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Question from Dagan: I’ve been using Norton 360 for years, but it recently let a bunch of viruses slip through and get installed on my computer.
Norton removes a bunch of viruses every time I run it but they just keep coming right back.
I want to ditch Norton and install Malwarebytes Premium but I know you’re only supposed to run one antivirus app at a time.
The problem I’m having is I can’t seem to get all the Norton 360 files uninstalled so that I can install Malwarebytes. The Windows thingy that uninstalls programs gets rid of some of the Norton files but some of them come right back when I reboot the computer.
How can I completely uninstall ALL the Norton files from my hard drive?
Rick’s answer: Dagan, it sounds like the viruses on your PC might have corrupted your Norton 360 installation, making it virtually impossible for the native Windows “Uninstall a program” utility to properly remove it.
Luckily, the Norton website offers a great free tool just for handling situations like this. It’s called Norton Removal Tool, and it does exactly that (and it does it quite well).
Download the Norton Removal Tool from this page and give it a try. I’ve never seen it fail to completely wipe out am installation of supported Norton software.
And by the way, Norton isn’t the only antivirus app that can be a bear to uninstall. It happens with all of them from time to time.
In case you ever need it, this post has links to the removal tools provided by over a dozen of the most popular antivirus apps.
I hope this helps, Dagan. Good luck!
Update from Dagan: The removal tool did get rid of Norton 360 and I was able to install Malwarebytes with no problems. Thanks a TON for your help!!