{"id":29872,"date":"2012-10-20T18:00:45","date_gmt":"2012-10-20T16:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onsoftware.en.softonic.com\/?p=29872"},"modified":"2025-07-02T01:43:06","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T08:43:06","slug":"how-to-completely-uninstall-avast-free-antivirus-from-a-pc-or-mac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/how-to-completely-uninstall-avast-free-antivirus-from-a-pc-or-mac\/","title":{"rendered":"How to completely uninstall avast! Free Antivirus from a PC or Mac"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s a good idea to use an antivirus software on your <a href=\"http:\/\/features.en.softonic.com\/b\/mac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mac<\/a> or <a href=\"http:\/\/features.en.softonic.com\/b\/windows\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PC<\/a>, but sometimes they can be a headache. Some antivirus applications are so integrated into the operating system that it leaves bits and pieces behind. In the case of <a title=\"avast! free antivirus download\" href=\"http:\/\/avast.en.softonic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">avast! Free Antivirus<\/a>, it can take a little bit more effort to make sure it&#8217;s fully removed if you want to install another antivirus program.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes the traditional methods of uninstalling an app doesn&#8217;t work. Luckily avast! has provided a handy tool to help you uninstall avast! Free Antivirus if the program is giving you error message or refuses to uninstall.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s how to make sure you fully uninstall avast! Free Antivirus from your PC or Mac.<\/p>\n<h3>Uninstalling on a PC<\/h3>\n<p>First, you&#8217;ll want to try uninstalling avast! using the traditional method. Click on the start button and click on Control Panel.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29914\" title=\"uninstall avast control panel\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/10-19-2012-11-34-15-AM.png\" alt=\"uninstall avast control panel\" width=\"600\" height=\"392\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/10-19-2012-11-34-15-AM.png 600w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/10-19-2012-11-34-15-AM-300x196.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>From the control panel, click on &#8216;Uninstall a program&#8217; and then find Avast! in the list. Click &#8216;Uninstall\/Change&#8217; and avast! will prompt you with a setup menu. Choose &#8216;Uninstall&#8217; at the bottom and click &#8216;Next.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29915\" title=\"uninstall avast!\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/10-19-2012-11-38-09-AM.png\" alt=\"uninstall avast!\" width=\"600\" height=\"408\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/10-19-2012-11-38-09-AM.png 600w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/10-19-2012-11-38-09-AM-300x204.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;ll get a warning that &#8220;an attempt has been made to uninstall avast!&#8221; Confirm that you want to uninstall and it&#8217;ll start the installation process. You&#8217;ll have to restart your computer to fully uninstall.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29918\" title=\"reboot uninstall avast\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/10-19-2012-11-40-58-AM.png\" alt=\"reboot uninstall avast\" width=\"600\" height=\"408\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/10-19-2012-11-40-58-AM.png 600w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/10-19-2012-11-40-58-AM-300x204.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Force uninstalling on a PC<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29920\" title=\"avast uninstall utility \" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/10-19-2012-11-44-49-AM.png\" alt=\"avast uninstall utility \" width=\"459\" height=\"439\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/10-19-2012-11-44-49-AM.png 459w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/10-19-2012-11-44-49-AM-300x286.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 459px) 100vw, 459px\" \/><\/strong>If you&#8217;re experiencing errors or a stubborn installation of avast!, try using the avast! Uninstall Utility. Simply select the avast! product you wish to remove. Click &#8216;uninstall&#8217; and confirm you want to remove the program. If you&#8217;re getting an error message saying that the &#8216;self-defense module&#8217; is preventing uninstallation, launch avast! and head over to the settings. Go to the &#8216;Troubleshooting&#8217; tab and uncheck the box that says, &#8220;Enable avast! self-defense module.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29922\" title=\"avast self defense module\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/10-19-2012-12-01-40-PM.png\" alt=\"avast self defense module\" width=\"600\" height=\"558\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/10-19-2012-12-01-40-PM.png 600w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/10-19-2012-12-01-40-PM-300x279.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>This should allow the avast! Uninstall Utility to work.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Uninstalling on a Mac<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Uninstalling avast! on a Mac is much simpler. Launch avast! and click on the program name in the menubar. You&#8217;ll see an option to uninstall. Confirm you want to do this an the program will uninstall. You won&#8217;t even have to reboot!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-29913\" title=\"uninstall avast! mac\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/Screen-Shot-2012-10-19-at-10.17.45-AM.png\" alt=\"uninstall avast! mac\" width=\"600\" height=\"375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/Screen-Shot-2012-10-19-at-10.17.45-AM.png 600w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2012\/10\/Screen-Shot-2012-10-19-at-10.17.45-AM-300x187.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>There you have it. Hopefully this guide has helped those having trouble uninstalling avast! Don&#8217;t forget to install another antivirus program for your <a title=\"pc antivirus apps\" href=\"http:\/\/en.softonic.com\/windows\/anti-virus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">PC<\/a> or <a title=\"mac antivirus\" href=\"http:\/\/en.softonic.com\/mac\/security-access-control\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mac<\/a> to stay fully protected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s a good idea to use an antivirus software on your Mac or PC, but sometimes they can be a headache. Some antivirus applications are so integrated into the operating system that it leaves bits and pieces behind. In the case of avast! Free Antivirus, it can take a little bit more effort to make &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/how-to-completely-uninstall-avast-free-antivirus-from-a-pc-or-mac\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;How to completely uninstall avast! Free Antivirus from a PC or Mac&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2033,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[2441],"tags":[2537,1081,1027,1080],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-29872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-to","tag-app-subdomain-redirectionavast","tag-mac","tag-security","tag-windows"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2033"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29872"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29872\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":333585,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29872\/revisions\/333585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29872"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=29872"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=29872"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=29872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}