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.

How to Remove Norton or McAfee From Your Computer

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.

1. Uninstall the McAfee or Norton Through Windows Settings

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:

  1. Head to the Start menu search bar, type in 'settings', and select the best match.
  2. From there, select the Apps and find the McAfee or Norton app.
  3. Now, click on your app and select Uninstall.
installed apps on 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.

2. Use a Third-Party Uninstaller Tool

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:

  1. Download and install the MCPR tool.
  2. Launch the tool and follow the on-screen instructions from the uninstallation wizard until you get to the uninstallation process.
  3. Finally, when the uninstallation is finished, click on Restart for changes to take effect.

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:

  1. Download the free Norton antivirus uninstallation tool and install it.
  2. When you are done, click on the Remove & Reinstall button.
  3. From there, click on Advanced Options and select Remove Only.
  4. Then, click on Continue and select Restart Now.

Your Norton antivirus suite and all its old files should be removed by your next boot-up.

3. Factory Reset

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.

factory reset on windows

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 McAfee Antivirus for Your Windows PC

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.