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It is well known that it is pretty hard to remove McAfee from a computer once it has been installed.
Unfortunately my new Windows 10 PC came with a test version of McAfee installed.
I uninstalled it with Revo Uninstaller, which should be more thorough than the Windows uninstaller as far as orphaned files and registry entries are concerned. So I thought every trace was gone.
But this morning after my PC booted I got this message:
I used Everything to find remaining files, and indeed there were some, esp. the following .exe files:
McAfeeSecurityStartup.exe
McAfeeSecurityFT.exe
Trying to delete them doesn't work.
Also, the Registry still contains myriad McAfee, which I started to delete (after making a backup). I gave up after I found that several keys wouldn't let them be removed. I tried this running Windows in Safe Mode as well, but I still couldn't remove files or Registry entries.
One possible explanation could be that there is still a McAfee service running, but I couldn't find it.
Next thing I tried: The McAfee Removal Tool. Files are still there.
So I've run out of ideas. How can you remove all traces of McAfee from your computer?
Joris Groosman
Posted 2017-08-04T10:35:15.190
Reputation: 554
"I uninstalled it with Revo Uninstaller, which should be more thorough than the Windows uninstaller as far as orphaned files and registry entries are concerned." - This is a common misconception perpetrated by the snake oil company behind "Revo Uninstaller", it does exactly what Add/Remove programs does, except in a prettier UI – Ramhound – 2017-08-04T11:07:27.850
The best way to remove the McAfee UWP application is to reinstall it then remove it yourself like any other UWP application. If this is a new installation, you could also just use the Refresh feature, but it sounds like besides the broken UWP application, McAfee is actually already uninstalled
– Ramhound – 2017-08-04T11:09:31.567@Ramhound: I must differ on Revo, since it does do much more than Add/Remove, and in any case it runs first the product's uninstall. – harrymc – 2017-08-04T11:16:16.027
@Ramhound Like harrymc says: Revo runs the program's own uninstaller, and then cleans up after it. – Joris Groosman – 2017-08-04T11:17:29.960
@harrymc Except that's what the "uninstall" button within Add/Remove Programs does. I have had experience trying to remove a broken application, I attempted to use both Revo and Uninstall, the end result was the same process. The uninstaller would run, fail, in both cases – Ramhound – 2017-08-04T11:22:01.953
@Ramhound: Revo detects left-overs, both registry and files. I see it as one of my essential tools. – harrymc – 2017-08-04T11:23:55.980