MacAfee anti virus left overs

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i bought a new computer  that came with a MacAfee trial that i promptly uninstalled. I just noticed that there are 4 processes  listed in task manager that are still running. it will not let ne stop or remove them. i tried running the MacAfee removal tool and it wont run. i get a error message that it times out and cannot connect to the server. any ideas? W11 pro 22h2

barry

Barry
Windows 11 v22H2

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I had a similar problem with a MacAfee trial when I bought a new Windows 7 PC many years ago. In frustration, I decided to ‘nuke’ MacAfee to get rid of it following what I thought, had been an uninstallation. I had Revo Uninstaller on my PC at the time (free version), so used the ‘Forced Uninstall’ function on that, typed in the program’s exact name (i.e. MacAfee), let it do a registry backup and create a system restore point, and ticked what was highlighted in bold type for removal (after doing a double check of the scan results first).

Once that was done, I used the Everything search program to check for any leftovers via its search box using the word ‘MacAfee’ and deleted anything appropriate. Then a final manual check on C drive for anything MacAfee in Program Files, Program Data and in Users/your name/Appdata and its subfolders. Then did a restart of the PC. It was a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but it did the trick at the time.

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Barry

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I used the Antivirus Removal Tool on the OlderGeeks website to remove a McAfee free-trial program that came on my then-new Dell Inspiron 5284. It it fully described in an AW Newsletter <here>. In the article there a link to the exact place at the OlderGeeks website to download it. The latest version there is 2023.06 last updated June 27, 2023.

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Barry

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WCHS wrote:

I used the Antivirus Removal Tool on the OlderGeeks website to remove a McAfee free-trial program that came on my then-new Dell Inspiron 5284

Have you scanned your PC after running Antivirus Removal Tool that McAfee has been totally erased from your system (orphan folders, appdata, registry…) ?

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The Antivirus Removal Tool does that, in a second stage, but I also scanned my system myself as well.

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well this is beginning to p*** me off. i found 2 MacAfee folders on the c drive that appear to have the files i see in task manager but once again it will not let me delete or change the permissions. there has got to be a way to get rid of this.

Barry
Windows 11 v22H2

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FWIW I’m sure there’s something somewhere (dll, exe) that prevents file deletion as an AV security measure, just can’t remember where..

Check over the following for anything McAfee related to remove:

startup config
services
task scheduler

Restart PC then check/ kill McAfee processes and continue to remove remnants, files first then the folder (my own experience of hierarchy habits)

Your registry will have some McAfee references, leave or hunt out, your decision.

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE

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Barry wrote:

the files i see in task manager

Which “files’ you see in Task Manager ?

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Barry
Windows 11 v22H2

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Hi Barry:

Have you run the McAfee Consumer Product Removal (MCPR) tool?  I used this tool to remove remnants of the 1-year trial of the McAfee LiveSafe antivirus that was pre-installed on my Dell laptop, and you can still run this tool after you’ve performed a “regular” uninstall from Control Panel | Programs | Programs and Features.  If I recall the MCPR tool left behind a few stray registry entries but this tool should remove anything that would cause a conflict with another antivirus program.

EDIT:

Sorry, just noticed you posted that this tool will not run on your system.  You might want to try the suggestion in that McAfee support article and see if the MCPR tool runs correctly after you temporarily enable the Super Administrator account.
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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3448 * Firefox v117.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23080.2006-1.1.23080.2005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.2.281-1.0.2131 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279

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satrow

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Over time, this has worked well for me cleaning up various scrap crap including MacAfee.

https://www.malwarebytes.com/adwcleaner

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Barry

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thanks to all however nothing seems work. even after enabling super adnin. i still cant the remove tool to run. seems like its a MacAfee problem since it keeps timing out.

 

Barry
Windows 11 v22H2

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Have you tried running it in safe mode? I always right-click the file, check “unblock” at this file came from another computer and click apply. Then right-click the file and choose run as administrator

Never Say Never

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At least you have an image backup to restore from and try again with the method in #2588123

No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created IT- AE

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i found 2 MacAfee folders on the c drive that appear to have the files

I’m not sure if the “super admin acct” is one and the same as my suggestion below.  If so please disregard.  Also my usage has been strictly with Win 10.

Several times I have used the built-in admin account to avoid / eliminate all frustration with file and folder permissions.

From a admin CMD windows enter:

net user administrator /active:yes

and press enter.  Restart your computer.  You have an additional user admin acct.

I know you have an image backup things go wrong.

Sign off your regular user account and open the now active admin account.  From “This PC” as a backdoor, navigate to your regular user account and to the location of the MacAfee files/folders you want to delete and delete them in the usual way.  You should have zero permissions issues.  If you do, it’s a new one on me.

