Windows Defender.

Cleaning the system

Uninstalling a program is not entirely clean. The uninstaller leaves a significant amount of “tails” on the laptop that need to be removed manually.

  1. Open Explorer and expand the top command menu. Go to the “View” tab. We put a tick in the field marked with the number “3”. We should see the “ProgramData” folder.
  1. We open it and see the directory that the antivirus uninstall utility forgot to remove. Its size is small, but information about the installation date and license type is stored inside. We remove it using the icon on the command panel or the context menu.
  1. We confirm our decision by clicking the “Continue” button. The system will issue a similar request when emptying the trash.
  1. Let's open the registry editor to remove the remains there too. To do this, enter the launch command “regedit” into the text field of the “Run” window.
  1. In the area with registry branches, select “Computer”. Press Ctrl + F to open internal search. Type “avast” in the text field and click the “Find” button.
  1. The search is performed throughout the entire registry tree. For each found line, call the context menu and delete it. We continue the search by pressing the F3 button until we find all occurrences.

In total, you will have to delete a dozen and a half values. After this operation is completed, there will be no traces of the presence of the antivirus on the laptop.

Avast Uninstall Utility

The developers themselves recommend using a specially created utility to completely remove their product. On the official website, a separate page is dedicated to this problem, from which you can download Avast Clear.

  1. Place the avastclear.exe file on the desktop. Call the context menu on its icon to run it with elevated rights.
  1. The utility will determine that the OS is running in normal mode and will offer to switch to safe mode.
  1. Once again we agree with the proposal. Click “Yes” to reboot the PC.
  1. Developers better know where the program is installed. Directories can be left unchanged if they were not changed during installation. We check the version and click the “Delete” button.
  1. The removal procedure is similar to that performed by standard OS tools. Upon completion, we will be prompted to restart the PC again to return to normal mode.

The utility does not remove the directory located in “ProgarmData” and the “tails” in the registry. Therefore, it is advisable to use it to uninstall an antivirus program if it is not removed by system tools.

Third party software

Users have extremely strong faith in “miraculous” utilities that are independently capable of bringing order to the system. This explains the popularity of programs such as CCleaner or Revo Uninstaller. Let's see how the latter copes with the removal of Avast.

  1. Launch Revo Uninstaller. Select the antivirus program in the general list and click the “Delete” button.
  1. We receive instructions on how to use the utility.
  1. At the same time, the removal of the antivirus starts with its own uninstaller. Following the recommendations, we select delayed reboot. Let's start scanning.
  1. We receive a list of temporarily abandoned files and independently activate the PC reboot.

The starting OS will greet us with a full basket. Revo put all the antivirus program files there instead of deleting them. During the process of emptying the trash, we will confirm several times that you have administrative rights and that you want to get rid of the “garbage.”

After opening “Explorer”, we will make sure that the Avast directory in ProgramData remains in place. The search registry editor will give us a dozen more “tails”. As a result, we still work with our hands, cleaning up not only the antivirus, but also the cleaning utility.

Finally

The methods discussed will allow you to completely remove the antivirus from your PC and clear traces of its installation. At the same time, standard operating system tools allow you to do this with less time.

Video instruction

You can clearly study the process of removing Avast from a computer running Windows 8.1 in the thematic videos below.

There are many Avast products for a computer or laptop: free antivirus 2015, Avast 7, Avast 8, secureline vpn, grimefighter, premier, safezone, alwil software 4.0, internet security.

Many people have the habit of seeing how it works on Windows 7, Windows 8 or XP, experimenting, and if they don’t like it, remove it.

It turns out that completely removing Avast antivirus from a computer or laptop on Windows 7 / Windows 8 is not so simple.

It is unlikely that you will be able to remove Avast antivirus software from your computer using the standard method through the control panel (programs and components section).

The same applies to the uninstaller.exe utility built into the root. What to do then? Below are 3 ways.

This article was written a long time ago, only recently, when I received questions: how to delete Avast if it is not deleted, I can’t delete Avast, what should I do? I changed it a little, or rather added a third option (previously there was no such option).

