I can not delete avast what to do. Removing Avast using specialized programs. Remove Avast using a utility from the developers

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 the Kaspersky Lab to ensure the integrity and safety of all available data on the user's computer, as well as protection against malware

Such antivirus is automatically installed with the main software in devices at the points of sale of the latter, without the user's consent. Therefore, after coming home and working 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 should be noted that Avast has a self-preservation system. In other words, the developers have given her additional protection against attacks by viruses on the integrity of her system and computer operation. Such a function, of course, is quite useful, since some viruses are programmed in such a way that they make Windows 7/8 and higher operating systems “Do not see” pests, and also completely knock out the “Defenders” of the system, spreading the infection through the computer.

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

How to remove Avast from Windows 10

Before proceeding with the procedure for removing a free antivirus, you should decide whether everything suits you or does not suit you at work. If you decide to stop using this program, for this you will need to take the following steps:


How to completely remove Avast antivirus from your computer

In addition to the above described method of removing antivirus from the open spaces of the operating system, you can also resort to using third-party programs. So, the developers distinguish three main ways how to uninstall the program:

  • using standard delete;
  • 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 of the latter from the device. It is downloaded from the official website of the company, or from any other media and allows you to remove the antivirus without leaving a trace in the OS.

How to remove Avast completely from Windows 8

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

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

Then, 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 uninstall procedure is 100% complete. After that, restart your computer.

As we can see, there is nothing difficult in removing the antivirus. However, you need to be extremely careful and careful not to cause irreparable harm to the 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 configuration, the utility registers an automatic start at Windows startup using the Task Scheduler, which enables it at different delayed 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 exception list to run without intervention. After installation, to provide quick access to itself, Avast adds a context menu handler to the Windows shell.

Based on 2016 statistics, Avast had 400 million users and 40% of the antivirus market outside of China. In 2017, it acquired Piriform, the developer of the CCleaner tool. The latter is notorious for a hacker attack in September 2017, which resulted in the corruption of CCleaner 5.33.6162 and CCleaner Cloud 1.07.3191 and pushed millions of users to the risk of being infected with the Floxif malware.

Naturally, many of those who have tried to use Avast have different opinions about the tool. However, given the results of independent testing in third-party laboratories, it has a high ability to block, detect and remove viruses. 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 capable of detecting and blocking adware and keyloggers in particular. Analysts at AV-Comparatives conducted a security test and provided two ratings each, Advanced + and Advanced, which means that the product was rated much higher than others.

However, Avast is often suspect and negatively impacts device performance when scanning for malware. Some users disapprove of this tool because it doesn't have parental controls.

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

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

  1. Avast Free Antivirus does not appear in the Programs and Features list.
  2. You do not have sufficient rights to uninstall Avast Free Antivirus.
  3. The file required to complete this uninstallation cannot be started.
  4. An error has occurred. Not all files were successfully deleted.
  5. Another process that uses the file stops Avast Free Antivirus removal.
  6. After uninstallation, files and folders of Avast Free Antivirus are still present on your hard drive.

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

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

Option 1. Use the Avast Uninstall utility

Antivirus offers a free utility called Avast Uninstall that 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. Start Windows in Safe Mode before opening it.

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

Step 4. Find the default Avast folder in the list of programs and click Remove.

Important! If you've installed the tool elsewhere, select the last folder on the list, but be careful and make the right choice as all

Step 5.

Option 2. Remove Avast manually

Step 1. Shut down the antivirus in the task manager

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

Click the "" tab and find Avast in the list.

Click on it and select "End Process".

Step 2. Remove the tool from apps and functions

Press Windows + I to navigate to options. 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 "Remove".

Step 3. Remove the remnants of the antivirus

Right click on the explorer and open the "Open" tab. Then click on "View".

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

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

Hold Windows Key + R, 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 after uninstalling the program, otherwise it might 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 with malicious viruses or software that never miss a chance to cause serious damage to your device or personal data. Thus, you need to periodically scan the system and remove the culprits. Never underestimate the magnitude of the damage they cause. Even if you have several powerful antivirus programs, don't be too cocky, because new viral technologies always appear faster than antivirus. Keep your security utilities up to date and stay alert anytime, anywhere.

Video - How to Uninstall Avast Software

Antivirus protection is an eternal user headache. The choice of programs on this market is quite large and everyone wants to find the optimal solution for their computer. In 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 uninstall programs in all versions of Microsoft operating systems, a special control panel component is used. Antivirus is no better than the rest of the software, so the first step is to use the built-in OS tools.

