Any Special Tips Uninstalling Avast?

[suntower]

Hi,

I've been using Avast for years and I'm considering uninstalling it on my Win7 machines. I have several machines that I use for music recording... which needs as few interruptions as possible. (many musicians run machines without -any- AV simply because Norton and so on are so disruptive to recording). But I think the Win7 built-in security seems to work -OK-.

So... if I uninstall Avast, are there any 'gotchas'... files that don't get properly uninstalled and registry entries?

TIA,

---JC

[Roderunner]

Hi JC,
If Avast is set properly, it won't annoy you.

[Banyarola]

I believe Avast has an Un-Installer on their website.

[Just Plain Fred]

So... if I uninstall Avast, are there any 'gotchas'... files that don't get properly uninstalled and registry entries?

suntower,
Hello... I'm not familiar with Avast...But I have removed all sorts of things off my PC. Even using the "Un-Installers" from the programs themselves many times will leave bits and pieces of the program... You didn't say how you were going to remove Avast. There are several removal tools that will do most of the job, and are free as well
1. CCleaner has a built in un-installer CCleaner
2. Revo un-installer...does a good job as well Revo
3. Everything. A good program to check on whats left Everything

There are more but these should be enough Regards Fred

[CLiNT]

You might consider, along with a decent uninstaller, stopping it's primary services and active processes prior to uninstallation;
1 Stop or remove it from the taskbar area. (stop real time monitoring from within the apps properties)
2 Stop or kill the processes associated with it in taskmanager.
3 Then uninstall as normal

Running a mild registry repair/cleaner tool after all is done, like CCleaner's, is optional.

[suntower]

Thanks. It's not the I have a problem with Avast... it's just that Windows Defender seems to work OK. The thing with Avast is that it does these background updates at the -most- inopportune moments. OR I have to remember to update it manually every frickin' day. What I -want- is to simply have it update ONLY @ 2:00am every night, but it won't seem to do that.

Also, I've noticed that Windows Defender seems to update whether I use it or not, so my thinking is:
a) if it works OK -and-
b) it's gonna be there anyway
c) it's free

...then why not just use it and have one less program on my already over-stuffed machines.

---JC

[jwitalka]

The thing that annoyed me about Avast is that I had to re-register it every year. Found no noticeable protection advantages from nag free MSE so I switched. If re-registering every year doesn't bother you, I found Avast to be on a par with the other freeware AVs.

Jerry

[Medico]

I decided to give Avast a try because all of a sudden I got 2 BSODs in a row which said my AV app had a problem. I uninstalled MSE for now on my PC and trying Avast. Still have MSE on wife's laptop and desktop.

[jwitalka]

Ted, a posting I found on the web that I can't find indicated the MSE BSODs were related to a software firewall conflict. (One of the reasons I don't use software firewalls for the minor additional protection they provide. I have yet to find anyone who has found or blocked a malware via a software firewall that wasn't already self evident.). I don't see many postings of MSE BSODS, so I don't think its a major problem. If you ever decide to try MSE again, you might try disabling your Firewall temporarily to test. If you are happy with Avast and can put up with the annual nag, there's no reason to change.

Jerry

[Medico]

I have had Online Armor ++ software firewall on both laptops for several months without any problems. I will give Avast a try for a while and then decide. That's what I use my laptop for, playing! I have an Image just before I installed Avast in case I want to go back, or a complete uninstall of Avast, then reinstall of MSE. I'll cross that bridge when the time comes.

[cyberdiva]

Hi, Sunflower. I've used Revo Uninstaller, first the free version and now the Pro version, for a number of years, and on the whole I've been very pleased with it. It uses the software program's own uninstaller (if there is one) to uninstall the program, but then it scans your computer to see what registry entries remain, and what files and folders should also be removed. However, I want to say that there have been a few times when Revo simply got it wrong. It identified registry entries that clearly were not associated with the program I was uninstalling. I'm mentioning this not to badmouth Revo--I think it's a very useful program--but even the best of programs can make mistakes, so don't just assume that what Revo says is always correct. I've found that to be true of almost every program, especially programs that clean the registry. Be alert. If what Revo or any other program tells you seems wrong, trust your judgment and err on the side of caution.

By the way, I think you'll be happy with Microsoft Security Essentials as a replacement for Avast. I replaced Avast quite a while ago when an upgrade was exceptionally buggy and I couldn't use it. I switched to MSE and haven't looked back. I wish I could remember whether I found Avast problematic to remove, but it was too long ago. Good luck.

[ruirib]

I have had Online Armor ++ software firewall on both laptops for several months without any problems. I will give Avast a try for a while and then decide. That's what I use my laptop for, playing! I have an Image just before I installed Avast in case I want to go back, or a complete uninstall of Avast, then reinstall of MSE. I'll cross that bridge when the time comes.

Hi Ted,
As you know, I run Online Armor with MSE and have had no issues whatsoever.