Panda Antivirus and Panda Internet Security are fairly popular products that many people have enjoyed using. A customer brought in a computer the other day and needed help installing the latest version of Panda Internet Security 2009. His computer already had Panda 2008 installed and the installation for the 2009 version was failing everytime he tried to install it.
Each time he tried to install the software, it would bring up the following screen during the installation and the installation would end. The screen told us the installation failed because "traces of previous installations have been detected" on the computer. Leaving no antivirus software installed. No matter how we uninstalled or reinstalled, the same error message appeared time and again.
Any removal through the Add/Remove Programs option in the Control Panel failed, because nothing regarding Panda existed in the Add/Remove listing.
I proceeded to download automatic removal utilities from Panda Software. Listed below are the utilities I tried.
Panda 2006 Removal Utility
Panda 2007 Removal Utility
Panda 2008 Removal Utility
Panda 2009 Removal Utility
Unfortunately, running any of the above automatic removal programs STILL did not solve the problem and I was left with the "traces of a previous installation" error. A windows service called "Panda Process Protection Service" and a driver called "Panda Process Protection Driver" remained in the system and refused to be deleted.
Then I stumbled upon a Panda Security Utility that did the trick. If you are experiencing similar issues, please give this procedure a try.
1) Download the PandaSecurityUtility and save it to your desktop
2) Once the file is downloaded, double-click on it to run. For Windows Vista users, you'll want to right-click on the file and click Run as Administrator so the program has the correct permissions to uninstall the software.
3) When the utility finishes, search the computer for the file C:\Windows\RAVTC.tmp and delete it if it exists.
4) Now reset the Winsock catalog by following these directions:
* Click on Start, Run
* Type CMD and press Enter
* On the black screen, type the following command and press Enter
netsh winsock reset catalog
* Type Exit and press Enter to close the command prompt
5) Restart the computer
6) Install Panda software (this time it should work)
What began as a simple uninstall/reinstall job turned into about 4 hours of trouble, however at last the problem was solved. Hopefully, this information will save you time and headache if you run into the same type of problem.
How to Remove Panda Antivirus
What is the Malicious Software Removal Tool?
In early 2005, Microsoft started releasing a software product called the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal
Tool. Its a monthly update released on the second Tuesday of each month (Patch Tuesday) to help scan user's computers
and remove viruses and malware. MRT uses a signature database they update on a monthly basis. Because this database does not have virus signatures and patterns for EVERY virus in the wild, its meant to just help prevent the infection and spread of the most prevalent issues. For this reason, you should still run antivirus software on your computer even though the Malicious Software Removal Tool is being run on your computer.
Normally, this removal tool is downloaded via Windows Update and runs silently in the background to check for infections on the computer. It runs a quickscan for the worst infections, but what if you would like to use the removal tool to run a more thorough scan of your computer. We'll show you how to manually start the MSRT and how to run a thorough scan for problems.
How to Run the Malicious Software Removal Tool Manually
Follow the steps below to open MSRT and change the default settings.
1) Click on Start, Run
2) Type MRT and Press Enter
3) You'll be presented with the following screen, click on the Next button
4) Normally, the removal tool runs the Quick Scan, but for more thorough results, choose FULL SCAN and click Next
5) Now the Malicious Software Removal Tool will scan your entire hard drive for infections and problems.
6) Once the scan is completed, you should see the following screen if your computer is free of infection.
7) If you click on the View Detailed Results of the Scan option on the Results page you should see which viruses, worms, and trojans the removal tool scanned for and if an infection was found.
8) Click Finish on the Scan Results page to exit the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool
Log File Results
Whether you manually run the removal tool or it runs automatically when downloaded from Windows Updates, you may want to view the scan results log to see what it scanned for and what it found. The log file (mrt.log) will be found in the Windows\Debug folder. If you are running Windows XP or Windows Vista, this file is probably located at
c:\windows\debug\mrt.log
Follow the instructions below to open it.
1) Click on Start, Run
2) Type the following and Press Enter
notepad c:\windows\debug\mrt.log
3) The log file will open in Windows Notepad. Each scan will log its results in the file. If you had an infected file, you will see something like the following in the log file.
Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool v1.33, September 2007
Started On Sat Sep 15 21:41:52 2007
Extended Scan Results
----------------
->Scan ERROR: resource file://C:\pagefile.sys (code 0x00000020 (32))
Found virus: Backdoor:Win32/Nuwar.B!ini in file://C:\Documents and Settings\Mark\spooldr.ini
Found virus: Backdoor:Win32/Nuwar.B!ini in file://C:\Documents and Settings\Mark\Desktop\Virus Info\spooldr.ini
Found virus: Trojan:Win32/Tibs.DC in file://C:\System Volume Information\_restore{3C8729AD-DC07-4E82-8FC5-363FFE9EB86D}\RP14\A0020913.exe
4) Click on the X in the upper right corner to close Notepad
More Information
For more information on the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool visit their help page or click on the following link to go to the home page for the removal tool
How to Remove Antivir Antivirus
Another great free antivirus program is called Antivir. It does not take up a lot of system resources and is excellent at quarantining viruses and other nastyware. However, like all other antivirus products, there may be times when you need to uninstall or remove it. Corrupted virus signatures have caused it not to update properly, or it wont start properly and it needs to be reinstalled. Maybe corrupted files are causing 100% CPU usage. These and other issues can cause you to uninstall and reinstall your antivirus product.
Whatever the reason for needing to uninstall Antivir, I've listed the best procedure for doing this below:
Normal Uninstall
The first thing you want to try is to locate AntiVir in the Add/Remove Control Panel and try to remove it from there. Follow these instructions to accomplish this.
1) Click on Start, Control Panel
2) Open Add/Remove Programs
3) Find AntiVir in the Programs list and highlight it
4) Click Remove and follow the prompts to uninstall Antivir
What if Windows Security Center Shows AntiVir or other muliple Antivirus products installed
One quirk with AntiVir causes it to still show up in the Windows Security Center even when its been uninstalled properly. If this is the case, please refer to this article to resolve it.
http://www.pchell.com/support/multiple_antivirus_in_security_center.shtml
Using the AntiVir Registry Cleaner
If for some reason the normal uninstall does not work, you may have to download AntiVir's registry cleaner utility to remove all traces of it from the registry and allow you to reinstall it.
1) Click on the following link and download the AntiVir Registry Cleaner to your desktop
http://dl.antivir.de/down/windows/registrycleaner.zip
2) Create a folder on your desktop called Antivir and Unzip the file to your desktop
3) Double-click on the file called RegCleaner.exe to run it
4) Since the program is German, you'll have to click on the button called "keys asulesen" to search the registry for any issues. Then place checkmarks next to the registry entries you wish to delete.
5) Finally, click on the button called "loschen" to delete the keys
6) Restart your computer and try to reinstall your antivirus
How to Remove AVG Free Antivirus
AVG Antivirus by Grisoft is a great free antivirus program
that I recommend to many people. However, there are times when it must be uninstalled. Corrupted virus signatures have caused it not to update properly, or it wont start properly and it needs to be reinstalled. If a new email client has been installed after AVG, you'll need to uninstall it and reinstall
it so this email program is protected.
Whatever the reason for needing to uninstall AVG, I've listed the best procedure for doing this below:
Normal Uninstall
The first thing you want to try is to locate AVG in the Add/Remove Control Panel and try to remove it from there. Follow these instructions to accomplish this.
1) Click on Start, Control Panel
2) Open Add/Remove Programs
3) Find AVG in the Programs list and highlight it
4) Click Remove and follow the prompts to uninstall AVG Free
Is There an Uninstall Utility?
Unfortunately, at this time Grisoft, the maker of AVG, does not have an uninstall utility for AVG. The recommended procedure is a time consuming one. You must download the latest version of AVG from the website, and then run it.
1) Click on the following link and download AVG to your desktop
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/5390/us/frt/0
2) Double-click on the downloaded file to run it
3) AVG will present you with three options to choose from. Choose the Uninstall option to completely uninstall AVG
Add/Remove Components - choose if you want to add/remove some components or reinstall the entire AVG program
Repair installation - this option repairs or reinstalls missing or damaged components of AVG
Uninstall - this option removes the AVG program from your PC
4) Once the uninstall has completed, restart your computer. You can then proceed to install another antivirus or install AVG again.
