How to completely remove avast free antivirus from your computer

There are cases when it is impossible to remove Avast antivirus in a standard way. It can happen by different reasons, for example, if the uninstaller file is corrupted or deleted. But before turning to professionals with a request: “Help, I can’t remove Avast!”, You can try to fix the situation with your own hands. Let's see how to do it.

First of all, you should try using the Avast Uninstall Utility program, which is an Avast developer utility.

To do this, we go into 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 restarts 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 "Force Delete" button.

A warning window pops up. It says that using this method removal will not launch the program's uninstaller, but will simply remove all existing files, folders, and registry entries associated with the application. In some cases, such a removal may not be correct, so it should be used only when all other methods have not given the expected result.

Let's assume that we really cannot uninstall Avast in other ways, so in the dialog box, click the "Yes" button.

Scanning your computer for the presence of Avast antivirus elements begins.

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 canceling its deletion. But it is not recommended to do this in practice, because 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 you to restart your computer to completely uninstall 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 by the standard method. But, it is recommended to use forced deletion only as a last resort.

Avast Free Antivirus is a security software developed by Avast. The latter occupies the largest share in the global market antivirus applications 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 launch when Windows boot using the Task Scheduler, which turns it on at different delayed times (the schedule varies depending on the version of the antivirus). Software is designed to connect to the Internet and adds itself to the Windows Firewall exception list so that it works without interference. Once installed, Avast adds a context menu handler to the Windows shell to provide quick access to itself.

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 last one is infamous hacker attack in September 2017, which resulted in the corruption of CCleaner 5.33.6162 and CCleaner Cloud 1.07.3191 versions and pushed millions of users to the risk of Floxif malware infection.

Naturally, many of those who have tried using Avast have different opinions about the tool. However, considering the results independent testing in third-party laboratories, it has a high ability to block, detect and remove viruses. The antivirus adds a network security scanner, provides a password manager, offers a secure web browser and a toolbar ( Google Chrome) and other useful features.

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

However, Avast often falls under suspicion and negatively affects device performance when scanning 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 not the best. It can usually be uninstalled using programs, features, or Windows applications, but after the release of the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, many reported that the program stopped working or that it could not be reinstalled / removed.

It has been observed that the uninstall process is running with an error indicating no Avast files(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 uninstall cannot be run.
  4. An error has occurred. Not all files were successfully removed.
  5. Another process that is using the file is stopping the removal of Avast Free Antivirus.
  6. After uninstallation, Avast Free Antivirus files and folders are still present on the hard drive.

Incomplete uninstallation causes many different problems. That's why it's 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 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 up, 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 elsewhere, select the last folder in the list, but be careful and do right choice because everything

Step 5

Option 2: Uninstall Avast manually

Step 1End Antivirus in 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 navigate to the options, press the Windows key + I. Open the Applications section.

Users of older versions of the system should open the control panel and select "Programs and Features".

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

Step 3: Remove antivirus leftovers

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

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

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

Hold 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 restored antivirus entries, delete them.

Finally, restart your computer.

After uninstalling the program is better, 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 with malicious viruses or software that never miss a chance to cause serious damage to your device or personal data. Thus, you need to carry out periodic system scans and remove the perpetrators of the infection. Never underestimate the power of the damage they cause. Even if you have several powerful anti-virus programs, don't be too cocky, because new virus technologies always appear faster than anti-virus ones. Keep your security utilities up to date and stay vigilant anytime, anywhere.

Video - How to uninstall Avast Software

The Avast antivirus program is a useful thing, but sometimes you have to delete it. The following step-by-step instructions will tell you how to properly uninstall Avast if you are using a computer running Windows XP. A few actions that anyone can handle, and a computer without antivirus. In some cases, help is needed, but now we can handle it without it.

Preparing for uninstallation with Windows XP

To remove Avast from XP, the first step is to open the "Add or Remove Programs" component in the Control Panel. You can do this in 2 ways:

Opening the uninstall program in Windows XP

  1. We click the "Start" button, then the "Control Panel" icon and already here we 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 we write the following code: "appwiz.cpl" and click "OK" (see steps A and B in the picture above).

