Antivirus Removal Tool - The technician friendly tool to detect and completely remove antivirus software.

[AlexCa]

Hello everyone,

I've released a new version of Antivirus Removal Tool, version 2020.06 (v.1). This program started to be a functionality of Windows Repair Toolbox but, as more features were added, I've made it an independent program.

###Added
- Its own dedicated website: Antivirus Removal Tool - The technician friendly tool to detect and completely remove antivirus software.

- Built-in check for new versions of the program.

- Multi-language support: Chinese (simplified), French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, English.

- Its own versioning scheme: as a rule of thumb this program will be updated once every month, but it can also be updated more frequently whenever is necessary. It will automatically check for the existence of an updated version when it starts.

- Updated the following uninstallers: Panda, Kaspersky, Emsisoft, AVG, Avast.

- Several internal improvements.

As always, your feedback and suggestions are welcome.

Thank you!

 

[show-Zi]

Uninstalling the security software completely is as difficult as removing virus. In the case of Comodo, even the official uninstall software left a lot of debris.

 

[pxxb1]

Hello everyone,

I've released a new version of Antivirus Removal Tool, version 2020.06 (v.1). This program started to be a functionality of Windows Repair Toolbox but, as more features were added, I've made it an independent program.

Why would this be better then Eset`s Av uninstaller?

I have good experiences with that tool and it has always done the job over several years with a lot of Av products. No problem. Even the problematic ones.

 

[AlexCa]

Why would this be better then Eset`s Av uninstaller?

I have good experiences with that tool and it has always done the job over several years with a lot of Av products. No problem. Even the problematic ones.

Hey pxxb1,

actually it was because of a test I did with that tool that I started to write AVLeftovers (the Windows Repair Toolbox functionality that evolved to what is now this program).

In the tests I did at the time, I installed and removed successively five different Antivirus (Avast, AVG, Avira, McAfee and Norton), and then run Eset AV Remover and it indicated that there we’re no leftovers found, while there were plenty (directories and drivers left by the regular uninstallers). My guess is that it will probably only detect in the case of a seriously broken uninstall. You can check the original post here: Windows Repair Toolbox - Have you tried it?

In the above scenario Antivirus Removal Tool will let you know that those AV's were installed, so that you can run the dedicated uninstaller(s).

 

[Local Host]

Does it remove Windows Defender? /s

 

[AlexCa]

Does it remove Windows Defender? /s

No, it doesn't.

 

[pxxb1]

Hey pxxb1,

actually it was because of a test I did with that tool that I started to write AVLeftovers (the Windows Repair Toolbox functionality that evolved to what is now this program).

In the tests I did at the time, I installed and removed successively five different Antivirus (Avast, AVG, Avira, McAfee and Norton), and then run Eset AV Remover and it indicated that there we’re no leftovers found, while there were plenty (directories and drivers left by the regular uninstallers). My guess is that it will probably only detect in the case of a seriously broken uninstall. You can check the original post here: Windows Repair Toolbox - Have you tried it?

In the above scenario Antivirus Removal Tool will let you know that those AV's were installed, so that you can run the dedicated uninstaller(s).

As i said, Eset does uninstall even the problematic ones, like Panda sometimes, the leftovers aint that important then, i think. You just want to get it UNINSTALLED, fairly good. Eset can in my experience uninstall ALL the Av`s, fairly good.

Does your program do a better job then what i have mentioned above?

 

[show-Zi]

As i said, Eset does uninstall even the problematic ones, like Panda sometimes, the leftovers aint that important then, i think. You just want to get it UNINSTALLED, fairly good. Eset can in my experience uninstall ALL the Av`s, fairly good.

Does your program do a better job then what i have mentioned above?

I think it depends on the way of thinking of the user. I remember that the software for "eset" was the software to uninstall to avoid conflicts when changing to other software. I thought the Antivirus Removal Tool was meant to remove all traces of software I no longer used. It depends on how the user wants to deal with it.

 

[Ink]

Thanks for sharing, I have a few questions for @AlexCa

1. Can non-techies use this tool?
2. If the tool is free, is it also Ad-free?
3. Do you collect/store analytics, or diagnostic data from the users PC?
4. If it only supports Win 7 to 10;
   • Can it still be used with older versions?
   • How long will Win 7 be supported?
5. How does it compare to dedicated uninstallation tools by vendors?

Thanks in advance.

 

[AlexCa]

As i said, Eset does uninstall even the problematic ones, like Panda sometimes, the leftovers aint that important then, i think. You just want to get it UNINSTALLED, fairly good. Eset can in my experience uninstall ALL the Av`s, fairly good.

Does your program do a better job then what i have mentioned above?

Hi pxxb1,

what Antivirus Removal Tool will do is to allow you the run the specialized uninstallers created by the AV manufacturers to their own line of products. Those uninstallers are designed by them to delete all files, drivers, services, and registry records left behind by the programs they produce. For instance, in the case of Panda it would be this one: How to uninstall Panda from the computer - Technical Support - Panda Security

So, what you're really asking is how Eset Av Removal compares with those tools. I don't know how to answer that.

ART by itself doesn't make any changes to the computer. It doesn't try to delete AV files, drivers, registry keys, etc. I wouldn't touch that with a ten-foot pole It is portable and can run from a pen drive. It is a collection of dedicated uninstallers, grabbed from their official sources and regularly updated, that can also detect current and lots of past installations.

This can be useful if you want to install a new antivirus, but in order to avoid possible conflicts, you want to remove as thoroughly as possible the one that is currently installed, as well as the leftovers of any others that had been installed in the past.