How to Remove Avast Antivirus
Even though Avast is one of my favorite antivirus products, there have been times when I've needed to uninstall or remove it. Corrupted virus signatures have caused it not to update properly, or it wont start properly and it needs to be reinstalled. Maybe corrupted files are causing 100% CPU usage. These and other issues can cause you to uninstall and reinstall your antivirus product.
Whatever the reason for needing to uninstall Avast, I've listed the best procedure for doing this below:
Normal Uninstall
The first thing you want to try is to locate Avast in the Add/Remove Control Panel and try to remove it from there. Follow these instructions to accomplish this.
1) Click on Start, Control Panel
2) Open Add/Remove Programs
3) Find Avast in the Programs list and highlight it
4) Click Remove and follow the prompts to uninstall Avast
Using the Avast Uninstall Utility
If for some reason the normal uninstall does not work, you may have to download Avast's own Uninstall Utility.
1) Click on the following link and download the Avast Uninstall Utility to your desktop
http://files.avast.com/files/eng/aswclear.exe
2) Double-click on the file ASWCLEAR and run it
3) You should see the following screen
4) Click on the ellipsis 
Be very careful which folder you choose since whatever folder is chosen will be completely deleted from your computer.
5) Once the uninstall has completed, reboot your computer. You may then try to reinstall it or another antivirus.
If for some reason the uninstall utility does not remove it, you may have to reinstall a newer version of Avast to then proceed to uninstall or you may have an issue where multiple antivirus programs are showing in the Windows Security Center.
Download the latest version of Avast
How to Remove Norton Antivirus and Security Products
One of the most frequently asked questions I get is how to uninstall Norton or McAfee antivirus and security products. Maybe its because trial versions of these products were preinstalled when the customer purchased the computer, or maybe you want to uninstall Norton Antivirus and install another antivirus software product.
I've even received mail from computer users trying to install an antivirus product and they are told to uninstall Norton before they can proceed even though it appears Symantec products are not running on the system.
I'm also amazed at how many viruses attack Norton and Symantec products especially and disable them so they can wreck havoc on the computer.
My personal experience with Norton Antivirus has been mostly positive. However, each successive version seems to incorporate more functionality but it gets slower and slower. Although I wrote an article on how to speed up the windows boot process, one of the best ways always is to uninstall Norton and install a free antivirus product. I've also experienced situations where internet access is completely shut down and many times uninstalling all of the Norton Antivirus or firewall products on the computer fixes this issue.
Follow the instructions below to safely remove Norton and Symantec security products including their antivirus and firewall from your computer
Removal through the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel
In many cases, you can simply remove Norton products through the Add/Remove Control Panel.
1) Click on Start, Click on Control Panel
2) Double-click on Add or Remove Programs
3) Find the Symantec or Norton product listed and click on it. It should look similar to the following
4) Click on Remove
5) You'll see a screen similar to the one below. Click the Remove All button to start the removal process.
6) Once the removal process completes, you'll be asked to restart the computer. Go ahead and reboot at that time.
7) After rebooting Norton should be removed from your system.
If for some reason, the normal uninstall does not remove it, I recommend following the automatic uninstall instructions below to remove any leftover Symantec or Norton security products.
Removing Norton Automatically
Norton has created an automatic removal program to remove the following software products when the normal removal methods fail. Warning: if you use ACT! or WinFAX, back up those databases and uninstall those products as well. The removal tool will remove the following software products from your computer.
- Norton AntiSpam 2004 - 2005
- Norton Antivirus 2003 - 2007.2
- Norton Ghost 2003, 9.0, and 10.0
- Norton GoBack 3.1 - 4.2
- Norton Internet Security 2003 - 2007.2
- Norton Password Manager
- Norton Personal Firewall 2003 - 2006
- Norton SystemWorks 2003 - 2007
- Norton Confidential Online 2007
- Norton Internet Security 2007 Add-on Pack
- Norton Save and Restore 1.0 - 2.0
- Norton 360
- Click on the following link to download the Norton removal tool
ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/removal_tools/Norton_Removal_Tool.exe
- Click Save and save the file to your desktop
- Close all Norton Application windows you may have open, and double-click on Norton_Removal_Tool.exe to start the removal tool. Windows Vista users will have to right-click on the file and select "Run as Administrator"
- After the removal tool finishes, you should be prompted to restart your computer.
