Malware affects millions of users worldwide. In many cases it can be removed without difficulty, but sometimes it manages to take down its victims, including the very antivirus programs that tried to defend the system. An antivirus with flaws is as good as none, so ESET has released its AV Remover, which eliminates the remnants of several antivirus and antimalware programs, simplifying their reinstallation.
We have all experienced the nightmare of antivirus solutions so deficient that they need an external uninstaller to purge their remnants (yes, I'm looking at you, Symantec). Developers argue they must monitor every aspect of the system to increase security, but with that mindset, the remedy can be worse than the disease. At the same time, many malware variants are specially designed to attack and disable antivirus and antimalware. If the bug of the moment strikes in the right place, restoring that antivirus's functions can be more problematic than it appears.
That's when ESET AV Remover steps in. Obviously, ESET's idea is to eliminate antivirus programs to avoid any conflict when the user installs one of the company's solutions. Having two security options on the same computer carries the potential for a "digital civil war" between them, and no user wants that. ESET AV Remover can remove a wide array of programs, including variants of AVG, Avira, Bitdefender, Comodo, F-Secure, Kaspersky, McAfee, Panda, Sophos, Symantec, and Trend Micro, as well as previous versions of ESET's own programs like NOD32 and its Smart Security package. Compatibility varies by operating system (whether 32 or 64 bits), but at first glance, ESET AV Remover covers all the bases.
The executable takes up just over 10 megabytes; since it's a portable solution, ESET AV Remover can find a good place on any maintenance USB drive. The big question is what antivirus we install afterward. Honestly, if you've encountered malware that knocked out your security program, I think it's a good time to thank it for its services and retire it...
