Whatever the reason, uninstalling Avira is usually as simple as selecting "Uninstall" from the Start menu.
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For the most part, you can uninstall Avira as you would with any other program, either through the application itself or through the protocol "Add or Remove programs "in Windows. However, for a small (but persistent) percentage of users, Avira will be reinstalled again and again, no matter how many times you try to get rid of it. Forum publications suggest that this problem has been occurring since at least 2012, and it is still a problem today.
I can tell you from personal experience that if Avira will not disappear from your system, they are in a very tedious solution. That's the bad new. The good news, however, is that it is not a terribly difficult solution. Spend half an hour drinking a drink and prepare to dive into your registry to purge Avira once and for all.
To summarize, the Avira Antivirus software is not being reinstalled. Not quite. Instead, a program called Avira Launcher is reinstalling it. To simplify a complicated problem, Avira Launcher (which installs and manages other Avira programs, such as Phantom VPN and System Speedup) requires the execution of Avira Antivirus. As such, if you uninstall Antivirus but not the Initiator, it will reinstall the first one the next time you update your machine.
In theory, uninstalling the Initiator program will solve this problem. In practice, sometimes it is not like that. But at least you should try it in college before making your life more difficult than it should be.
Here is no special trick. Use the "Add or Remove Programs" function in Windows to uninstall Antivirus first, then the Initiator, which is simply called "Avira". (This is in the Control Panel, or just look it up in the Windows toolbar.) Avira can recommend that you restart your computer between each uninstall. I do not have a solid opinion about whether you should. I've had it working and it works badly in both directions.
If you restart your computer and Avira leaves, congratulations! Now you can run any other antivirus program that you like. Otherwise, stick. It's going to be a process.
Restarting your computer in safe mode used to be as simple as locking the F8 during startup and praying to Alan Turing for you to have the option to do so. In Windows 10, the process is a bit more foolproof, but also a bit more difficult.
Type "Change advanced startup options" in the search bar. Then select "Restart now." When you see a blue screen with options, select Solve problems in the middle, then Advanced options, then Start configuration. Click on Restart, then press 4 to restart in safe mode. Do not select 5 or 6; You will not need an Internet connection or the command prompt.
I know, I probably did this a thousand times. But with a little luck, this is the last time you will have to go through the process. Uninstall Antivirus and Launcher (see Step 1 if you need help to do so). Just be sure to uninstall them at once; Do not allow your computer to restart in the middle. A program like Revo Uninstaller can help you get rid of a lot of additional files, which will save you some problems in the next step.
If you used a program like Revo, this can already be done. Otherwise, getting rid of the files that Avira leaves is, if not vitally necessary, at least useful to keep the system clean. Locate the folder where you installed Avira, probably program files or program files (x86) and then delete everything. Being in safe mode should prevent any of these files from being used.
This is the least fun part of the process, but if you want Avira to disappear and not come back, it may be the most vital step. You will have to clean your registry and, unless you have some kind of sophisticated program to do it for you, you will have to do it manually. (Ironically, Avira offers a pretty good registry cleaner, but that would create more problems than it solves). Remember that drink you poured before? This would be an ideal time to start drinking.
Open the Windows registry editor by typing "regedit" in the search bar. You may want to export your record first (File, Export) just in case something goes wrong, but if you like to live dangerously, you do not have to.
Then click Edit, search and type "Avira". Every time you see a registration key with Avira, delete it.
That's it. That is the whole process. But since there are probably a few dozen Avira values in your registry, it will take some time. To save yourself a little effort, you can press F3 to automatically search for the next instance of the word.
You can also delete entire folders that are named Avira, but be very careful when doing so. If you delete a folder that contains Avira information, but it is not a specific Avira folder, you risk losing important registry information for other programs. Just use a little common sense and worry about caution. This part is more art than science.
Once you've completed your tedious task (this will probably take at least 10 minutes, if you're meticulous enough), you can restart your computer. If you have been successful, Avira will no longer be.
Otherwise, the only option I can think of is making a backup of your necessary data and reinstalling Windows 10 from scratch. It is hardly an ideal solution, but when it works poorly, Avira has been one of the most persistent programs I have found. If you end up having this option, consider installing a different antivirus set next time, or maybe give Windows Defender a try. It is much better than it used to be.
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