  1. We call the menu "Power User" and select the marked item.
  1. The standard Windows uninstallation tool will open with a list of programs installed on your computer. Select Avast Free Antivirus by highlighting it with the mouse. Above the list of software, then the designated "Delete" button will appear. Right-clicking on the highlighted program will bring up a small two-item context menu. It can also be used to launch the uninstall procedure.
  1. As a result of our actions, the 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 dims and a small window with two buttons appears. 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 the program from the computer via the command line.

  1. The uninstall procedure is launched, after which we will be asked to take 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.

System cleanup

Removing the program is not entirely clean. The uninstaller leaves a significant amount of "tails" on the laptop that must be removed manually.

  1. Open "Explorer" and expand the top command menu. Go to the "View" tab. We put a tick in the box marked with the number "3". We should display the "ProgramData" folder.
  1. 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 type of license is stored inside. We delete it using the icon on the command bar or the context menu.
  1. We confirm our decision by clicking the "Continue" button. The system will issue a similar request when emptying the basket.
  1. Let's open the registry editor to remove the remnants there too. To do this, in the text field of the Run window, enter the regedit launch command.
  1. In the area with the registry branches, select "Computer". Press Ctrl + F to open internal search. In the text box, type "avast" and click the "Find" button.
  1. The search is performed throughout the entire registry tree. For each line found, 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 completing this operation, there will be no traces of the presence of the antivirus on the laptop.

Avast Removal Utility

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

  1. Place the avastclear.exe file on your desktop. We call the context menu on its icon to launch it with elevated rights.
  1. The utility will determine that the OS is running normally and will offer to switch to safe mode.
  1. Once again, we agree with the proposal. Click "Yes" to send the PC to reboot.
  1. Developers know better where the program is installed. Directories can be left unchanged if they were not changed during the installation phase. 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 reboot 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 an extremely strong belief in "wonderful" utilities that can independently clean up the system. This explains the popularity of programs such as CCleaner or Revo Uninstaller. Let's see how the latter will cope with the removal of Avast.

  1. Launch Revo Uninstaller. Select the anti-virus program in the general list and click the "Remove" button.
  1. We receive instructions on how to work with the utility.
  1. In parallel, the removal of the antivirus with its own uninstaller starts. Following the recommendations, we select the delayed restart. We start scanning.
  1. We get a list of temporarily left files and independently activate the PC reboot.

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

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

Finally

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

Video instruction

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

Now we will analyze how to remove Avast so that after uninstalling the antivirus, there are no traces left on the computer left after uninstalling the program. Many users face issues when trying to uninstall antivirus from their desktop or laptop.

Antivirus installed on your computer is designed to protect your computer from malicious software. Antivirus software constantly monitors the health of your computer in order to prevent virus infections or other threats.

Due to the specifics of their work, anti-virus programs are deeply integrated into the Windows operating system. Antiviruses have a self-defense function to prevent the uninstallation of a program or disable protection from malicious software. Therefore, the process of removing an antivirus does not always go smoothly, sometimes problems arise after uninstalling on a PC.

Quite often, after uninstalling the antivirus, remnants of the deleted application remain in the operating system, for example, some module, protective screen, driver, etc. have not been removed. In this case, the remnants of the previous antivirus prevent the installation of another antivirus program on the computer, cause conflicts in the system. Therefore, the user needs to completely remove the Avast antivirus from the computer.

Avast Antivirus is the world's most popular antivirus program. Avast gained its popularity thanks to the free version of the antivirus - Avast Free Antivirus, which has fairly wide functionality. In the line of antiviruses from AVAST Software, there are other versions of products for home use: Avast Pro Antivirus, Avast Internet Security, Avast Premier, Avast Ultimate.

Let's see how to remove Avast from a computer completely in the operating system Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7. Methods for removing antivirus, depending on the version of the operating system, are practically the same.

In this article, we will look at instructions on how to remove Avast from your computer using 2 methods:

  • uninstalling Avast antivirus using a standard tool of the Windows operating system in a standard way
  • uninstalling Avast antivirus using a special utility avastclear

In the first case, the antivirus is uninstalled using the built-in Windows program remover. With this method, in some cases, traces of the antivirus remain in the operating system, so this is not the best option for uninstalling the application.

The second method uses the special Avast Clear utility to completely remove the application from the computer. Using the avastclear tool, you can not only uninstall Avast, but also remove the remnants of the antivirus left after uninstalling it (delete the deleted Avast).

To remove antiviruses, it is better not to use specialized programs - uninstallers, because when using them, errors may appear in the system after removing the antivirus.

Disable Avast Self-Defense Module

Enter the Avast antivirus settings, open the "Troubleshooting" section, uncheck the box next to "Enable Avast Self-Defense Module", click on the "OK" button.

