What happens if you uninstall antivirus

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Please enable JavaScript in your browser. Please enter value. Consumer Support Community Contact Support. Support Home. Knowledge Center. Document ID : TS Method 1: Remove using the standard Windows removal method This video shows how to remove your McAfee product using the standard Windows removal method: To view and subscribe to more videos, visit the official McAfee YouTube channel.

To learn more about using Windows to remove products, click the link below for your Windows version. The links take you to Microsoft. When the removal process completes, your McAfee products are no longer installed on your PC. Make sure that you reinstall your security software as soon as possible to restore protection.

If the standard Windows removal method fails, try Method 2. Keep in mind that if you have a subscription with the antivirus company, uninstalling the program may not cancel your subscription. If you are uninstalling the antivirus because you believe it is causing problems, you can also temporarily disable the antivirus before uninstalling, see: How do I disable my antivirus program in Windows?

First, try utilizing the built-in uninstall feature of the program by finding the folder for the antivirus program in your Windows Start menu. To do this, click Start , All Programs, and look for the antivirus program in the list of programs. When you find the antivirus program in the list, locate the uninstall option, which should be in the same folder.

If this is available, click the uninstall option and follow the prompts to complete the uninstallation of the antivirus. The second way is to utilize Add or Remove Programs. Some antivirus programs may be listed several times in the list of programs.

Make sure you've uninstalled all associated parts of the antivirus before rebooting the computer or installing another antivirus. If you're unable to uninstall the antivirus through Add or Remove Programs because of an error, skip to uninstalling from Safe Mode.

If the antivirus program is not listed in the Add or Remove Programs, you may have a bad antivirus install or a rogue antivirus. In some cases, the uninstall process may not be able to proceed because the antivirus program is currently loaded and running in Windows. If the program cannot be disabled, uninstall the antivirus in Windows Safe Mode.

Right-click the Windows Start button and select Apps and Features from the menu that appears. On your keyboard, press the Win key and X key simultaneously, then select Programs and Features from the menu that appears.

Click the Windows Start button and select Control Panel. Under Programs , click Uninstall a program if you are using the default category view, Right-click Avast Free Antivirus , then select Uninstall from the drop-down menu. If prompted for permission by the User Account Control dialog, click Yes. Click Yes to confirm that you want to uninstall Avast Free Antivirus.

Once uninstallation is complete, click Restart computer to immediately reboot your PC. Avast Free Antivirus Was this article helpful? Yes No. Need additional help? The first two days with their new computer was spent cleaning up the viruses on it. I have two computers running Windows 10 and one runs the normal release version and the other is a test computer on which the Windows 10 beta is running. The beta PC has been running for a year and it has never had any antivirus or other security software installed.

Update: This article was written over a year ago. Since then I have not had any security software on both my PCs, apart from Windows Defender of course. I have not had any security issues at all and Defender has got even better. Security software is a thing of the past for me and Windows is secure enough without third party software.

The PC running the release version of Windows 10 has had antivirus software installed. It had software from Panda Security and lately it has been running Avira.