09.09.2024
Home / Internet / Avast is installed and cannot be removed. How to remove Avast? The most detailed instructions! Removal using OS tools

Avast is installed and cannot be removed. How to remove Avast? The most detailed instructions! Removal using OS tools

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 exclusion list Windows Firewall to work 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 the case of a hacker attack in September 2017, which resulted in damage CCleaner versions 5.33.6162 and CCleaner Cloud 1.07.3191 and put millions of users at risk of being infected with the 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), as well as 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 programs, functions, or Windows 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 was noted that the uninstall process was running with an error indicating there was no Avast files(for example, Avastip.dll, avast.messaging.dll).

  1. Avast Free Antivirus does not appear in the Programs and Features list.
  2. You do not have enough rights to Avast removal 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 uninstalling.
  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 for one reason or another you decide to clean 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

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, 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 "Show hidden files, folders and disks."

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

If you decide to replace Avast antivirus with another one, you must first remove it from the system. Moreover, this must be done thoroughly, since its residual files can significantly slow down the system. On top of that, they can make it impossible to install a new antivirus. As a result, the question of how to remove Avast from Windows 10 is more relevant than ever.
You can completely remove Avast using one of the following methods:

  • full-time using Windows followed by cleaning the registry;
  • Avast utility;
  • special programs.

The process of removing an antivirus using Windows followed by cleaning the registry

After these steps, the program will of course be deleted, but will leave its mark on the system, which will prevent the installation of a new antivirus. You can delete it in the system registry.

Removing antivirus using Avast utility

This utility is absolutely free and easy to use. First you need to download and install it on your computer. You can download it from the “Support” section on the official website avast.ru. From the drop-down menu, select the “Downloads” item, after which a page will appear in front of you on which you need to select the “Removal Utility” item. Or just follow the link - https://www.avast.ru/uninstall-utility. The download process of the utility will begin when you click the avastclear.exe link.
Once the download is complete, the utility must be run as an administrator. You can select this launch type by right-clicking on the utility icon. The developers recommend running the utility in safe mode, which is what it will ask you to do upon startup. Click “Yes”, after which it will reboot the computer into safe mode and prompt you to select installed antivirus from the drop down menu list. Having selected the one you want, click “Delete”. After this, the program removal process will begin, after which you will need to restart the computer.

As a rule, this utility completely removes the antivirus from the system. You can verify this by checking the registry for the presence of program remnants. If a search by name does not yield anything, then your computer is clean and you can install another antivirus.

Removing Avast with special programs

Since cleaning the registry is not possible for all users and requires certain skills and knowledge, programmers have developed many programs to simplify their removal. This includes the Revo utility. Uninstaller Pro. With its help, even a novice PC user can cope with uninstalling the program.


The utility starts after uninstalling the program using the native uninstaller, after which the computer is not restarted by selecting the “Restart later” option. In the utility window that opens, select the “Advanced” scanning type and click on “Scan”. The utility will find all antivirus files remaining in the system and display them on the screen. Delete them by first clicking on “Select All” and then “Delete” and “Done”.

Now all that remains is to empty the recycle bin and restart the computer, after which the antivirus will be completely removed.

One could, of course, mock that you are not careful, while installing programs you click “next”, “next”, but this is not your fault, that during the installation of software pitfalls arise and all sorts of crap is installed.

Today we’ll look at how to solve your problem with virus software, and I’ll tell you a quick way to completely remove Avast from your computer. Windows 7, 8 or 10 does not matter and in any case it will take you 3 minutes.

Video - Complete removal of Avast from your computer

As practice shows, the most impatient people prefer to watch video instructions, and here is one of them above in front of you.

Removing Avast in Windows 7

  1. Open the Start menu and click on Control Panel. Now find “Programs and Features” in the list.
  1. In the menu in front of you are all the programs that are installed on the computer. Select “Avast” among them, click on it once and click “delete” in the top menu.

  1. The program installer will open, in which at the very bottom there is an inconspicuous delete button. Click on it. After which, the antivirus program will try to convince you, but you continue what you started and don’t believe it.

  1. Ready! Next time, be more careful when installing software and games.

Uninstalling Avast in Windows 10

  1. Open “Start”, then “Settings”, then “System”.

  1. Find “Avast” in the list, click on it, and then click “delete”.

  1. Ready! Enjoy your computer without unnecessary software.

There are many more removal methods that other sites offer, but I think this is sufficient. You didn’t have to download additional software (absurd, to remove one program you need to download and install another). I didn’t have to use a registry cleaner (a regular user shouldn’t even know what that is).

So, brevity is the sister of talent. Everything is quickly and easily removed from your PC.

At the moment, the choice of antivirus software is so wide that you can get confused in choosing it. Every day new programs appear that, according to their developers, can protect your computer from literally any malicious file. However, the main audience still prefers to use time-tested antiviruses from well-known manufacturers. But even they sometimes malfunction. For example, a few months ago Avast!, which we will talk about today, blocked access to the Internet during the next database update, and therefore some users even decided to reinstall the system. In fact, the problem was eliminated in a matter of hours, it was fixed with the help of the next update, so there was no point in completely demolishing the system; first you just had to remove the antivirus itself. You will learn exactly how to do this in this article. Windows 7 is used as an example.

First way

In order to remove Avast antivirus from your computer, you can use one of two methods. I don’t know which one is more suitable for you personally, but the first one is much simpler and more convenient. Let's start with it.