The first way to remove the Avast program

There is an excellent program called “revo uninstaller” for removing everything that is not needed on a computer or laptop. It correctly and completely removes not only programs, but also registry entries.

Even if you cannot destroy the Avast antivirus with it, I still recommend installing it and using it in the future.

As shown in the figure below, you just need to select the installed Avast antivirus (I have ECET installed) and click delete at the top - then the program will do everything on its own.

The Revo Unistaler program is free and in Russian, as well.

The second way to remove antivirus avast from a computer or laptop

The second method of destroying antivirus avast from a laptop/computer is more powerful, but not complete.

After using it, you will need to clean the registry, for example.

It consists of using the free “Unlocker” utility, which you can download (you will also find instructions there).

The essence of this option is that Unlocker deletes files that cannot be deleted. Therefore, I also recommend that you have this utility on hand.

The third method is the correct and complete removal of Avast antivirus in Windows 7 or Windows 8

This is the last option, recently completed. This is due to the fact that antivirus developers have recently become very strict in the process of removing their products.

Conventional methods no longer work. Therefore, if you currently have one of the latest versions of Avast, then use only this method - otherwise nothing will come of your idea.

In this method you will need a utility that removes Avast -

Using this option, you will quickly and completely remove all Avast products and erase any remaining residue in the registry.

By the way, special utilities are now needed for all anti-virus programs - on the one hand, this is good, viruses will not be able to carry out such an operation on their own.

On the other hand, it’s bad for many, because not everyone knows about this turn of events.

Yes, you almost forgot, and then turn it on again if it’s bothering you at the moment. Good luck.

When purchasing a laptop or computer, the user is faced with the fact that, along with the new operating system, he receives a set of programs installed on the device. Situations often arise when they cause a lot of inconvenience. And there is a desire to clean the PC. Today we will talk about how to remove Avast from your computer in order to install a more suitable antivirus program in the future.

Avast is an antivirus developed by the creators of Kaspersky Lab to ensure the integrity and safety of all existing data on the user’s computer, as well as protection against malware

Such an antivirus is automatically installed with the main software on devices at points of sale, without the user’s consent. Therefore, having come home and worked for some time, a person comes to the conclusion that such an antivirus program does not meet certain parameters and tries to remove it, but in this situation a number of difficulties await him.

How to remove Avast free antivirus from your computer

It is worth noting that Avast has a self-preservation system. In other words, the developers gave her additional protection from attacks by viruses on the integrity of her system and computer operation. This function, of course, is quite useful, since some viruses are programmed in such a way that they force operating systems Windows 7/8 and higher to “Do not see” pests, and also completely knock out the “Defenders” of the system, spreading the infection throughout the computer.

Therefore, removing Avast from your computer will not be so easy. All user actions will be regarded as enemy intrusion. Even if you send the contents of the antivirus piece by piece to the Recycle Bin, system errors will pop up in the future when you try to install any other program. We offer several options for removing Avast

How to remove Avast from Windows 10

Before you carry out the procedure for removing a free antivirus, you should decide whether you are satisfied or not satisfied with everything in the work. If you decide to stop using this program, you will need to take the following steps:

  1. The first step to uninstalling Avast from your PC is to disable the Self-Defense feature. To do this, you need to go to “Settings”;

  2. Select item "Trouble-shooting", then click on the sub-item “Enable self-defense module” and OK;

  3. Next, you need to right-click on the Start menu and select "Applications and Features".
  4. In the drop-down list of programs available on your computer, you must select Avast and click “Delete”.

  5. After this, the program will be uninstalled, but significant traces of it will remain on the system. Therefore, to completely clean it, you will need to clear the system registry.
  6. To open the registry, you need to press the key combination WIN + R, in which you need to write the word regedit and press ok or enter.

  7. The next step is to open the registry itself, in which you perform the final removal of the program from the computer. One caveat - you need to be vigilant and attentive and delete absolutely all files that have the name of a program you do not need. You can find its components using the following actions: select the menu “Edit” - “Find”, or by pressing the key combination CTRL+F.
  8. A window will open in which to remove the program you need to enter its correct name in Latin letters avast and press the button “Find next” or Enter.