When done, remember to:

net user administrator /active:no

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Barry wrote:

i bought a new computer that came with a MacAfee trial that i promptly uninstalled. I just noticed that there are 4 processes listed in task manager that are still running. it will not let ne stop or remove them.

Hi Barry:

What are the names of the four McAfee processes that are running in your Task Manager?

If you haven’t already done so, disable the Fast Startup power option in Windows (see Option # 2 of Brink’s tutorial Turn On or Off Fast Startup in Windows 11 in the ElevenForums) and re-boot a few times. Fast Startup (also known as hybrid boot-up / hybrid shutdown) is enabled by default in Win 10 and Win 11 but it can interfere with the loading of services and drivers of third-party software at boot-up and cause a variety of unexpected problems and glitches.

Once Fast Startup is disabled try the following:

• Go to Control Panel | Programs | Programs and Features to make sure all McAfee programs (e.g., McAfee Virtual Technician, McAfee Web Advisor, etc.) have been uninstalled.
• Go to Settings | Apps | Apps and Features and uninstall any McAfee UWP (Microsoft Store) apps.  ***
• Go to Start | Windows Administrative Tools | Services and ensure no McAfee services are listed. If found, right-click and choose Properties, click “Stop” if the service is still running, change the Startup Type to “Disabled” and choose OK to prevent the service from starting automatically at boot-up.
• Re-boot and confirm no McAfee services are running.
• Go to Task Manager | Processes tab and look for any running McAfee processes. If found, right-click and choose “End Task” to see if this works after the services have been stopped.

Then see if you can run the McAfee Consumer Product Removal (MCPR) tool after logging in to a user account with Administrator rights (or from the Super Administrator account mentioned in my post # 2588123).

*** NOTE: You must log in to Windows with each user account you’ve created and when you look for any McAfee UWP  (Microsoft Store) apps at Settings | Apps | Apps and Features. Manually uninstalling a UWP app from Settings | Apps | Apps and Features only removes the app for the user that is logged in.

*** I’ll post another reply shortly about how I cleaned the remnants of McAfee LiveSafe off my Dell laptop.  Manually uninstalling UWP (Microsoft Store) apps from Settings | Apps | Apps and Features usually leaves behind remnants in the hidden C:\Program Files\WindowsApps folder so you might want to use a tool like Dism++ to uninstall them.
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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3448 * Firefox v117.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23080.2006-1.1.23080.2005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.2.281-1.0.2131 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279

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Hi Barry:

If the Malwarebytes AdwCleaner tool that TechTango suggested in post # 2588185 can’t clean the McAfee remnants from your system then here’s an outline what I did on my Win 10 laptop. Perhaps something I mention will point you in the right direction.

McAfee LiveSafe v16.x was installed at the factory on my Dell laptop in 2019 and I used it for a few months before I uninstalled it from the Control Panel and ran the Malwarebytes Consumer Products Removal (MCPR) tool in Jan 2020. Here are a few images I captured back in 2020 while uninstalling from the Control Panel.

After uninstalling all McAfee-related programs and running the McAfee Consumer Product Removal (MCPR) tool the free Belarc Advisor utility continued to detect McAfee – Personal Security version 2.1.68.0 and McAfee – Security version 1.3.0.0 in my list of installed programs (see attached image) and TreeSize Free showed remnants of these programs in the hidden C:\Program Files\WindowsApps (see attached image). I used Revo Uninstaller Free (Windows Apps tab) to remove a UWP (Microsoft Store) app called McAfee Personal Security v2.1.68.0, which cleared the McAfee entries in Belarc Advisor. I then wiped the remnants in the hidden C:\Program Files\WindowsApps with the free Dism++ utility [Utilities | Appxs | Provisioned Appx tab *** – see geekdom’s instructions in post # 2554921 of my 27-Apr-2023 topic Can’t Remove Remnants of Some Old UWP (Microsoft Store) Apps].

*** NOTE: If you try Dism++ look for remnants of McAfee check both the User Appx tab and Provisioned Appx tab (see attached image, which shows the Provisioned Appx tab after McAfee remnants were removed).

*** NOTE: I suspect that I could have used Dism++ to remove the McAfee Personal Security v2.1.68.0 UWP app without running Revo Uninstaller Free first, but I didn’t know about Dism++ until geekdom recommended I try this utility.
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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3448 * Firefox v117.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23080.2006-1.1.23080.2005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.2.281-1.0.2131 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279 * Belarc Advisor v12.0.0 * TreeSize Free Portable v4.7.0.522 * Revo Uninstaller Free v2.4.5 * Dism++ v10.1.1002.1

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satrow

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Barry wrote:

i bought a new computer that came with a MacAfee trial that i promptly uninstalled. I just noticed that there are 4 processes listed in task manager that are still running. it will not let ne stop or remove them.

lmacri wrote:

What are the names of the four McAfee processes that are running in your Task Manager?