Almost all known antiviruses are built into the system in such a way that it would be impossible to disable them or remove them with some virus. It is also not easy for the user to do this - it is necessary to make a lot of unnecessary movements. In order to avoid wasting time, manufacturers have come up with special utilities that can easily remove their products from the computer. In the case of Avast! such a utility is aswClear - a small program that can be downloaded from the official website (avast.com/uninstall-utility). It is better not to download it from other resources, as the site may turn out to be fraudulent and will require you to send an SMS to a short number, which will entail the withdrawal of funds from your mobile phone personal account.

After the utility is downloaded to your computer, you need to save it in an accessible location. For example, create a folder on your desktop and place it inside.

The next step is to boot the system in safe mode. More details this process I already described it earlier, but let me remind you that to do this you need to press the F8 key when the system boots. If we are talking about a laptop, then safe mode can be activated by other keys. You can find out which ones exactly on the page.

Once Safe Mode is loaded, you can find aswClear on your desktop and launch it.

The utility is extremely easy to use and you should not have any problems with it. At the top, you need to select the product you want to remove (you can even specify the path to the antivirus folder). As a rule, the system automatically finds it, so there is no need to select anything. On the right side there is an Uninstall button, which you need to click once.

After a few seconds or minutes (depending on the configuration of your PC), the uninstallation will be completed, and the utility will notify you by writing the line Program was successfully removed.

After this, feel free to close aswClear by clicking on the cross on the right side of the window and restart the computer in normal mode. Nothing more is required from you.

ATTENTION! The program works exclusively in safe mode!

Second way

This method is designed for people who love hardcore or simply do not have the opportunity to download the utility that I wrote about just above. In this case, you will have to work with your hands, although nothing complicated even for the user entry level not here. Next, I will describe the process itself and show a few screenshots to make it easier for you.

At the bottom right of your screen is the taskbar. You can see the Avasta icon on it. Double-click on it with the left mouse button and the antivirus panel will open in front of you. IN in this case screenshots will be used from the eighth version of the antivirus, but there are no differences from the 7th or 6th version.

Go to the “Settings” - “Troubleshooting” - “Enable Avast Self-Defense Module” section. Uncheck this item and click OK.

Find your antivirus here, hover your mouse over it, right-click and select “Uninstall.”

After the reboot, go to the Program Files folder and delete the Avast folder from there (sometimes called AVAST Software).

Now the hardest part is that we will have to get rid of those that were not removed along with Avast!. If you do not do this, you will not be able to install any other antivirus on your computer - the system simply will not allow you to do this. Therefore, we need to open the registry editor (Start - Search for files and programs - Regedit).

An editor has opened in front of you. Press the key combination CTRL+F, the search form will appear. Enter the word avast into it and click “Find”. All folders found with this word must be deleted. If they are not deleted, then you will have to go into safe mode again and do it there.

Difficult? Therefore, to delete entries from the registry, I recommend using, which will remove all unnecessary “tails” in two clicks.

If you have any questions about the article, ask them through the comments.

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

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

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

Quite often, after uninstalling an antivirus, there are remnants left in the operating system remote application, for example, some module, protective screen, driver, etc. remained uninstalled. In this case, the remnants of the previous antivirus prevent the installation of another antivirus program on the computer and cause conflicts in the system. Therefore, the user needs to completely remove Avast antivirus from the computer.

Avast Antivirus- the most popular in the world antivirus program. Avast gained its popularity thanks to free version antivirus – Avast Free Antivirus, which has quite 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 completely remove Avast from a computer in the operating system Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows 7. Methods for removing the antivirus, depending on the version operating system, are practically no different.

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

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

In the first case, the antivirus is uninstalled using the built-in Windows uninstaller. At 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 special utility Avast Clear for complete removal applications from your computer. Using the avastclear tool, you can not only uninstall Avast, but also remove the remnants of the antivirus remaining after its uninstallation (remove uninstalled 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 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 your computer using Windows (1 method)

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

Follow these steps:

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

  1. A message will appear in the next window indicating that you are trying to uninstall Avast. Confirm that you agree to delete the application, click on the “Yes” button.

  1. After completing the antivirus removal process, in the installation wizard window, click on the “Restart computer” button.

Avast Antivirus! removed from the computer. If there are uninstalled antivirus components left on the system, search for any remaining traces yourself. Read about it below.

Find and remove traces of Avast antivirus left after uninstalling the program

After Avast antivirus uninstallation is completed, there may be uninstalled program components on the computer that have entries in Windows registry. Before making changes to the registry, just in case, do backup copy registry

To search 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 and select “Find...” from 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 “parameter names” and “parameter values” to search only by the value “section names”.

  1. A registry key will open in the Registry Editor window, the name of which contains the expression “avast” (it will be highlighted). Right-click on the section and select “Delete”.

  1. Press the "F3" key to search for a new partition. In the same 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 remaining sections and parameters in the registry can be carried out in the Reg Organizer program.

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

The 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 suggests running 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 any open documents.

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

If you did not change anything when installing the antivirus on your computer, leave the program installation directory and the data installation directory unchanged.

Select the version of Avast antivirus installed on this computer.

Click on the "Delete" button.

After Avast uninstallation is complete, the utility will prompt you to restart your computer in order to remove the remaining program files from the disk. Click on the "Restart computer" button.

After Windows boot, Avast antivirus has been 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, or Windows 8 operating system.

Conclusion

In the article, we looked at two ways to completely remove Avast: 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.