Security software sometimes may not uninstall properly on a system it
is installed on. It can be that the default uninstaller that ships with
the program is broken and thus non-functional, or that it leaves traces
behind that prevent the installation of an update, other version or
third party product on the system.
The majority of companies that produce security software for Windows make available removal tools
that delete all traces of a product from a system. These tools use hard
coded lists of files and locations usually and are considered thorough
because of it. Sometimes, they combine the list with searches to make
sure that all program files and Registry information are removed from a
computer system.
The Avast! Cleanup Tool is a third party program that is not to be confused with the company’s official removal program Avast! Uninstall Tool.
Why
you’d use a third party program when there is a first party program
available for the same task? Because you do not have to run it in safe
mode which you need to do when you use the official Avast utility. It
may also be your only hope if the official program for one reason or the
other does not work properly.
First thing you need to make sure
is that it is supporting the version of Avast! that you have installed
on your system. At the time of writing, it is supporting the following
versions:
- Avast! Antivirus 7.x Free/Professional/Internet Security
- Avast! Antivirus 8.x Free/Professional/Internet Security/Premier
You
should not use the program if you are running a different Avast product
or version of a supported product. To completely uninstall a supported
version of Avast, simply run the tool after you have downloaded it to
your system. First screen displays information about the program and its
intended uses. Once you click on accept, you will notice that two
command line prompts are launched that perform the uninstallation of
Avast software on the system.
Please note that the cleanup tool is only compatible with Windows Vista or newer versions of Windows, and not Windows XP.
The
program can be useful if you need to remove supported Avast software
from a Windows system and can’t or do not want to use the official
uninstaller to do so.
It is highly recommended to try the official Avast tool first before you make use of third party software.
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