How To Fully Uninstall Avast Free Antivirus 2016 – Avast Free Antivirus Removal Guide

Avast Free Antivirus 2016 is a security product developed by AVAST Software to offer an antivirus and anti-malware protection, along with extract features like home network scanner, toolbar removal, password manager, etc. Though it could be a good choice for free antivirus protection, users did complain that it would install other unwanted software (e.g., Safe Browser) without notification, and that the pop-up ads for Avast paid products are growing more frequent. Other users may also try to uninstall Avast Free Antivirus when they have trouble in using this product. But how to do it right?

Fully uninstalling Avast Free Antivirus used to be a headache for many ordinary users. If you have failed to totally remove Avast Free Antivirus from your computer, read this tutorial to learn some useful tricks. Here we provide two effectively ways to help cast off Avast products and you can choose either of them to start with.

Conventional Steps To Uninstall Avast Free Antivirus From Windows

We first introduce the traditional method of uninstalling Avast Free Antivirus. Some users think they can get the task done by simply uninstalling Avast Free Antivirus from Control Pane. Actually, that’s far from enough. To uninstall Avast Free Antivirus properly and troubleshoot possible uninstall issues, follow the instructions below:

Part 1. Reboot Windows In Safe Mode (Optional)

To fully uninstall a program you are supposed to shut it down first. But some of you may have noticed that Avast Free Antivirus 2016 does not offer an Exit option when you right click on its icon in system tray. You can only disable it for a while. And there is no response when you try to end its associated processes in Task Manager. It turns out the Avast Setup wizard will stop all its services once launched.

But to avoid any possible error, we suggest you to uninstall Avast Free Antivirus in Safe Mode to prevent any other 3rd party software/services from being activated. Here’s how to do:

• Access the Run dialogue by pressing the Windows + R keys together.
• Type “msconfig” in the Open: field and click OK to open System Configuration.
• Click the Boot tab in the pop-up window and tick the “Safe boot” check box.
• Click on OK and then Restart in the pop-up dialog box to take effect.

Part 2. Activate Avast Free Antivirus Uninstaller

Option 1: Access Windows Control Panel

For Windows 7 Users:

• Click Start menu, click Control Panel, and click Uninstall a program option.
• Scroll through to find Avast Free Antivirus and double click on it to proceed.

For Windows 8 Users:

• Right-click Start menu and select Programs and Features option in the list.
• Locate Avast Free Antivirus in the list and click Uninstall to begin uninstallation.

For Windows 10 Users:

• Head to Start > All apps, right click Avast Free Antivirus and click Uninstall option.

• Click Uninstall button in the opened window to bring up Avast Setup wizard.

Option 2: Access Avast Installation Folder

• Right click Avast Free Antivirus shortcut and click Open file location option.
• Navigate to the installation folder, and scroll through to locate the uninstall program.
• Double click to launch the executive files: aswRunDll.exe, SetupInf.exe.

After activating Avast Uninstaller, follow the prompts to complete the process:

• Click Uninstall in the Free Antivirus Setup wizard and wait for a while.

• Once finished, click Restart computer to remove some files that remain.

The aforementioned options require no download of other third-party software, and generally both of them work well if Avast has been installed correctly. However, if some executive files are corrupted or missing, Avast Free Antivirus may not be uninstalled normally. In the face of this situation, AVAST Software provides a specialized utility you can download to help uninstall problematic Avast products (see here). Afterwards you can uninstall this software in Add/Remove Programs applet.

Part 3. Delete Avast Free Antivirus Leftovers

Most antivirus software integrate themselves into your operating system well. Even the normal uninstallation is completed, Avast Free Antivirus may still leaves bits and pieces behind. Therefore you need to make a little more effort to wipe out its traces around you system. Please perform the next part to ensure a cleane removal:

(1) Keys/Values in Registry

• (Right) click on Start and then click Run to launch Run dialog box.
• Type “regedit” in the Open: box and press Enter key to activate Registry Editor.

• Click the Edit menu in the Registry Editor and choose Find option in the list.
• Type the keyword(s) of Avast Free Antivirus or its vendor’s name in the box.
• Click Find Next (and then hit F3) to locate and delete related keys or values.

Note: Make sure you registry is backed up before deleting any entries there, and only delete keys/values which are definitely associated with Avast Free Antivirus. We do not encourage novices to modify Windows Registry manually, cause any mis-operation might pose threat to your system. If you lack confidence to hand this part, turn to experienced users for help, or use an automated uninstall tool instead.

(2) Files/Folders in Disk

• Click on Start > Control Panel > Folder Options, and then click the View tab.
• Tick Show hidden files and folders and uncheck Hide protected operating system files (recommended) in the Advanced settings. Click Apply and then OK in pop-up dialog to save the changes.

• Open File Explorer by pressing Windows + E or clicking This PC on the desktop.
• Type Avast Free Antivirus in the Search Bar and wait for scanning results.
• Identify and delete the matched items in the search results.

Now you should have successfully get rid of Avast Free Antivirus. Feel troublesome to uninstall Avast Free Antivirus by performing all the steps mentioned above? Look for an all-in-one solution to remove remove Avast products? Just try the method shown in next section.

For the previous version of Antivirus Free Antivirus, see:
Perfectly Remove Avast Free Antivirus 2015 – How to Do It
Visit Here and You Know How to Uninstall avast! Free Antivirus 2014

Take A Few Clicks To Fully Remove Avast Free Antivirus (Recommended)

Using an automated uninstaller will definitely save a lot of troubles in removing any unwanted program. Max Uninstaller is a lightweight yet powerful software designed to quickly scan out program components and to fully uninstall them within clicks. It would become a really good helper if you are faced with the following situations:

1. You are not sure how to perform manual removal properly;
2. You want to remove Avast Free Antivirus easily and thoroughly;
3. You get stuck in uninstalling Avast Free Antivirus by standard methods;
4. You have uninstalled Avast Free Antivirus but its remnants could not be deleted…

The relevant video clip is provided below to guide you through the whole process:

> Launch Max Uninstaller after turning off Avast Free Antivirus.
> Select Avast Free Antivirus in the list and then click Run Analysis.

> Click Complete Uninstall after all components have been scanned out.
> Click Yes in the dialog and follow uninstall prompts to complete the process.

> After that, click Scan Leftovers to perform thorough removal.
> Click Delete Leftovers and then Yes to delete Avast Free Antivirus leftovers.

The conventional method we introduced in the first section may require enough skill and knowledge to perform, while this removal utility comes in handy for both novice users and computer-literate to use. If you encounter any other issues when trying to uninstall Avast Free Antivirus, raise your question here so later we can help you out.

External Knowledge:
How to Open Windows Explorer?
List of Control Panel Applets in Windows