How to completely remove avast free antivirus from your computer. Avast Free Antivirus: How to Uninstall Completely from Your Computer

If you wanted uninstall avast and install another antivirus. Or you just want to uninstall Avast and reinstall it (reinstall).

In any case, you can use this step by step instructions as completely uninstall avast antivirus from your computer, works on Windows 10, 8, 7, XP or even MacOS X. To

Sometimes traditional methods uninstalling applications may not work. Good news Avast provides an effective tool to help you uninstall Avast. If you cannot uninstall the program or an error occurs during uninstallation.

This guide works for all Avast antivirus solutions: Free Antivirus, Pro Antivirus, Internet Security, Premier or Free Mac Security.

Before removing the antivirus, disable the self-defense module.

Uninstalling Avast programs on Windows

Method 1: Through Programs and Features

Open the control panel.
Switch the control panel view to small icons.
Find and open Programs and Features (Windows 10) or Add/Remove Programs (Windows 7).
Find in the list installed programs Avast Free Antivirus.
Right-click on it, and select Delete from the context menu.
The configuration settings for Avast will open.
Click the Delete button, which is located in the lower right corner.
You will be asked to confirm, click YES.
The removal of Avast antivirus will begin.
At the end of the removal, you will see a message that the product was successfully removed.
Restart your computer.

Method 2: Using the Avastclear uninstall utility

How to uninstall Avast on Mac OS

Preparation. Before deleting the application, do not forget to exit the process if it is running. First it's a Dock app and then you can activate Activity Monitor to detect and exit related processes(processes) running in the background.

Open Activity Monitor from the Applications/Utilities, Spotlight or Launchpad folder.
Select the process named Avast Mac Security, click the (X) button and click Exit.

Typically there are two available options remove unwanted applications on Mac: (1) run an efficient, reputable uninstaller to complete the removal task painlessly, or (2) accept manual method to remove Avast Free Mac Security 2018 from your Mac computer.

You can follow the manual solution to uninstall Avast Free Mac Security 2016 from macOS. To begin with, you must be logged in as an administrator on your Mac or you will be prompted to provide an administrator password during the uninstall.

Manual removal

As mentioned earlier, you must exit the application before uninstalling it, otherwise an error message may appear to abort the process, or an incomplete uninstallation will occur. After that, take the generally accepted Avast Free Mac Security 2016 removal method:

Open Finder and navigate to the Applications folder from the left pane.
Select the Avast Mac Security icon and drag it to the Trash.

The drag-to-delete method works for almost all applications in all versions of Mac OS X. You can also move an application to the Trash in the following ways:

(1) right click on the application and select "Move to Trash";
(2) select the app and go to "File" > "Move to Trash".

As a rule, the application will be immediately removed from the window and will appear in the trash. You will need to remove the Delete Trash (we will talk about this later). If you can't move the app to the Trash, restart your Mac and delete it again.

Using the setup file

Alternative: If you keep the Avast product installation package on your Mac, you can immediately run its built-in uninstaller to perform the uninstallation. Here's how to do it:

Double-click to open the Avast Mac Security (.dmg) installation file in Finder.
Launch the Uninstall Avast application and click "Open" on the pop-up dialog.
Click the "Delete" button, select installed apps and click the "Continue" button.

When prompted, enter your account password to complete this change.

Once the process is complete, click the "Exit" button to close the uninstall wizard.

Alternative (2): If you don't keep the installation package, launch Avast Mac Security, select Avast Mac Security > Uninstall Avast from the top menu, and then uninstall.

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

The antivirus installed on the computer is designed to protect the computer from malicious software. Antivirus software constantly monitors the state of the computer in order to prevent infection by viruses or to protect against other threats.

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

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

Avast Antivirus is the world's most popular antivirus program. Avast gained its popularity thanks to free version antivirus - Avast Free Antivirus, which has a fairly broad 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. The methods for removing antivirus, depending on the version of the operating system, are practically the same.

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

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

In the first case, the antivirus is uninstalled using the built-in Windows uninstall tool. At this method, in some cases, traces of antivirus remain in the operating system, so this is not the most best option to uninstall the application.

The second method uses a special Avast Clear utility to complete removal applications from a computer. Using the avastclear tool, you can not only uninstall Avast, but also remove the remnants of the antivirus left after its uninstallation (delete the remote Avast).

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

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

Do the following:

Select Avast antivirus from the list of installed programs, right-click on it, select "Uninstall" from the context menu.
In the warning window that opens, agree to remove the program.
Then the Avast installation wizard window will open, in which you need to click on the "Uninstall" button.

The next window will display a message about an attempt to uninstall Avast. Confirm consent to delete the application, click on the "Yes" button.