The second step in the opened "Add or Remove Programs" window of the XP system is to find the Avast program and click "Remove". Pressing the button initiates the launch of the antivirus settings program. A screenshot of these steps is shown below.


What buttons to press in the program itself

On the next screen, you will see a window similar to the picture below. Why about? Because a different license may be applied or a different version of the program may be 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 uninstall button.


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


In the course of normal work at the computer, carefully read all the alerts from XP and antiviruses. If you thoughtlessly click "Yes", then perhaps you will help the virus quickly take control of the computer or some other similar action.

After confirmation, the process of uninstalling the product 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 with Windows XP. In addition, you can give your recommendations to Avast, indicating the reason for refusing their program. To do this, you need to put the appropriate checkmark and answer one question.


The final step in the removal will be a reboot of the operating system. Windows systems xp. 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 convenient time for yourself. But do not delay, because the antivirus files will completely disappear only after a reboot. This is due to getting full rights to files in XP at startup. It should be mentioned that without rebooting, you should not install other programs.


Conclusion

If you are a happy owner of Windows XP and do not want to work with Avast antivirus anymore, then the instructions above will help you remove it in a matter of steps. In case of difficulty with one or another step, leave a question in the comments and we will help.

Antivirus is easy to install but difficult to uninstall, and this article will cover them all. possible methods, allowing you to remove Avast completely from your computer.

This antivirus is very popular among Internet users, primarily due to its free license.

You only have to pay for additional functions, which from version to version becomes more and more.

But if for some reason your computer does not have more space for Avast, you can use one of the three ways, the implementation of which will be described below as step by step instructions.

Removal using standard Windows tools

worldwide famous product from Microsoft has great hidden features that even experienced users know little about.

Including this OS allows you to completely remove any program without using third-party software.

Screenshots are taken in Windows 7, but general algorithm not much different for other versions of this operating system.

Advice! This method is the longest and most complex, but at the same time it is the most reliable. If you decide to clean the system yourself, you can be sure to get rid of all Avast files.

  • We go to the control panel and go to the "Uninstall programs" item.
  • Having entered this section, we will see a list of all installed programs located in alphabetical order. Select the "Avast Free Antivirus" entry, click on it, and then click on the "Uninstall" button in the top bar.

  • After that, the standard Avast uninstaller will start, in which you will need to select the "Delete" item.

  • The process of deleting program files will take only a few minutes. At his login, the user will see a window in which he can see the progress of the uninstallation and an offer to answer a few questions about the reason for uninstalling Avast.
    Upon completion of this procedure, the Restart button will appear in the same window, clicking on which will restart the computer.

  • After the reboot, you must follow the path Start-Programs-Accessories-Run or press the key combination Win + R. This is to launch a window of a small standard service that allows quick access to various sections of the system.

  • AT command line utilities need to type the regedit command, which allows you to manually edit the system registry ().

  • This place stores all the registry entries that help various programs interact with the system and with each other.
    There are hundreds of thousands of entries here, so in order not to manually look for residual Avast entries, you need to use the search function, which is activated by the key combination Ctrl + F. Need to find all signed registry keys

  • Found keys are deleted using the context menu activated by the right mouse button.

After deleting all such entries, the procedure for manually uninstalling Avast can be considered complete.

Using the utility from Avast developers

Most manufacturers of antivirus programs release special utilities that remove their products from the PC on their own.

Avast has not become an exception to this rule, and it can also be removed in a similar way.

  • We go to the official website and select the "Support" item in the panel on the right.

Advice! Watch the domain name in the address bar. Official website: avast.com. If you see something like avastt.com or avazt.com, then most likely these are fraudulent sites that will try to infect your computer.

  • The loaded page only has an FAQ, so to find the uninstaller utility, you need to type in the search bar, for example, "delete" and select the appropriate result from the drop-down menu.

  • In this section, you can find a link to download the necessary utility. After downloading, run it and see a window offering to uninstall in safe mode. It is better to follow this recommendation.

  • The program will automatically determine the location of the program files and its version, but if you know for sure that the utility made a mistake, then you can specify a different path. Then you can safely press the "Delete" button.

  • At the end of the procedure, the program will ask you to reboot in order to remove some residual files, which must be done as soon as possible.

After the reboot, there should be no trace of Avast antivirus left on the system.

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