Just as antivirus can be installed very easily, deleting them can be a very complicated task. Although we can try to uninstall an antivirus from the Windows Settings panel, and using its own uninstaller, it is very common to find problems and errors. And when something goes wrong with deleting Windows security software, the problems skyrocket. Especially when trying to install a different antivirus, or trying to activate another one.
The security firms offer users a series of official uninstallers, or “Removal Tools” that will allow us to completely remove an antivirus from Windows. And not only delete the antivirus as such, but also remove any trace that may have remained on the system. This way it will be like this security suite has never been installed on the PC, and we can install any other without problems.
Aspects to consider before deleting an antivirus
Using the programs that we are going to see next, initially, we should not have problems. However, it never hurts to have a series of recommendations to avoid problems.
The first thing will be to create a system restore point . Thanks to it we can recover our PC in case something goes wrong, to start again from scratch. This is important, since when an antivirus is badly deleted it can be at a point that we can neither completely uninstall it nor install it again. Restoring the restoration point we can go back and try again.
It is also important to keep in mind what other security suite we are going to install . Most likely, if we are using Windows 10, after uninstalling our antivirus, Windows Defender will be activated by default. This is the security software that comes by default in the operating system to protect us from threats, and will allow us to be protected. Once this security software is activated, if we want, we can install any other.
Antivirus uninstallers
Most of these uninstallers can be downloaded from the websites of security firms. However, they are not as visible as they should be, so chances are, if we try to find them, we won’t find them.
Here we leave you the official uninstallers (and some third parties) to delete any antivirus, or security suite, in Windows 10 quickly, easily and safely.
Best known security software
Avast
This is one of the best known free antivirus, downloaded and used worldwide. And the security company offers us a tool called ” avastclear ” with which we will be able to completely uninstall Avast in case of problems.
AVG
This is another popular antivirus for Windows, from the same managers as Avast. The security firm offers us another program to remove the security software and all the traces that may be left: AVG Clear . This will allow us to remove all installed AVG products, including registry entries, installation files, and user files.
Avira
Avira does not offer us an uninstaller as such that allows us to uninstall the security software from scratch. However, what it does offer us is a tool called ” Avira AntiVir Registry Cleaner Tool ” that will help us to delete all the registry entries that are left after its uninstallation.
BitDefender
This solution is one of the most chosen among those looking for a good and complete security suite. But it can also give us problems when it comes to deleting the antivirus from the PC. To help us with this, Uninstall BitDefender for 64 bits (and for 32 bits ) will allow us to delete this antivirus without leaving a trace.
Eset NOD32
Although NOD32 is no longer as good an antivirus as it was a few years ago, its security suite is still present on many computers. Therefore, the security company offers us a tool called ” Eset Removal Tool ” that will allow us to erase this software, and all its traces, from our PC.
Kaspersky
This is another of the most used and recurring security suites for Windows. The security firm offers us a program called ” Kaspersky Products Remover ” designed to allow us to remove Kaspersky at once from the computer. The fastest way to eradicate Russian antivirus from our PC.
McAfee
This is another of the most used antivirus, but not because users download it, but because it is the one that usually comes (along with Norton) installed by default on new computers, especially laptops. Therefore, it is also one of the most searched to uninstall. Therefore, to delete McAfee from Windows 10 quickly and easily, we must use the McAfee Consumer Product Removal tool (MCPR.exe) that this security firm offers us.
Malwarebytes
This is not a conventional antivirus, but rather an anti-malware. And one of the good ones, since, in addition to being able to work alongside any other antivirus, it detects and eliminates threats that may go unnoticed by other security software. If we have problems removing this program, we can use the MBAM Cleaner tool to uninstall everything related to Malwarebytes from the PC.
Panda
The antivirus of Spanish origin, of course, also has its own uninstaller that will allow us, in case of problems, to completely uninstall the antivirus from our PC. For this, we only have to download this Panda Uninstaller , run it and follow the wizard.
Symantec (Norton)
If our PC came with Symantec security software, Norton, installed by default, thanks to Norton Removal Tool we will be able to delete it from our PC without leaving a trace. The best way to clean our computer from this unwanted antivirus.
Other antivirus
In addition to the previous ones, we will also find uninstallers that will allow us to erase other less known security software from the PC.
BullGuard
If we have installed this security software, and we are tired of it, we will be able to easily erase it with the Uninstall BG tool.
Dr. Web
Dr.Web Removal Tool software will allow us to remove this antivirus from our computer, eliminating its trace and leaving our system clean.
SCAN
This security software also has a tool that will allow us to erase all the remains of this program: eScan Removal Tool .
F-Secure
This security suite for Windows also has some popularity among users. And to help users with problems, it has its own uninstall tool for Windows that will allow us to delete it without a trace.
F-Prot
This fast, simple, expensive and ineffective antivirus can also be uninstalled by following the instructions below .
G DATA
This security solution also has its own software to uninstall it safely and without a trace if needed. We can download it for free from the following link .
K7 Security
If we have installed this antivirus on our computer, we will be able to easily erase it using the K7 Uninstallation Tool .
Quick Heal
This security software also has its own uninstaller that will allow us to erase it completely from the computer. We can download it from the Quick Heal Removal Tool repository.
Super AntiSpyware
If we have installed this anti-spyware to delete spyware from our computer, we regret it and want to delete it, we can easily do it by downloading its tool from this link . Also available for 32 bit .
Trend Micro
If we have this software installed in Windows, we will be able to uninstall it with this tool to uninstall the TM antivirus.
Webroot
This security software can be easily removed from Windows using the tool that we can download from here .
ZoneAlarm
These Windows security programs can also be removed quickly and easily using the ZoneAlarm Uninstall tool.
AppRemover: an all-in-one to uninstall any antivirus
As we have seen, each antivirus has its own specialized uninstaller. But, if we do not want to complicate ourselves, we can resort to a specialized program to uninstall them all at once: AppRemover .
This free software is capable of detecting any security software installed in Windows (antivirus, antimalware, antispyware, etc.) and will allow us to erase it quickly and safely, also removing all its traces. This software requires no installation, and is capable of detecting practically any security software, from the most common to the least known.
ESET AV Remover, the alternative
Unfortunately, AppRemover has been abandoned for quite some time. Although it can be obtained (and probably does not give us problems) it is a software that does not update. Therefore, as an alternative, we also bring you ESET AV Remover .
The purpose of this program is to allow us to remove any security software installed in Windows, thus cleaning its trace and leaving the system clean and ready to install any other software.