REMOVAL GUIDE · MALWAREBYTES

Malwarebytes won't uninstall? Use the Support Tool's Clean option

Uninstall Malwarebytes like any Windows app first: find it through the Start menu, Settings or Control Panel, choose to uninstall, and follow the app's own Before you uninstall page to the end. If that runs into problems, the fallback Malwarebytes documents is its Support Tool: under Advanced, the Clean option removes the app and restarts the PC, and after the restart the tool offers to reinstall it. Malwarebytes says not to use the Support Tool on business endpoints, which are uninstalled from its Nebula or OneView consoles instead. The tool is free and needs the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8. Once Malwarebytes 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?
Malwarebytes is gone from the apps list after you clicked Done	The standard uninstall finished	Yes: install it again from Malwarebytes
Support Tool, Advanced, Clean finished and the PC restarted	Malwarebytes' fallback removed the app	Yes: the tool offers to reinstall after the restart
After the restart, the Post reboot cleanup window appeared	The Support Tool completed the uninstall	Choose Yes to reinstall, or close it
A work device managed by your organisation	Malwarebytes says not to use the Support Tool on business endpoints	Uninstalled by the administrator in Nebula or OneView
Windows Security, Virus & threat protection, Manage providers shows an antivirus that is on	Something still protects the PC after Malwarebytes is removed	Read-only check

The official way: uninstall from Windows, then the Support Tool if needed

Malwarebytes documents the standard uninstall and, in a separate article, uninstalling and reinstalling with the Malwarebytes Support Tool. Its FAQ describes the tool as combining several utilities, among them the Malwarebytes Cleanup Utility, which is the part that uninstalls.

Start the uninstall from Windows
Search for the app using the Start menu, Settings or the Control Panel and choose to uninstall it, as for any Windows program.
Follow the app's own pages
On the Before you uninstall page, select a reason and click Next, then confirm with Uninstall Malwarebytes. When the Malwarebytes uninstaller window appears, click Uninstall, and click Done when it completes. If you run into issues, Malwarebytes says to contact its Support.
If that fails: install the Support Tool
Download the Support Tool from Malwarebytes' article and open the mb-support file from your Downloads folder. Click Yes when User Account Control asks, tick Accept License Agreement and click Next. The tool needs the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8 and points you to Microsoft's download page if it is missing.
Advanced, Clean, restart
In the Support Tool's left menu click Advanced, then Clean, and Yes in the cleanup window. When a second window says the cleanup is complete, click OK to restart the computer.
After the restart
The Support Tool opens again and shows a Post reboot cleanup window: the uninstall is complete. It then offers to reinstall the app; click Yes only if you want Malwarebytes back.

What can stay behind, and what to check

The Malwarebytes 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 Malwarebytes 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 'Malwarebytes' | Format-Table DisplayName, DisplayVersion
Get-Service -DisplayName '*Malwarebytes*' | Format-Table Name, DisplayName, Status
Get-ScheduledTask |
  Where-Object { $_.TaskName -match 'Malwarebytes' -or $_.TaskPath -match 'Malwarebytes' } |
  Format-Table TaskPath, TaskName, State
Get-MpComputerStatus | Select-Object AMRunningMode

Usually safe to act on

Malwarebytes still in the apps list after the uninstall: run the Support Tool's Clean option rather than deleting files by hand.
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 Malwarebytes is gone.
Your Malwarebytes subscription: the uninstall articles this guide is based on do not mention it, so if you pay for one, check your Malwarebytes account rather than assuming the uninstall cancelled it.

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 Malwarebytes, a restore point is no substitute for the Support Tool when the standard uninstall fails: the vendor's documented fallback is the Clean option, followed by a restart.

How PC Tweaker Uninstaller helps

It lists each Malwarebytes 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 Malwarebytes 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 the Malwarebytes Support Tool 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 Bitdefender completely — Another security product with a second entry to remove and its own uninstall tool.
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 does the Malwarebytes Support Tool do?

It is Malwarebytes' free troubleshooting and repair utility for Windows. Its FAQ describes it as combining several utilities, including the Malwarebytes Cleanup Utility, and its Advanced, Clean option uninstalls Malwarebytes, restarts the PC and then offers to reinstall the app.

Why won't Malwarebytes uninstall?

Malwarebytes' own answer for an uninstall that runs into issues is its Support Tool: install it, click Advanced, then Clean, confirm with Yes and let the PC restart. The tool needs the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8. If you are still stuck, Malwarebytes says to contact its Support.

Can I use the Malwarebytes Support Tool on a work computer?

Not on a business endpoint: Malwarebytes says not to use the tool there, and that those endpoints are uninstalled in its Nebula or OneView consoles instead. Ask the administrator who manages the device.

Is my PC protected after I remove Malwarebytes?

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