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How to close mcafee windows 8. Complete removal of Mcafee antivirus. Removing McAfee antivirus

McAfee is antivirus software that is sometimes installed on laptops by the manufacturer. In principle, the program copes with its tasks well, but users still prefer to opt for other, more well-known utilities. However, there is one problem - removing McAfee can be difficult. But if you do not completely clear Windows of traces of the presence of this application, then another antivirus will not install correctly.

Removal procedure

First, disable all McAfee services. Right-click the antivirus shortcut and select its “Properties”.

  1. On the General tab, click Startup Type and check Disabled.
  2. Go to the "Recovery" tab. Check the “Do nothing” checkbox.
  3. Restart Windows. All services are disabled, the application can be completely deleted.

Then you need to use standard Windows tools. Go to the control panel, submenu “Uninstall programs”. Find McAfee and click Uninstall.

If this method does not help, use special software.

Using the uninstaller

The McAfee antivirus removal utility can be downloaded from the program’s website. It's called McAfee Removal Tool. Before using it, the antivirus must be disabled.


Note: Some users report that the program works better in Windows Safe Mode, completely clearing the system of McAfee.

There is no difference whether you remove antivirus from your computer or from your laptop. Also, the steps listed above are the same for all versions of Windows.

In addition, instead of McAfee Removal Tool, you can use a more universal solution - Uninstall Tool. This powerful utility removes installed applications and then automatically searches for and destroys corresponding entries in the registry.
After removing the antivirus, take care of installing other security software. Use only licensed programs from reputable developers, without relying on the functionality of free utilities.

Most users from time to time notice various programs on their PC that they did not install, including.

Let's look at how to remove McAfee as quickly as possible and without harm to the system.

What is McAfee and how does it appear on your computer?

Have you discovered an unknown program that has come from nowhere on your computer? There are applications that are downloaded and installed “as a load” on top of other software.

For example, you recently installed a utility or application using help from an unofficial source.

Most likely, during such an installation you will receive not one, but several programs, browsers or extensions.

At the stage of installing new components, the user can cancel the additional installation, however, this function is often hidden, and we click “Continue”, confirming the user agreement.

In 90% of cases, free McAfee appears on the PC after installing and other products from Adobe.

This policy of “imposing” the program on users began in 2015, when antivirus developers faced large losses due to a drop in demand for server-based antivirus systems.

And downloading the full free version of the program was and is an almost impossible task.

As for the functionality of the antivirus, it has a clear interface and allows you to quickly scan your computer.

The downside of the program is its small database of threats and limited functionality depending on the version.

McAfee versions

Before you begin removing McAfee from your PC, decide which version of the defender is installed:

  • AntiVirus Plus is a simple version of the utility with a minimal set of functions;
  • Internet Security – to create a user security system on the computer and on the network;
  • Total Protection – a full-fledged antivirus with protection against phishing;
  • LiveSafe is an advanced version of McAfee. Available only with a paid subscription.

The simpler the McAfee version, the fewer files it stores on your PC. You can view the version in the main program window. As a rule, the full name of the product is indicated in the header.

Another way to find out the version is to open a window "Installation and removal of programms" and look for the name of the utility.

Method 1: Uninstall using built-in Windows features

Do you have AntiVirus Plus or Internet Security installed on your computer? Then you can remove the utility using the built-in OS functions.

If a defender is already installed on the computer, after installing McAfee, serious malfunctions may occur in the operation of the first defender or in the operating system.

To prevent the utility from displaying an uninstallation error and applying uninstallation protection, we recommend running:

  • Turn off your computer;
  • Press the Power button to start restarting;
  • After the Windows icon appears, press the Ecs or F8 key and select the item in the menu that appears "Safe mode"(using the up-down and Enter keys).

After booting the system into safe mode, enable Control Panel and open the window "Remove programs".

Wait for the list of all applications installed on your PC to load and find McAfee in it. Uninstall the program.

Fig. 3 – Windows control panel

Without restarting your computer, go to and search for folders at McAfee.

Delete all detected files and folders that mention the name of the antivirus.

Fig.4 – search for remaining utility files

Now go out the window "This computer" and right-click on the icon of the main system disk. Select "Properties" and click on "Disk Cleanup".

Wait for the free space analysis and check the box in the window that appears "Temporary files". Confirm cleaning.

Now you can restart your computer. McAfee's files will be deleted.

Fig.5 - clearing temporary files

Important! If McAfee was not installed on the C drive, follow the same procedure to search for files and delete temporary data on another drive.

Even after uninstalling McAfee, installation errors of other programs and antiviruses may occur. This happens due to remaining temporary files or entries in the computer’s registry.

To clean your OS from traces of McAfee, use the following methods one by one.

Method 2 – Using Revo Uninstaller

Method 3 – Using Perfect Uninstaller

Perfect Uninstaller is another utility application for removing unwanted files and OS components.

