REMOVAL GUIDE · KASPERSKY

Kaspersky won't uninstall? When kavremover is the answer

Remove Kaspersky the standard way first: exit the application from its icon in the notification area, open Programs and Features, select the Kaspersky application and click Uninstall/Change, as Kaspersky documents. Its wizard offers to save your activation code in My Kaspersky and lets you choose which data to keep. Kavremover is Kaspersky's free tool for applications that cannot be removed completely using standard Windows tools. It is not the first step: Kaspersky says not to use it without instructions from a Technical Support specialist, and it removes licence information and all application settings along with the program. Once Kaspersky is gone, check that Microsoft Defender Antivirus or another antivirus is protecting the PC.

Updated 11 November 2026.

AT A GLANCE

Check	What it means	Reversible?
The Kaspersky application is gone from Programs and Features after a restart	The standard uninstall finished	Yes: install it again and activate with your code
Activation code saved in My Kaspersky, or written down	The wizard offers to save it, and kavremover removes licence information	You need the code to activate again
Settings exported, if you want them back	Kavremover removes all application settings; the wizard keeps only what you tick	Import them after reinstalling
Kavremover showed its success message, then a restart	Kaspersky's fallback removed the application you selected	Yes: install it again
Windows Security, Virus & threat protection, Manage providers shows an antivirus that is on	Something still protects the PC after Kaspersky is removed	Read-only check

The official way: Programs and Features, then kavremover if support says so

Kaspersky documents the standard removal for its home applications, and a separate article for kavremover. Between the two it puts its Customer Service: when a removal fails, its first instruction is to send a request with screenshots of the error and a GetSystemInfo report.

Exit Kaspersky
Right-click the Kaspersky icon in the notification area, opening the hidden icons first if it is not shown, and click Exit. Click Confirm if a confirmation window appears.
02
Open Programs and Features
Kaspersky's steps go through Control Panel, Programs and Features; pressing Windows+R and running this opens the same window. Select your Kaspersky application and click Uninstall/Change. If the application is password-protected, enter the user name and password when asked.
```
appwiz.cpl
```
cmd
Go through the wizard
Click Next. When the wizard offers to save the activation code in My Kaspersky, click Next if you are already signed in, or Save and follow the instructions. Then tick the data you want to keep: Kaspersky notes that if Operational settings of the application is left unticked, your settings are deleted. Click Next, then Remove, and Yes to restart the computer.
If the removal fails
Kaspersky's article says to submit a request to its Customer Service, with screenshots of the error if you have them and a GetSystemInfo report. It also names kavremover for applications that standard Windows tools cannot remove.
Kavremover, with its conditions
Kaspersky says not to use the tool without instructions from a Technical Support specialist, and to create a restore point before making changes to the system. Save your licence key or activation code and export your settings first. Then run kavremvr.exe, accept the End User License Agreement, enter the security code from the image, select the application and click Remove. Click OK on the success message and restart. With several Kaspersky applications installed, remove them one at a time. If the tool has problems, Kaspersky says to start the PC in Safe Mode and run it again.

What can stay behind, and what to check

The Kaspersky articles this guide is based on do not list leftover folders, services or scheduled tasks, so this guide does not name any. These read-only PowerShell commands show whether any program, service or scheduled task with Kaspersky in its name is still registered, and whether Microsoft Defender Antivirus is running: Microsoft documents that AMRunningMode shows Normal, Passive or EDR Block Mode when it is enabled. A name match is a lead, not proof.

Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*',
  'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' |
  Where-Object DisplayName -match 'Kaspersky' | Format-Table DisplayName, DisplayVersion
Get-Service -DisplayName '*Kaspersky*' | Format-Table Name, DisplayName, Status
Get-ScheduledTask |
  Where-Object { $_.TaskName -match 'Kaspersky' -or $_.TaskPath -match 'Kaspersky' } |
  Format-Table TaskPath, TaskName, State
Get-MpComputerStatus | Select-Object AMRunningMode

Usually safe to act on

The Kaspersky application still in Programs and Features after the uninstall and a restart: contact Kaspersky's Customer Service, which is its documented next step, before deleting files by hand.
A second Kaspersky application, such as Kaspersky VPN or Kaspersky Password Manager: Kaspersky lists them as separate applications, and kavremover removes them one at a time.
No antivirus shown as on under Manage providers: turn Microsoft Defender Antivirus on in Windows Security, or install the antivirus you chose instead.

