How do I delete all traces of Kaspersky?

Do you want to try out other antivirus options uninstalling Kaspersky? Or is it making your computer sluggish? Whatever your reason is, you want to remove Kaspersky, and this is the article where you will find the most effective methods.

Let me tell you; you don’t have to jump through any hoops to do this. I have even provided the solution in case you encounter any errors.

So, stick with me as I walk you step-by-step through the ways you can delete Kaspersky from your system.

How to Completely Remove Kaspersky From Windows

Kaspersky Lab is one of the well-known security software developers. They provide not only antivirus but also antimalware, internet security, cloud security, etc. And their customer feedback is also good.

But even after being one of the best security providers, their products are not without flaws. You might want to delete Kaspersky because it’s using too much of your resources, so your PC becomes sluggish. Or maybe you are suspicious about the fact that they really might be stealing your data! There had been allegations against Kaspersky, but there was no evidence.

Uninstalling and removing Kaspersky entirely from your windows is not a difficult task. On top of that, there are multiple ways to do this. So you can choose from whichever one you like.

Here are the methods to remove Kaspersky completely from Windows:

 1. Use the Control Panel

You can remove Kaspersky from WIndows from the control panel just like any other windows software. It is the easiest method to follow.

Here are the steps to uninstall Kaspersky from the control panel:

Here are the steps to remove all the redundant files Kaspersky left on your PC:

• Press the Windows+R key to open the Run box.
• Type regedit and hit Enter.
• Select Yes from the prompt.
• Click Edit at the top of the window and select Find.
• Enter Kaspersky in the search box and click Find Next.
• Remove all entries detected.
• Restart your PC.

2. Uninstall Using the Kaspersky Removal Tool – kavremover

Kaspersky provides an official removal tool- kavremover, for uninstalling Kaspersky Lab products from your PC. You can download kavremover from Kaspersky’s official website and use it to remove their softwares.

Here are the steps to follow:

3. Use a Third-Party Software

In the above methods, you have to clean up the junk manually. If you want to save yourself this hassle, you can use third-party uninstaller tools to remove Kaspersky and clear the redundant files it lefts on your system.

You can use many softwares you like, such as IObit Uninstaller Free, Revo Uninstaller, etc.

I will show you how you can remove Kaspersky using the IObit Uninstaller Free just as an example.

Here are the steps to follow:

• Download and install IObit Uninstaller Free.
• Open up the application.
• Select Programs from the left panel.
• Scroll and select the Kaspersky software you want to remove.
• Check the option Automatically remove residual files to clean up the leftovers.
• Select Uninstall.
• Wait for the uninstallation and the cleanup to complete.
• Restart your system.

How to Remove Kaspersky From macOS

Here are the methods to remove Kaspersky from your macOS:

Unlike Windows, in macOS’s version of the Kaspersky softwares, they provide an in-app option to uninstall the product. You can easily remove the software from inside the app.

Here are the steps to uninstall Kaspersky through the application menu:

• Quit Kaspersky. For this, click on the Kaspersky icon in the Toolbar and select Quit.
• Open up the specific Kaspersky application you want to remove, e.g., Kaspersky Internet Security, Kaspersky Security Cloud.
• In the upper left corner of the screen, select Help and then Support.
• Select Uninstall in the prompted window.
  
• Enter the login credentials for your user account and click OK.
• Wait until the uninstallation is complete and click Quit.

Here are the steps to clean the redundant files:

• Open Finder and press the Shift+Command+G shortcut to open the search panel.
• Navigate the Library folder. For this, type ~/Library in the search field and click on Go.
• Check folders with different types of temporary files and remove all items associated with Kaspersky. Check first of all the following list of subfolders:

~/Library/Application Scripts

~/Library/Caches

~/Library/Saved Application State

~/Library/Group Containers

• Empty the trash bin.
• Restart your Mac.

As you can see, there are a lot of files the Kaspersky left on your PC. Removing all of them makes sure that there is nothing Kaspersky has in your PC.

2. Uninstall through the Uninstallation Wizard

You can also remove the software by using the uninstaller that Kaspersky officially provides to remove their products from macOS.

Here are the steps to uninstall Kaspersky through the uninstallation wizard:

• Quit Kaspersky. For this, click on the Kaspersky icon in the Toolbar and select Quit.
• Download the 1.0.150uninstaller.zip archive.
• Extract the files from it.
• Run the file 1.0.150uninstaller.dmg.
• Double-click the software you want to uninstall, e.g., Uninstall Kaspersky Internet Security.
• Select Delete/Uninstall from the window.
• Enter the login credentials for your user account and click OK.

3. Uninstall Via Third Party Softwares

Uninstalling software via good third-party software has an advantage. The uninstaller uninstalls the app and automatically finds all of the apps’ service files and the removed app’s leftovers. This saves you from the hassle of removing the junk files manually.

App Cleaner & Uninstaller is a program designed to uninstall applications from Mac entirely and correctly.

Here are the steps to uninstall Kaspersky using the third-party app:

• Download App Cleaner & Uninstaller.
• Launch App Cleaner & Uninstaller.
• Select the Kaspersky product you want to uninstall from the list of scanned applications.
• Check all the options, e.g., Executables, Cache, Library, to altogether remove them.
• Click the Remove
• Confirm the Kaspersky uninstallation.

Why Isn’t Kaspersky Uninstalling From My System?

The main reason you might not be able to uninstall is that Kaspersky is still running in the background while you are trying to uninstall it. Make sure you close all the running processes of Kaspersky before attempting to uninstall the softwares.

Here are the steps to kill all Kaspersky processes running on macOS:

• Press Cmd + Option/Alt + Esc at the same time.
• Navigate to the Force Quit Applications interface.
• Locate all Kaspersky processes.
• Terminate them with the Force Quit button.

Here are the steps to kill all Kaspersky processes running on Windows:

• Press Ctrl + Alt + Del, choose to enter the Task Manager
• Locate all Kaspersky processes.
• Right-click on the processes and select End Task.
• Repeat the previous step for each of the running Kaspersky processes.

Now that you have successfully force closed all the Kaspersky processes running in the background, you can easily uninstall and remove Kaspersky software by following the methods mentioned in the previous sections.

Conclusion

Now you know how to remove Kaspersky entirely from your system, be it Windows or macOS. Hopefully, you have uninstalled them successfully.

If you are stuck somewhere or getting any weird error, write about it in the comment section. I will get back to you with the solution.