Tips to Uninstall Norton Anti-Virus Software

How to Uninstall Norton Anti-Virus Software. Keeping a functioning anti-virus tool installed on your computer is critical for protecting your operating system from the multitude of malicious virus programs circulating on the Internet. You may need to eventually delete the Norton anti-virus software if you want to try a different program instead. There are a variety of Norton anti-virus versions, and each is able to be removed either manually or by using the Norton automatic removal tool software.

Instructions

Manual Removal

1. Click "Start," and select "Control Panel." Click "Control Panel Home" on the left if you are currently set to the "Classic View" setting.

2. Click "Uninstall a Program," which is underneath the "Programs" heading. Scroll down to the entry for the Norton anti-virus program. Click "Name" to arrange the programs alphabetically if you have trouble locating the entry.

3. Click the Norton entry and then select "Uninstall." Click "Remove All," and then click "Next." Restart the computer after the removal process has finished.

4. Return to the Start menu and click "Computer." Navigate to the folder where you previously installed Norton. Delete the remaining folders labeled "Symantec" or "Norton."

Norton Removal Tool

5. Navigate your Web browser to the Norton removal tool Website. Click the link for the version of the Norton anti-virus program you have installed.

6. Click the "Download" link. Navigate to the folder containing the downloaded file. Double-click the removal tool executable file, which ends with the .exe extension.

7. Select "Remove All," and then select "Next." Wait for the removal tool to finish running, and then restart your computer.

8. Navigate to the folder where the Norton anti-virus program was installed. Right-click and delete any remaining folders labeled either "Norton" or "Symantec."

Tips & Warnings

If you are running Windows XP, the Control Panel option will read "Add or Remove Programs" instead instead of just "Programs."