  9. Found entries are deleted until the search window is empty. You can also use the F3 service key, which will greatly simplify the search and reduce the time you spend on it.

How to completely remove Avast antivirus from your computer

In addition to the method described above for removing an antivirus from the operating system, you can also resort to the help of third-party programs. So, developers identify three main ways to uninstall a program:

  • using standard removal;
  • using a special utility;
  • using various software.

The Avast removal utility is a special program developed by the creators of the antivirus for quick and competent uninstallation from the latter’s device. It is downloaded from the company’s official website, or from any other media and allows you to remove the antivirus without leaving a trace in the OS.

How to completely remove Avast from Windows 8

In order to remove an antivirus from your computer, you first need to download the removal utility from the official website, then log into the system as an administrator.

Important! In parallel with this, do not launch any other programs for execution.

Next, after installing the utility on your computer, run avastclear.exe. After that, when the utility asks you for permission to restart Windows in safe mode, agree and press the “Yes” key.

Next, a window will open in which you will need to confirm the removal of Avast. Do not close this window until the uninstallation procedure is 100% complete. After this, restart the computer.

As we can see, there is nothing difficult about removing an antivirus. However, you need to be extremely careful and careful not to cause irreparable harm to existing data and the entire OS in particular.

Avast Free Antivirus is a security software developed by Avast. The latter has the largest share of the global antivirus application market and provides a wide range of products to protect both consumers and corporations (Android, Microsoft Windows, iOS and macOS).

During setup, the utility registers automatic launch when Windows boots using the “Task Scheduler”, which turns it on at different deferred times (the schedule varies depending on the version of the antivirus). The software is designed to connect to the Internet and adds itself to the Windows Firewall exclusion list to run without interference. After installation, Avast adds a context menu handler to the Windows shell to provide quick access.

Based on 2016 statistics, Avast had 400 million users and a 40% share of the antivirus software market outside of China. In 2017, it acquired Piriform, the developer of the CCleaner tool. The latter is notorious for being hacked in September 2017, which damaged versions of CCleaner 5.33.6162 and CCleaner Cloud 1.07.3191 and exposed millions of users to the risk of infection with Floxif malware.

Naturally, many who have tried to use Avast have different opinions regarding the tool. However, based on independent testing from third-party labs, it is highly capable of blocking, detecting, and removing viruses. The antivirus adds a network security scanner, provides a password manager, offers a secure web browser and toolbar (Google Chrome), and other useful features.

Avast is able to detect and block adware and keyloggers in particular. AV-Comparatives analysts conducted a security test and provided two ratings: Advanced+ and Advanced, which means the product was rated much higher than others.

However, Avast often comes under suspicion and negatively impacts device performance when scanning for malware. Some users do not approve of this tool because it does not have parental controls.

In short, Avast is a great antivirus for protecting your PC, but it's not the best. Typically, it can be removed using Windows programs, features or applications, but after the release of Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, many reported that the program stopped working or could not be reinstalled/uninstalled.

It has been noted that the uninstall process fails with an error indicating that Avast files (eg Avastip.dll, avast.messaging.dll) are missing.

  1. Avast Free Antivirus does not appear in the Programs and Features list.
  2. You do not have sufficient rights to remove Avast Free Antivirus.
  3. The file required to complete this uninstallation could not be run.
  4. An error has occurred. Not all files were successfully deleted.
  5. Another process that is using the file is stopping Avast Free Antivirus from being removed.
  6. After uninstallation, Avast Free Antivirus files and folders are still present on the hard drive.

Incomplete uninstallation causes many different problems. This is why it is important to properly uninstall Avast and all its components.

If you, for one reason or another, decided to cleanse your computer of this utility, but nothing works, we will explain what steps you need to take to successfully remove it.

Option 1: Use Avast Uninstall utility

The antivirus offers a free utility called Avast Uninstall, which allows you to remove all components and parts of the tool. To run it, follow these steps:

Step 1. Download Avastclear.

The avastclear.exe file should now appear on your desktop.

Step 2. Before opening it, start Windows in Safe Mode.

Step 3. Once the system boots, double-click on the avastclear.exe file.