The difference between the previous uninstaller is that Perfect Uninstaller can even remove copies of McAfee that are infected with a virus.

Often, such software options simply do not allow the user and other utilities to carry out the removal. Appears "Object access error" and other problems.

Perfect Uninstaller allows you to bypass the uninstallation ban and clean your PC of programs you don’t need. The principle of operation of the uninstaller is similar to the previous version:

  • Download the component from the official resource;
  • Install and open Perfect Uninstaller;
  • In the main window, click on “Force uninstall”, which means “Forced removal”;
  • Select McAfee from the list;

Not only does the mcafee antivirus penetrate our computers during almost every installation of any software product, but when removed, it manages to leave traces that interfere with the normal maintenance of Windows.

This overly intrusive guest behaves much worse than an uninvited Tatar. Therefore, the correct technology to completely remove mcafee from Windows 8 will be useful to all users.

Simply removing mcafee antivirus from Windows in the standard way - through the control panel - is usually not enough.

The program firmly bites into the system registry and makes changes in it that do not allow the installation of Kaspersky Anti-Virus - one of the most powerful and popular anti-virus packages among our users. You may not be able to remove antivirus from Windows for other reasons. For example, due to a failure during the uninstallation process.

Of course, this is not a reason to abandon standard tools. Be sure to try removing mcafee from Windows in the usual way. In some cases this works out, but in others it doesn’t – no one can guarantee this. But, if problems still arise during or after such an attempt, continue reading further.

We say goodbye to the program correctly

So, the McAfee shortcut has disappeared from the laptop desktop. The folder with the program on the disk is gone. But Kaspersky still won’t install and complains about the presence of a conflicting software product in the system. This is a sure sign that it was not possible to completely remove our “friend” from Windows. The program continues to live its life as a corpse and interfere with our lives. Let's see what can be done in this case.

To solve the problem, we will use a utility that is not included in the mcafee package, but is available on the company’s website. We are talking about a program called VSCleanupTool.exe. You need to download it to disk and run it (no need to install it). You will see a command line window, which will display the entire uninstallation progress of this malicious product. Each line running in the console window will correspond to the deletion of a file or registry key. When everything is finished, the program will prompt you to restart your computer. If everything is done correctly, you will be able to completely remove mcafee from Windows.

There is one thing that may confuse the user while following these instructions. A dozen shortcuts to unknown files suddenly appear on the Windows desktop. Don't worry - they will be removed immediately after uninstalling the antivirus package. There will be only one left - the mccleanup.log file - you can destroy it manually. As the extension of this file suggests, it is a log of the uninstallation that an experienced user may need to later analyze the progress of this process.


Good day, dear readers. Today we will look at a very interesting topic, or rather, we will solve a problem that computer users very often encounter. How to completely remove McAfee antivirus from your computer or laptop?

Typically, this antivirus is installed simultaneously with some software that you download from the Internet. Why uninstall McAfee? This is necessary in order to install another antivirus in its place. If you do not remove McAfee, then when installing, for example, Kaspersky, problems may arise due to incompatibility.

Now let's look at the two easiest ways to completely remove McAfee antivirus from your computer. By the way, both of these methods work perfectly in both Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Method one

First, let's go to " Control Panel", through the "Start" or "My Computer" menu.


Then set the view to “Categories” and in the “Programs” section click on “ Uninstalling a program».


Now from the list of installed programs we find our free McAfee antivirus utility. Next, right-click on it and select “ Delete».


Next, a new dialog box will appear, in which we also click the “ Delete».


The process of removing the antivirus from your computer will begin. When it's finished, restart your computer and try installing another antivirus program.


In addition to using the Control Panel, you can also get rid of McAfee using programs or utilities, such as:
  • Revo Uninstaller
  • MyUninstaller
  • ZSoft Uninstaller
  • Total Uninstall
Second way

The developers of Intel Security have done a great job. To popularize their brainchild, they managed to make their antivirus so easy to remove from a computer. That’s why we need a second method that will help you completely get rid of this annoying and useless antivirus utility.

You probably know that when installing any program, some adjustments and changes are made. The same thing happens when installing McAfee antivirus. When you remove any program from your computer, the previously mentioned changes in the registry are cleared and everything returns to normal (maybe not always completely, but in 95% of cases this is the case). With McAfee the situation is a little more complicated and when you get rid of it, data about it may remain in the registry. This is why problems arise when installing other antivirus programs.

Okay, let's go back to the second method. To implement it, we will need a special utility, which you can download below:

Have you downloaded it? Then let's launch it. A dialog box will appear on your screen, in which first click the “ Next».


Then we agree to the license without reading it. Check the box next to “ Agree" Then press " Next».


The removal process itself will begin. It will take no more than two minutes, or five at most. After which the utility will inform you that McAfee antivirus has been successfully and completely removed from your computer. You can either close this window and restart your computer a little later, or immediately click the " Restart».

That's all, thank you all for your attention. Don't forget to share this article with your friends if you found it useful.