Antivirus Program Removal Thread

Hi there,

the link to the Avira removal tool is not meant to uninstall the program, but to clean some infections.

 

i tried 4 or 5 of them till now and i'm remaining at Bitdefender because it have something i need,the game mode that modifies protection settings to minimize their impact on performance.It's a good idea, especially for gamers

 

Gdata 2010 Removal Tool

 

That does not appear to download for some reason. Maybe it's just me. Anyway, here is another link to the Dr.Web removal tool.

Thanks to Blackcat for posting this in another thread-

Dr.Web Removal Tool

 

Norton has a "Gaming" version of their Norton 2009 AV.

• No alerts + no notifications = no interruptions
• Optional settings to temporarily suspend updates, behavioral scanning and intrusion prevention
• Enabled automatically when your PC is in full screen mode
• Activate manually with a quick click on the Norton system tray icon

http://www.symantec.com/norton/antivirus-gaming/welcome/index.jsp

Kaspsersky has a "Gaming Profile" setting in their 2010 products. Updates are turned off, scheduled task don't run, and Kaspsersky deals with threats automatically without bothering you.

 

For a general purpose removal tool,that'll cover all the AVs mentioned,I suggest Revo Uninstaller.

http://www.revouninstaller.com/

What I can't understand is why all these vendors don't just put a proper uninstaller into their software rather than all these additional tools.

 

Update link for Norton Removal Tool?
(Includes Author's Site link)

 

I believe the Avira RegistryCleaner on that page will remove left behind Avira registry entries after uninstall.

 

You are right, it was a bit confusing because of the terminology used on their site.

 

Kaspersky Removal tool please read and follow directions to remove 2009 and 2010.http://support.kaspersky.com/faq/?qid=208279463
Revo Uninstaller here:http://download.cnet.com/Revo-Uninstaller/3000-2096_4-10687648.html?tag=mncol;popbeats add/remove to pieces just be careful with it.use safe until you get used to it.that is not the default on it.have used advanced twice so far.anything you don't want this should handle it.except of course ESS which has another kaspersky type of removal tool. aside from from its built in one to remove it all safely.edit:see andyman35 put up a similar link to revo,my bad andy

 

Update for Norman

Norman Virus Control
Norman Security Suite (direct)

Nice job and thanks everyone.

 

VIPRE removal tool-

http://supportforums.sunbeltsoftwar...=2772&parentid=2771&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Branch

 

PCSecurityShield is now also using Bitdefender. It was formerly using F-Secure (Security Shield) and Kaspersky (Shield Deluxe).

Removal tool for 2010 line:
http://downloads.pcsecurityshield.com/software/2010/BitDefender_Uninstall_Tool.exe (direct)

 

The really said part is when a Uninstall program that comes with a product does not actually uninstall the product.

 

Not by itself. It works with regcleaner to do that but when I ran it it came back with entries for Norton Security Scanner also. When I whittled it down to just the Avira entries it wouldn't remove them either. I had the correct permissions set and nothing protecting the entries either.

I had to go into safe mode and manually remove them.

This was the worst removal procedure ever.

 

This blog has many links for uninstallers check out here

 

People wanting to remove antivirus programs from their computer may want to checkout the following program: AppRemover.

http://appremover.com/

SourMilk out

 

Avast v5 Removal tool

 

VIPRE and CounterSpy removal utility:
http://www.sunbelt-software.com/support/VC/CS&VClean.exe

If you are using Vista or Windows 7, after saving this utility, make sure to right-click and choose "Run as administrator"

 

We actually have newer cleaning utilities available.

For VIPRE:

http://sunbelt-software.com/support/vc/VClean.exe

For CounterSpy:

http://sunbelt-software.com/support/vc/CClean.exe

As you mentioned, if using Vista or Windows 7 you would want to first download these files then right click on them and click Run As Administrator. This will ensure that they run correctly and are not blocked by UAC.

 

Early Spring Cleaning

I found this while surfing and thought it might be of interest...

http://uninstallers.blogspot.com/

 

Re: Early Spring Cleaning

Liked the list and also liked the comic in http://www.t-tools.nl/antisepticen.php (home of T Tools AntiSeptic, a tool recommended by that blog author to, in his(?) words, "remove every last trace of so-called add-on programs or piggyback programs that may end up clogging your computer if and when you forget to uncheck a pre-checked option to not install such a program.").

~ Removed Copyrighted Image as per TOS ~

 

Also, check:

http://www.thewindowsclub.com/antivirus_removal_tools

Comprehensive List of Uninstallers or Removal Tools for Antivirus Software

Antivirus Removal Tools

 

This one has never worked for me. That's my experience trying to remove ESET and Kaspersky.
for Revo which is a great removal application and has a handy portable version. I always use is at at first and the run ZSoft Uninstaller which has it's portable version aswell.

Would be great to see if a mod can modify your first post acr1965 so anyone can easily click on the link needed (some are outdated or broken). Also, would be nice if we could have a removal guide for AV/AM poducts, nothing complicated but just a few steps in order to make this post even more useful and informative. This is what I usually do:

1) Disconnect from the internet
2) Turn off the product
3) Kill any process running related to the product
4) Run it's own uninstaller or in case it doesn't have one uninstall it through Add/Remove Programs
5) Reboot
6) Check for any process related to the product that might still be running, if any kill it
7) Run the product's Removal Tool
Reboot
9) (at this point everything should be clear) Run Revo to look for remnants. If it still finds traces, delete them
10) Reboot
11) Run ZSoft Uninstaller, delete it's findings (if any)

At this point the product should be completely gone. Still a few empty registry entries/empty folders may remain which can be deleted manually.