Step 4. Find the standard Avast folder in the list of programs and click “Delete”.

Important! If you have installed the tool in another location, select the last folder in the list, but be careful and make the right choice as all

Step 5.

Option 2: Uninstall Avast manually

Step 1. Quit the antivirus in the task manager

To open it, press Ctrl + Shift + Esc (Windows 10) or Ctrl + Alt + Del (older versions).

Open the “ ” tab and find Avast in the list.

Click on it and select End Process.

Step 2: Remove the tool from apps and features

To access the options, press the Windows key + I. Open the Applications section.

Users of older versions of the system should open Control Panel and select Programs and Features.

Find the Avast Free Antivirus entry, click on it and select Uninstall.

Step 3: Remove antivirus remnants

Right-click File Explorer and select the Open tab. Then click on "View".

Select "Options" and in the dialog box that opens, go to the "View" section.

Check the box next to “Show hidden files, folders and drives”.

Hold down the Windows + R keys, type regedit and press Enter.

Open the Edit section at the top of the screen and select Find Next.

If the search finds recovered antivirus entries, delete them.

Finally, restart your computer.

It's better to uninstall the program, otherwise it may be too late. In some cases, it is very important to use several security utilities because every second your computer is at risk of being infected by malicious viruses or software that never misses a chance to cause serious damage to your device or personal data. Thus, you need to periodically scan your system and remove the culprits of the infection. Never underestimate the power of damage they cause. Even if you have several powerful antivirus programs, don't be too cocky because new virus technologies always appear faster than antivirus technologies. Keep your security utilities updated and stay vigilant anytime, anywhere.

Video - How to remove Avast Software

The Avast antivirus program is a useful thing, but sometimes you have to remove it too. The following step-by-step instructions will tell you how to properly remove Avast if you are using a computer running the Windows XP operating system. A few steps that anyone can do, even on a computer without an antivirus. In some cases we need help, but for now we can cope without it.

Preparing to uninstall from Windows XP

To remove Avasta from XP, the first step is to open the Add or Remove Programs component in the Control Panel. This can be done in 2 ways:

Open the uninstall program in Windows XP

  1. Click the “Start” button, then the “Control Panel” icon and then select “Add or Remove Programs” (see steps 1 and 2 in the picture above).
  2. Click on the “Start” button, then in the “Run” command write the following code: “appwiz.cpl” and click “OK” (see steps A and B in the picture above).

The second step in the “Add or Remove Programs” window that opens for the XP system is to find the Avast program and click “Uninstall.” Pressing the button initiates the launch of the antivirus settings program. A screenshot of these steps is provided below.


Which buttons to press in the program itself?

On the next screen you will see a window similar to the image below. Why approximately? Because a different license may be applied or a different version of the program installed. All we need from this screen is the Delete button. If your Windows XP (this version is also called Windows XP) no longer needs the Avast antivirus program, then feel free to click the delete button.


We answer the following warning message in the affirmative. The Windows XP operating system together with the Avast antivirus warns about an attempt to remove the latter.


During normal computer work, carefully read all notifications from XP and antivirus programs. If you thoughtlessly click “Yes”, then perhaps you will help the virus quickly take control of your computer or some other similar action.

After confirmation, the product removal process will begin. If your computer is “weak”, then you can drink tea, the process will take up to 10 minutes. If the computer is “fast”, then you can watch in the window how the antivirus files are deleted one by one from Windows XP. In addition, you can give your recommendations to Avast, indicating the reason for refusing their program. To do this, you need to check the appropriate box and answer one question.


The final step in removal will be to restart the Windows XP operating system. Here you can choose either an immediate reboot, in which case do not forget to save all important open data, or postpone the reboot, doing it later at a time convenient for you. But don’t delay it, because the antivirus files will disappear completely only after a reboot. This is due to obtaining full rights to files in XP at startup. It is worth mentioning that you should not install other programs without rebooting.


Conclusion

If you are a happy owner of Windows XP and no longer want to work with Avast antivirus, then the instructions above will help you remove it in a few steps. If you have any difficulties with one step or another, leave a question in the comments and we will help.