Remove Norton or McAfee completely with this guide.
Removing Norton and McAfee's products tends to leave a lot of crap behind, even if you go through the proper channels offered in your control panel. Both companies acknowledge this and offer removal tools for the complete uninstallation. If you're looking to learn how to remove Norton or McAfee and replace them with something free and effective, you've found the right article.
Since Norton and McAfee are quite sticky—some people go as far as to call them bloatware—one way of removing them might not work for everybody. Thankfully, there's more than one way to go about this. So we have covered a host of different ways to set your things up. Let's jump right in.
Removing third-party apps on your Windows through the Settings menu is, of course, the most time-tested method to go about any uninstallation. This holds true for McAfee as well. Follow the below steps to uninstall McAfee from your Windows PC:
The uninstallation wizard will be launched as soon as you complete the above steps. Follow the step-by-step instructions from the wizard, and you will be good to go. Moreover, the same method will hold true for Norton as well; just head to the Settings app and remove the app from there.
While the approach of using the Settings menu will work in most cases, McAfee is infamous for being sticky and so, doesn't go away as quickly. Don't take our word for it; the company's founder, John McAfee, characterized the antivirus as a bloatware in his later years.
So you might need special help from third-party sources as well. MCPR is one such tool. Here's how you can get started:
In most cases, all your McAfee files will be removed after the reboot.
Similar to the McAfee uninstaller, you can use the Norton uninstaller and get rid of sticky files from Norton for good. Here's how:
Your Norton antivirus suite and all its old files should be removed by your next boot-up.
In some cases Factory Reset might be your only resort. While it will be unnecessarily lengthy, there is likely no other way to get your Windows back to a clean state otherwise.
This is a headache, undoubtedly, but you can take this as a lesson to avoid dabbling in possible bloatware in the future.
Coming to Factory reset, you have host of options to carry it out. Indeed, we have covered four different ways to reset your Windows. Depending on what's more suitable for you—a complete or partial reset, for example—you can pick a method that will work most for you. Factory reset can successfully remove McAfee or Norton from your PC quite easily.
Removing your third-party antivirus doesn't have to be a headache. While McAfee and Norton are infamous for their bloatware-like behavior, the above methods can help you remove them from your PC for good. So try them out and see which one works best for you.
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Shaant is a Senior Writer at MUO, and has been writing about technology since 2021. He holds a bachelors in Computer Applications, and he now pens complex how-to’s and other handy guides on Windows, Mac, and Cybersecuirty. When not researching or writing, he can be found enjoying a good book, running, or hanging out with friends.