 

[AlexCa]

Thanks for sharing, I have a few questions for @AlexCa

1. Can non-techies use this tool?
2. If the tool is free, is it also Ad-free?
3. Do you collect/store analytics, or diagnostic data from the users PC?
4. If it only supports Windows 7 to 10;
   • Can it still be used with older versions?
   • How long will Windows 7 be supported?
5. How does it compare to dedicated uninstallation tools by vendors?

Thanks in advance.

Hey Spawn,

1 - Anyone can use it, sure, but some knowledge is required. For instance, if a dedicated uninstaller shows a message saying that it's better to run it in safe mode, the user will need to know what that is and how to do it. Also, removing AV's sometimes get tricky and can lead to unexpected results, in those cases the user will need to know his ways around a computer.

2 - Yes, the tool is free and ad-free: there's no premium or paid version, and there are no ads in the tool. The website however will probably have a couple of ads and a donation button.

3 - No. The only time the tool connects to the internet is when it starts, to check for an updated version.

4 - The "Antivirus_Removal_Tool.exe" program will not run. But if you just want to run a specific uninstaller in an older version of Windows, they are all inside of the "Tools" folder . Windows 7 will be supported for as long as possible.

5 - It doesn't. It is a regularly updated compilation of those tools, with some added functionalities.

 

[Chipicao]

You can add suggestions for example "This Antivirus was selled data from users, be careful. Recommendation: Uninstall"

It is like a warning (point of view) you should add it to your tool. It's like to warning the user that X or Y company does that or did that in the past or in these recent month's.

Detecting for example Antivirus that isn't Antivirus but a PUP Antivirus, you should warn or add a option to uninstall / delete it on options (if user enable it).

Transparency, Honesty, safe and privacy care is what people looking for in a Tool.
I appreciate that in any tool.

 

[mlnevese]

Just ran it and it found leftovers from Bitdefender and ESET after I had used the vendor's uninstallers. It's a very safe tool as far as I know. I'd really like to see an option to let the tool remove leftovers on its own after user confirmation. Even the ones left in System32 and similar folders.

 

[AlexCa]

You can add suggestions for example "This Antivirus was selled data from users, be careful. Recommendation: Uninstall"

It is like a warning (point of view) you should add it to your tool. It's like to warning the user that X or Y company does that or did that in the past or in these recent month's.

Detecting for example Antivirus that isn't Antivirus but a PUP Antivirus, you should warn or add a option to uninstall / delete it on options (if user enable it).

Transparency, Honesty, safe and privacy care is what people looking for in a Tool.
I appreciate that in any tool.

Thank you for your suggestion, but I don't want to go into that field. This tool is just a technical solution.

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

@AlexCa Great tool, found some leftovers from Ziggo Safe Online (F-Secure Safe rebrand) that I hadn't found myself

 

[AlexCa]

Just ran it and it found leftovers from Bitdefender and ESET after I had used the vendor's uninstallers. It's a very safe tool as far as I know. I'd really like to see an option to let the tool remove leftovers on its own after user confirmation. Even the ones left in System32 and similar folders.

Thank you for giving it a go.

In those cases, if you already executed the dedicated uninstallers, it's generally safe to manually delete those leftovers, so that they don't show up when you run a search in a later time. I say "generally" here just to be safe. Because if you see that one of the folders can't be deleted, and has something like a "mcafee.sys" file inside (just a stupid example), you might need to re-run the dedicated uninstaller with Windows in safe-mode.

What I've found in my tests is that some uninstallers, in the process of doing their job, will themselves create and leave folders on the system. Others will still leave some harmless folders belonging to the antivirus behind.

There is no right-click option to delete the detected folders because the purpose of the functionality is to inform the user about what products were installed in the past, so that he can run the specialized uninstallers. The specialized uninstaller will do a proper job at removing all leftovers (files, drivers, services, registry entries) and not only folders.

If you right-click an entry, you'll have the option to open the folder in file explorer, to check its contents, and of course you can yourself delete the folder from there. But I really don't want to encourage or endorse manually deleting the folders (like I would if I had added a right-click "Delete" option). It's not what the search option is meant for, and, except in very few cases, it's a really awful option.

 

[AlexCa]

@AlexCa Great tool, found some leftovers from Ziggo Safe Online (F-Secure Safe rebrand) that I hadn't found myself

Nice, good to know, thank you for testing!

 

[pxxb1]

Hi pxxb1,

what Antivirus Removal Tool will do is to allow you the run the specialized uninstallers created by the AV manufacturers to their own line of products. Those uninstallers are designed by them to delete all files, drivers, services, and registry records left behind by the programs they produce. For instance, in the case of Panda it would be this one: How to uninstall Panda from the computer - Technical Support - Panda Security

So, what you're really asking is how Eset Av Removal compares with those tools. I don't know how to answer that.

ART by itself doesn't make any changes to the computer. It doesn't try to delete AV files, drivers, registry keys, etc. I wouldn't touch that with a ten-foot pole It is portable and can run from a pen drive. It is a collection of dedicated uninstallers, grabbed from their official sources and regularly updated, that can also detect current and lots of past installations.

This can be useful if you want to install a new antivirus, but in order to avoid possible conflicts, you want to remove as thoroughly as possible the one that is currently installed, as well as the leftovers of any others that had been installed in the past.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Ink]

You can add suggestions for example "This Antivirus was selled data from users, be careful. Recommendation: Uninstall"

Detecting for example Antivirus that isn't Antivirus but a PUP Antivirus, you should warn or add a option to uninstall / delete it on options (if user enable it).

Rating a product based on company ethics or past practices would make this AV Removal Tool biased. Same with software that you may consider PUA, may not be to others.

Just my opinion.

 

[RoboMan]

Fantastic tool, thank you. Basically it's a handy .exe to carry always in your pendrive so you can uninstall any AV with their official uninstaller withouth having to search for it on the internet each time