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

Antivirus Avast! removed from the computer. If there are uninstalled antivirus components left in 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 removal of Avast antivirus is completed, the computer may contain non-removed program components that have entries in the Windows registry. Before making changes to the registry, just in case, make a backup copy of the registry.

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

Press the "Win" + "R" keys.
In the "Run" window, type "regedit" (without quotes), and then click on the "OK" button.
In the "Registry Editor" window that opens, enter the "Edit" menu, select "Find ..." in the context menu.
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 items "parameter names" and "parameter values" to search only by the value "section names".

In the Registry Editor window, a registry key containing the expression "avast" will open (it will be highlighted). Right-click on the section, select "Delete".

Press the "F3" key to search for a new partition. Similarly, sequentially delete all found registry keys related to Avast antivirus.
After the operation is completed, restart your computer.

A similar search and removal of the remaining sections and parameters in the registry can be carried out 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 website of Avast.

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

Avast Antivirus Clear offers to run the tool in safe mode Windows. Agree, click on the "Yes" button.

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

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

If you did not change anything when installing the antivirus 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 removal of Avast is completed, the utility will prompt you to restart the computer in order to remove the remaining program files from the disk. Click on the "Restart Computer" button.

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

Conclusion

In the article, we looked at 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 removed antivirus can be found and removed manually in the Registry Editor.

Avast Antivirus with default settings protects its folders and files from third-party interference. The developers endowed him with a "self-preservation instinct" in order to increase the level of system security. There is a separate category of viruses that disable the Windows 7/8 and XP family of software protectors or "force" them to skip other malware on the PC. That's just from such Avast and is protected.

Issues related to deletion

It is worth noting that, despite all its usefulness and necessity, this Avast function sometimes gives users both a PC and a laptop a lot of trouble. Under certain circumstances, the antivirus program regards attempts to delete it as an attack, an attack on its integrity, and, accordingly, fights back.

Some users, after unsuccessful attempts, try to uninstall Avast in parts: they find its folders / files and send it to the trash. And thus further exacerbate the already problematic situation.

Separate elements flatly refuse to leave the computer's penates. Only visual visibility is created that the antivirus is removed. Installers of other security software products interrupt the installation, indicating the presence of the Avast program in the system.

Difficulties also arise (incorrect installation, system crashes) when switching to another version of the product, for example, from Avast Free Antivirus to Internet Security or Premier.

How to delete correctly?

Method number 1

The most correct and effective recipe for solving this problem is to use a proprietary utility from Avast! (Uninstall utility). It allows you to quickly, correctly and, most importantly, completely remove the antivirus from your PC.
To enable it, do the following:

1. Make a request in a search engine (Google or Yandex, no difference) - download avastclear (this is the name of the utility).

2. Follow the first link in the search results (avast.ru/uninstall-utility).

3. On the Avast Removal Tool page, in the first item on the list, click avastclear.exe.

5. Launch avastclear.

7. After rebooting, in the utility window that appears, click "Continue" (leave the configuration fields unchanged).

8. Do not turn off the computer and do not run other applications while the antivirus program is being removed. After the procedure is complete, restart your computer in normal mode.

Method number 2

To uninstall an antivirus program, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the Avast tray icon (on the right side of the taskbar).

2. In the vertical menu of the antivirus interface, click "Settings".

3. In the settings window, go to the "Troubleshooting" section.

4. Uncheck the box next to the option "Enable self-defense module ...".

5. Close all windows.

6. Open the control panel via the Start menu (Windows icon at the bottom of the display).

8. Click to highlight Avast in the list of installed software.

9. Click the "Uninstall" function located at the top of the program directory.

10. In the window of the antivirus uninstaller, select "Uninstall" (the very last icon of the vertical menu).

11. Click Continue.

12. After the uninstallation is completed, reboot the OS.

Method number 3

In fact, in essence, is alternative method number 2. It involves the use of specialized utilities that allow you to completely remove almost any application from the system.
You can get rid of Avast using:

CCleaner (Tools → Remove Programs);
Revo Uninstaller Pro;
Uninstall Tool and other analogues.

The removal algorithm is quite simple (using Revo Uninstaller as an example):

On the All Programs tab (other utilities may display a list), right-click the antivirus icon.
Select Delete from the context menu.
Follow the instructions of the uninstaller. Do not restart the system.
Select the "Advanced" scan mode. Run the analysis (button "Scan").
Delete all files found by Revo Uninstaller and registry entries left after uninstallation.

Prevention

Before installing another antivirus, clean the file directories and OS registry with the CCleaner utility.

Avast Free Antivirus is a security software developed by Avast. The latter occupies the largest market share in 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 automatic launch at Windows boot using the Task Scheduler, which turns it on at various 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 latter is infamous for the September 2017 hacking incident that 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, given the results of independent testing by 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 through Windows programs, features, or apps, but since the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, many have reported that the program has stopped working or cannot be reinstalled/uninstalled.