- Once the computer restarts, your Norton product should be uninstalled.
- Open My Computer, double-click on Drive C
- Double-click on Program Files
- Look for any Norton or Symatec product folders that remain. Right-click on them and choose Delete. Also look in the Program Files\Common Files for the Symantec Shared folder and delete it
- Close My Computer and other folders.
How to Remove McAfee(uninstall)
One of the most frequently asked questions I get is how to uninstall McAfee or Norton antivirus and security products. Maybe its because trial versions of these products were preinstalled when the customer purchased the computer, or maybe you want to uninstall McAfee and install another antivirus software product.
I've even received mail from computer users trying to install an antivirus product and they are told to uninstall McAfee before they can proceed even though it appears McAfee is not running on the system.
I'm also amazed at how many viruses attack McAfee and Norton products especially and disable them so they can wreck havoc on the computer.
One other interesting tidbit, during the research for this article. I ran the latest Hijackthis program, now owned by Trend Micro. Version 2 of Hijackthis has a few very nice features and I expected to get a list of all the files McAfee was running in the background. Instead I received the following message:
| McAfee blocked Hijackthis_v2 and tells me it contains a virus. Strange since I've used Hijackthis on a daily basis and none of my antivirus products have ever alerted me to the presence of a virus in it. McAfee claims Hijackthis is infected with the W32/Generic.worm!p2p, which according to their virus database is a generic detection of worms that can propagate through P2P file-sharing software (Kazaa, Gnutella, eDonkey, Bearshare, Shareaza, Gnucleus, Limewire, Morpheus, Grokster, etc.). I don't have any of these P2P file sharing programs installed on the computer and use HijackThis on it regularly. Just to be sure, I ran the Hijackthis_v2 file through several online file scanners and none of them found a virus in the file. This makes me question the accuracy of McAfee's virus database and file signatures. Although you are welcome to draw your own conclusions about McAfee, that false positive was enough for me to remove it from my computer and install a free antivirus instead. Follow the instructions below to safely remove McAfee security products including their antivirus and firewall from your computer. |  |
Removal through the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel
In many cases, you can simply remove McAfee products through the Add/Remove Control Panel.
1) Click on Start, Click on Control Panel
2) Double-click on Add or Remove Programs
3) Find the Network Associates or McAfee product listed and click on it. It should look similar to the following
4) Click on Change/Remove
5) You'll see a screen similar to the one below. Place a checkmark next to each McAfee product you wish to remove and click Remove
6) You'll see a warning message like this one, click on the Remove button
7) .The removal process will start showing each program being removed, then it will ask to restart the computer. Go ahead and reboot after the removal process is finished.
8) After rebooting McAfee should be removed from your system.
If for some reason, the normal uninstall does not remove it, I recommend following the automatic uninstall instructions below to remove McAfee security products.
Removing McAfee Automatically
McAfee has created an automatic removal program to remove the following software products when the normal removal methods fail. It does not work with Windows 98 or Windows ME. The removal tool deletes all traces of the following products in Windows 2000 Pro, Windows XP Home and Professional, and Windows Vista.
- McAfee Security Center
- McAfee VirusScan
- McAfee Personal Firewall Plus
- McAfee Privacy Service
- McAfee SpamKiller
- McAfee Wireless Network Security
- McAfee SiteAdvisor
- McAfee Data Backup
- McAfee Network Manager
- McAfee Easy Network
- McAfee AntiSpyware
- Click on the following link to download the MCPR removal tool
http://download.mcafee.com/products/licensed/cust_support_patches/MCPR.exe - Click Save and save the file to your desktop
- Close all McAfee Application windows you may have open, and double-click on MCPR.exe to start the removal tool. Windows Vista users will have to right-click on the file and select "Run as Administrator"
- After the removal tool finishes, you should be prompted to restart your computer.
- Once the computer restarts, your McAfee product should be uninstalled.
- If for any reason there appears a red X during the uninstall, go to the following location for more advanced uninstall instructions involving the registry.
http://tools.mcafeehelp.com/doc.php?siteid=1&docid=419397
- Open My Computer, double-click on Drive C
- Double-click on Program Files
- Look for any McAfee product folders that remain. Right-click on them and choose Delete
- Close My Computer and other folders
