How to Uninstall Avast on Windows 10

Avast Antivirus has earned a reputation as one of the best free antivirus solutions currently available. While there is debate over whether you need an antivirus for Windows 10, with Windows Security’s built-in protection, millions of Windows users continue to rely on Avast for protection against viruses, malware, and other threats.

Unfortunately, there are significant privacy concerns for Avast products right now as the company sells the personal data of free Avast users to help fund the product. If you want to know how to uninstall Avast in Windows 10 and change privacy in the process, here’s what you need to do.

Is Avast Antivirus Safe to Use?

Before rushing to uninstall Avast, you might be wondering if it is safe to use Avast (and other antivirus software owned by Avast, such as AVG).

While Avast has suggested it will stop selling user data as part of its Jumpshot collection scheme, the facts are clear. The company sold user data collected in Avast Antivirus and sold it to corporate customers. If this is problematic for you, it’s time to consider alternatives.

Does this make Avast insecure? Not necessary, but definitely questionable business practice. Independent research confirms that Avast products are good at protecting Windows computers from viruses and other threats, but past data collection shows that this is not the best option if you care about your personal information.

Avast hasn’t made it clear what it will do next, although you can check Avast’s current privacy policy for yourself. If you want to protect your personal data, you’d better uninstall Avast and look elsewhere for protection.

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How to uninstall Avast using Windows Settings

For most users, the easiest way to learn how to uninstall Avast is to use the Windows settings menu and uninstall it like any other software. This should work for most users. Although, if you’re struggling to uninstall Avast completely, you may need to skip this section and use one of the alternative methods below.

1. To do this, right-click the Windows Start menu, then choose Settings from the options menu.

2. In Windows Settings, click Applications> Applications and Features. A list of installed software will be displayed. You can use the search bar or manually scroll through the list and then select the Avast Antivirus entry.

3. With the entry selected, click Remove> Remove to begin uninstalling Avast.

4. The Avast uninstaller will start. Click Uninstall to begin uninstalling the software.

5. For security reasons, Avast will ask you to confirm that you want to disable antivirus protection and start uninstalling. Click “Yes” to confirm.

6. The Avast Uninstaller will begin removing all Avast files from your PC. After that, you will need to restart your computer. Click Restart Computer to do this now or Restart Later to manually restart your computer.

After a restart, your antivirus protection will return to Windows security mode. If you have installed another antivirus program, it will take over this protection.

How to Uninstall Avast using Avast Uninstall Utility

A regular Avast uninstaller should remove most, if not all, of Avast files from your computer. However, it is possible that some files and registry entries remain. If you cannot remove it completely, you will have to use the Avast removal utility.

This tool will safely delete all Avast files from your PC if the standard method using Windows settings does not work.

1. First, you need to download the Avast uninstall utility This is a standalone program, so after downloading it, double-click the file to launch it.

2. The Avast Removal Tool will scan your computer for existing Avast installations. Avast will ask you if you want to run the tool in Safe Mode, which is recommended. To reboot to Safe Mode, click Yes. If you click No, you will have to reboot yourself into Safe Mode and then run the Avast uninstall utility again.

3. Click Yes again to confirm the reboot.

4. Windows will automatically restart in Safe Mode After the restart process is complete, the Avast uninstall utility will automatically start. Make sure the correct install locations and products are selected in the Avast Uninstall Utility window, then click Uninstall to start uninstalling.

5. If your antivirus is still running in safe mode, Avast will warn you about trying to remove it. Allow this by clicking Yes in the warning window.

6. The Avast Uninstall Utility will start uninstalling your Avast installation at this point, which may take some time. Once the process is complete, you will need to restart your computer by clicking the Restart Computer button to complete the deletion of all files. Otherwise, click “Restart Later” to manually restart your computer.

Use third-party software removal tools to remove Avast

While privacy concerns about Avast are not unfair, Avast remains a significant company in the PC security market as its software is regularly tested by third-party researchers.

This means that you can feel secure in the knowledge that even if you cannot uninstall Avast using Windows settings, you can use the Avast uninstall utility to uninstall it. If that doesn’t work (or you just don’t trust Avast at this stage), you can try alternative solutions from third-party vendors.

For example, you can uninstall Windows software using tools like Revo Uninstaller, which will search for and clean up Avast files from your PC. While there is a paid option, Revo Uninstaller Free should be able to search for and remove all Avast files and entries from your PC.

1. If you have Revo Uninstaller Free installed, you can uninstall Avast by finding the entry in the main Revo window after the program finishes searching for your PC. To remove it, select the Avast entry, then click the Remove button.

2. Click Continue to confirm to start uninstalling.

3. This will launch Avast’s own uninstall tool. Click Remove on this window to start uninstalling. After the uninstaller finishes, Avast Revo will check again what files and registry entries are left. To do this, click the “Scan” button in the main Revo window to start scanning.

4. Revo will first determine if any entries in the Windows registry were left behind by the uninstaller. Select them, click Delete to delete the entries, then click Next.

5. A list of remaining files will appear next. Click Select All to select all, then click Delete to delete the files. When finished, click Finish.

After completing this process, restart your computer to ensure that Avast has been completely removed.

Avast Antivirus Alternatives

If you’ve uninstalled Avast from your system, you’ll need to quickly install an alternative to make sure you can protect your PC and remove malware quickly Instead of free antivirus, you can try using Windows Security (formerly Windows Defender) to protect your PC from common threats.

However, there are certainly better options for getting rid of viruses, especially if you are willing to pay. You can check independent reports from security researchers to see how well mainstream antivirus programs (including Avast) handle real threats and whether it’s worth paying for extra protection.

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