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

Avast Free Antivirus does not appear in the Programs and Features list.
You do not have sufficient rights to uninstall Avast Free Antivirus.
The file required to complete this uninstall cannot be run.
An error has occurred. Not all files were successfully deleted.
Another process that is using the file is stopping the removal of Avast Free Antivirus.
After uninstallation, Avast Free Antivirus files and folders are still present on the hard drive.

Incomplete uninstall causes many various 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 infection malicious viruses or software that never misses 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

It happens that you installed Avast antivirus, but you didn’t like it and you want to get rid of it. In that case it will topical issue, how to remove avast antivirus from computer completely, since this program cannot be uninstalled in the usual way, many try to remove this antivirus using the usual means of the operating system, however, after rebooting the PC, entries remain in the registry that prevent another antivirus from being installed. Therefore, nowadays the question becomes popular, how to uninstall avast right?

Protection features

The default settings of this program include protection against deletion. Therefore, to solve the problem, disabling protection is required. How to uninstall Avast antivirus, we will consider in detail in this article.
If this antivirus program is not uninstalled correctly, then entries with parameters remain in the registry, as a result, another antivirus program is not installed until the registry is completely clean and there are no mentions of Avast. Manually getting rid of the remnants of the antivirus is almost impossible. For this task optimal solution there will be a simple CCleaner program, through which it will be possible to clean the registry of unnecessary entries. This program is also capable remove avast completely from computer.

Question, how to remove avast completely from windows 7, is quite complicated, since the standard set of this utility is not predisposed to removal, since it does not contain the uninstall.exe file in its composition. However, you can find and download the avast uninstaller program on the Internet, after rebooting, run this program and follow the instructions to perform a complete removal.

Why should you uninstall Avast antivirus correctly?

If you want to change a poorly functioning Avast antivirus to a properly working version.
If you want to replace Avast with another antivirus.
The license on your antivirus is about to expire.

How to disable Avast self-defense

In order not to have to clean up the registry later, after an unsuccessful removal of Avast in the usual way, by deleting a folder, you need to know how the self-defense module of this antivirus is disabled.

First of all, open Avast and go to the "Settings" menu.

In the lower left part there is a panel in which you should select the "Troubleshooting" item.

A window will open in front of you, in which you need to find the item "Enable Avast Self-Defense Module" and uncheck it.

Now this antivirus program can be easily removed using the usual methods.

If after you uninstalled Avast in this way, you again have problems installing another antivirus program, in this case you will need to clean the registry. For these purposes, CCleaner is an excellent option.

How to uninstall Avast with CCleaner?

You can remove this antivirus using this program. The first step is to download and install the CCleaner utility on the device, it is easy to find on the Internet and it is free. This program will help us remove Avast, it is able to clean the computer not only from the antivirus itself, but also from all its files and registry entries. In other words, it leaves no trace.

There are also other analogues of this program, but you will have to pay for some, and free ones are not able to cope with this task.

The specialized utility avast uninstaller, downloaded separately to the computer (it was mentioned above), also does its job perfectly, but after it you still need to clean the registry with CCleaner. For this reason, you should not complicate the process, one CCleaner program will be enough, in addition, it will be useful to you in the future.

CCleaner installation procedure:

We start the program.

In the list on the left side, select "Service", select from the list Avast! Free Antivirus, select it, click on the "Uninstall" icon.

We confirm the intention of our actions.
Close the program, open the Start menu, turn on the computer restart.

After the reboot, clean the registry.
Run the CCleaner program again, then open the "Registry" section.

Select the "Search for problems" item, and then click the "Fix" icon. However, you should not back up any changes to the registry.

Click on the "Next" icon.

We are waiting for the computer to restart, and now we are completely free from Avast.

How to uninstall Avast on Windows XP, 7 and Vista operating systems

To perform this task, we will also need the CCleaner program, it will be needed to clean the registry after the antivirus is removed. To remove Avast, we will need to perform the following procedures:

Open the "Start" menu, select "Control Panel" in the window that opens, and then click on the "Uninstall programs" icon.

Before us opens the usual utility for Windows, created to remove programs. It will not be difficult to use, in addition, it is easy to understand.

In the list, select Avast, select the icon and click on the "Delete / Change" button. Next, a window pops up in front of us, in which the “Delete” item should be checked, we confirm it.

After we close the "Uninstall programs" utility, and then we launch the already familiar CCleaner, through which we clean the registry. The cleaning procedure is fully described above.
Then open the "Cleanup" window and click analysis.

We wait until the procedure is over, then click on the "Clean" icon, and confirm the deletion.

We reboot the computer, after which our computer is clean from Avast antivirus.

So we looked at how the Avast antivirus program is uninstalled. This work will not take you much time, everyone can cope with this task, you just need to follow our instructions exactly.