Your data and settings: keep

Microsoft Defender Antivirus, its WinDefend service and MsMpEng.exe: they are what protects the PC once Kaspersky is gone.
Your activation code and your My Kaspersky account: you need the code to activate again.
Exported settings, if you plan to reinstall.

What a restore point does and does not cover

Microsoft describes restore points as snapshots of system files, installed applications, the Windows registry and system settings, taken without affecting personal data. That also means a restore point is not a backup of your files. System Protection is not enabled by default, so on a PC where nobody switched it on, a request for a restore point fails; you turn it on under Create a restore point, Configure. And when an app asks for a restore point while one made in the previous 24 hours already exists, Windows skips the new one and still reports success. For Kaspersky, the restore point is the vendor's own advice: its kavremover article says to create one before making changes to the system. It still does not bring back licence information the tool removed, which is why the activation code is saved first.

How PC Tweaker Uninstaller helps

It lists each Kaspersky app that Windows registers as its own entry and says how many other programs from the same publisher are installed, which is how a second Kaspersky app shows up. Before anything runs, the brief shows the exact command each entry registered and whether it needs administrator rights, and the Removal Ledger records the method and the result. Its leftover scan matches folders, shortcuts and registry keys only when they are named exactly after the program, and pre-selects only items inside the install folder Windows recorded; anything matched by name alone is shown but never pre-selected. It does not list services or scheduled tasks, and it does not replace kavremover when the registered uninstaller fails. Cleaning leftover files and folders is free; cleaning registry keys and startup entries is Pro. Before an elevated removal it asks Windows for a restore point and records the outcome in the Removal Ledger. Because of the 24-hour rule above, Windows sometimes keeps an earlier point instead of making a new one. From version 0.13.8 the receipt says created only when it has verified a new point, and otherwise says that Windows reused the one from a given date; earlier versions could report created in that case.

Keep reading

uninstalling ESET — Another antivirus whose removal tool has conditions: Safe Mode, and a network settings backup first.
uninstalling Avast completely — Another antivirus with its own removal tool, run in Safe Mode.
MsMpEng.exe, the Microsoft Defender Antivirus engine — The process that should be running again once the other antivirus is gone.
WinDefend, the Microsoft Defender Antivirus service — The service behind it, and why it is left alone.
how to completely uninstall any Windows program — The general order, and what to do when an uninstaller fails.
what PC Tweaker Uninstaller shows before a removal runs — The rating, the command and the permissions, before anything changes.

Common questions

What is kavremover, and is it safe to use?

Kavremover is Kaspersky's own free tool for removing Kaspersky applications that cannot be removed completely using standard Windows tools. Kaspersky attaches conditions: do not use it without instructions from a Technical Support specialist, create a restore point first, and expect it to remove licence information and all application settings along with the program.

Will I lose my Kaspersky licence if I uninstall?

Save the activation code first. The standard uninstall wizard offers to save it in My Kaspersky, and Kaspersky warns that kavremover removes licence information, so make sure the licence key or activation code is saved before you run the tool.

Why won't Kaspersky uninstall?

If the application is password-protected, the uninstall asks for the user name and password; Kaspersky has a separate article for a forgotten password. If the removal fails with an error, Kaspersky's instruction is to send a request to its Customer Service with screenshots and a GetSystemInfo report. Kavremover is its tool for applications that standard Windows tools cannot remove.

Is my PC protected after I remove Kaspersky?

Check rather than assume. On Windows 10 and 11, Microsoft Defender Antivirus turns itself off while another antivirus is active, and Microsoft documents that it can turn back on automatically once that product is uninstalled or expires. After the restart, open Windows Security, Virus & threat protection, and under Who's protecting me? select Manage providers to check that an antivirus is on.

Try PC Tweaker Uninstaller

Single uninstalls are free, for Windows 10 and Windows 11.

What it shows before a removal Download PC Tweaker Uninstaller