Hi Barry:

… and further to my question in post # 2588327, can you confirm that you actually installed and activated your trial version of the McAfee antivirus? If you never created a McAfee account and used this McAfee antivirus for real-time protection it’s always possible you inadvertently clicked something to start the installation of the trial version and then aborted the installation before it could run to completion.

If the executables you are seeing in Task Manager are related to an unfinished installation of the trial version of your McAfee antivirus and are not actually remnants left behind by a Control Panel uninstall that might explain why the McAfee Consumer Product Removal (MCPR) tool times out when it tries to connect to the backend McAfee servers.

Also, are you seeing timeout or connection errors with any other software?  If yes, have you already installed this month’s Sept 2023 Patch Tuesday updates, including KB5030219 (OS Build 22621.2283) and the KB5031217 Cumulative Update for .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.8.1 for Windows 11 version 22H2 ?
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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3448 * Firefox v117.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23080.2006-1.1.23080.2005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.2.281-1.0.2131 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279

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i have marked this as resolved even though the issue is still there. i had truly thought this would be a simple fix. thanks to everyone for their help.

Barry
Windows 11 v22H2

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Barry,

Make sure you don’t have any other McAfee stuff like web advisor causing issues. Then you might consider re-installing McAfee and using Revo and/or the MCPR tool. You may have had a glitch when you uninstalled.

I usually use Revo, reboot, then reboot again and run the MCPR tool, sometimes even twice for good measure. I have never had it complain about not connecting to server, even when run offline.

Good luck!

Never Say Never

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Barry wrote:

i have marked this as resolved even though the issue is still there. i had truly thought this would be a simple fix.

Hi Barry:

The fix normally isn’t that hard. It’s unusual to have multiple McAfee executables still loading at boot-up if you uninstalled all your McAfee products from Control Panel | Programs | Programs and Features, and just as odd that the McAfee Consumer Product Removal (MCPR) tool won’t run on your system.

If you want to try the MCPR tool one more time, I found a 2019 topic MCPR Not Removing Product in the McAfee forum about a user who couldn’t get the MCPR tool to run to completion [in their case the tool would repeatedly get stuck while trying to remove MFP (McAfee Family Protection)] and the solution was to run the MCPR tool from Safe Mode as follows:

1. Boot into Safe Mode with Networking (this should start your system with minimal Windows system files and an internet connection and prevent third-party software like McAfee from loading into memory).
2. Manually delete any McAfee folder found at C:\Program Files, C:\Program Files\Common Files, C:\Program Files (x86), C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files and C:\ProgramData (a hidden folder – you can view hidden files and folders by temporarily enabling the Hidden Files checkbox on the View tab of File Explorer to see C:\ProgramData).
3. Run the MCPR tool (I’d suggest you save a fresh copy of this tool on your Windows desktop before booting into Safe Mode, and then right-click and choose “Run as Administrator” to run).
4. Re-boot normally. If necessary, run the MCPR tool again after booting in “normal” mode.

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If you can’t get the MCPR tool to run from Safe Mode, just be aware that if the executables shown in your Task Manager are from a McAfee antivirus and not from some other McAfee product like McAfee WebAdvisor or McAfee Personal Security then they could conflict with your current antivirus (i.e., Microsoft Defender or whatever third-party antivirus you’re using now) and cause it to fail or throw an error. If you change your mind and decide you want to try and clean these McAfee executables off your system then be sure to let us know the names of the .exe files shown in Task Manager, which might tell us what McAfee product they’re associated with.

When I removed the McAfee LiveSafe v16 antivirus from my own Win 10 laptop the MCPR tool was all I needed to remove any stray McAfee registry entries and files that could have interfered with my Microsoft Defender antivirus.  I only performed the extra cleanup I described in post # 2588330 using Revo Uninstaller Free and Dism++ to remove the last remnants the McAfee Personal Security UWP app (available <here> on the Microsoft Store) because I was annoyed that Belarc Advisor was still finding traces of this McAfee app on my system.
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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.3448 * Firefox v117.0.1 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.23080.2006-1.1.23080.2005 * Malwarebytes Premium v4.6.2.281-1.0.2131 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7279

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Since noting else has worked   i will do a clean install. i will let you know.

Barry
Windows 11 v22H2

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it took a clean install bur MacAfee is gone.

Barry
Windows 11 v22H2

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