How to remove Avast from a computer using Windows (1 way)

Depending on the version of Windows operating system installed on your computer, go to Control Panel (Settings) to access a list of programs and applications.

Follow these steps:

  1. Select Avast antivirus from the list of installed programs, right-click on it, select "Uninstall" from the context menu.
  2. In the warning window that opens, agree to remove the program.
  3. Then the Avast Installation Wizard window will open, in which you must click on the "Remove" button.

  1. In the next window, you will see a message about trying to uninstall Avast. Confirm your consent to remove the application, click the "Yes" button.

  1. After the process of uninstalling the antivirus is completed, in the installation wizard window, click the "Restart computer" button.

Avast Antivirus! removed from the computer. If the anti-virus components have not been removed from the system, search for the remaining traces yourself. Read about it below.

Finding and removing traces of Avast antivirus left after uninstalling the program

After the uninstallation of Avast antivirus is completed, the computer may contain uninstalled program components that have entries in the Windows registry. Before making any changes to the registry, just in case, back up the registry.

To find and remove traces of Avast in the registry, do the following:

  1. Press the "Win" + "R" keys.
  2. In the "Run" window enter the command "regedit" (without quotes), and then click on the "OK" button.
  3. In the "Registry Editor" window that opens, go to the "Edit" menu, select "Find ..." in the context menu.
  4. In the "Search" window in the "Find" field, enter the expression: "avast" (without quotes), and then click on the "Find Next" button.
  • You can uncheck the boxes next to the parameter names and parameter values \u200b\u200bto search only by the value of section names.

  1. A registry key will open in the Registry Editor window that contains the expression "avast" in its name (it will be highlighted). Click on the section with the right mouse button, select "Delete".

  1. Press the "F3" key to search for a new partition. In a similar way, sequentially delete all found registry keys related to Avast antivirus.
  2. After completing the operation, restart your computer.

A similar search and removal of the remaining sections and parameters in the registry can be performed in the Reg Organizer program.

How to remove Avast completely using the avastclear utility (method 2)

A special tool Avast Clear (Avast Antivirus Clear) is designed to completely remove Avast antivirus from Windows. Download the utility from the official Avast website.

Run the "avastclear.exe" file on your computer.

Avast Antivirus Clear prompts you to run the tool in Windows Safe Mode. Agree, click on the "Yes" button.

In the next window, click on the "Yes" button. Before rebooting, close all running programs and save open documents.

After booting the system in safe mode, the Avast uninstaller window will open, in which you must select the directories for installation and the installed version of the antivirus.

If you did not change anything when installing the anti-virus on your computer, leave the directory for installing the program and the directory for installing data unchanged.

Select the version of Avast antivirus installed on this computer.

Click on the "Delete" button.

After the uninstallation of Avast is completed, the utility will offer to restart the computer in order to remove the remaining program files from the disk. Click on the "Restart Computer" button.

After Windows boots up, Avast antivirus is completely removed from the computer. The user can install a different antivirus on his PC or use the antivirus from Microsoft built into the operating system Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8.

Conclusion

In the article, we examined two ways to remove Avast completely: using the standard method using the Windows operating system and using the avastclear utility. If the antivirus is not completely removed from the computer, the remnants of the remote antivirus can be found and removed manually in the Registry Editor.

There are cases when it is impossible to remove Avast antivirus using the standard method. This can happen for various reasons, for example, when the uninstaller file is damaged or deleted. But before turning to the professionals with a request: "Help, I can not remove Avast!", You can try to correct the situation with your own hands. Let's see how to do this.

First of all, you should try to use the Avast Uninstall Utility, which is a utility from the Avast developer.

To do this, go to the system in Safe Mode, run 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 forced removal of programs. One of the best of them is the Uninstall Tool.

Launch the Uninstall Tool application. In the list of programs that opens, look for the name Avast Free Antivirus. Click on the "Forced deletion" button.

A warning window pops up. It says 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 deletion may be incorrect, so it should only be used when all other methods did not give the expected result.

Suppose that we really cannot remove Avast in other ways, so in the dialog box, click the "Yes" button.

The computer starts scanning for the presence of Avast anti-virus 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 item, thereby undoing its deletion. But it is not recommended to do this in practice, because if we decide to uninstall the program in this way, then it is better to do it completely, without a trace. Therefore, just click on the "Delete" button.

The process of deleting Avast files is in progress. Most likely, the Uninstall Tool will require a computer restart to completely uninstall. After rebooting, Avast will be completely removed from the system.

As you can see, there are several ways to remove Avast, if it is not removed by the standard method. But, using forced deletion is recommended only as a last resort.