Force McAfee Uninstall

[yuma_bill]

A while back I found McAfee popping up on both my desktop (Windows 8.1) and my laptop (Windows 10). I didn't install this and I don't think it came pre-installed as I've had these machines for some time. I am currently running Norton Antivirus which I get for free from my ISP.

McAfee is running about a dozen processes and any attempt to end the task is ignored. Any attempt to uninstall is met with a message that I need system administrator permissions, despite the fact that I am logged in as an admin. This is true on both my 8.1 and my 10 machine.

What can I do to remove this software? I am not opposed to a clean re-install but would prefer a removal tool. I'm aware that McAfee offers a removal tool but as they are the source of the trouble in the first place, I'm dubious.

Any assistance is appreciated.

 

[MGhee]

When I got my Lenovo laptop in 2015 McAfee AV came preinstalled... I uninstalled it straight away using their uninstall tool. I had no issues. If you follow their instructions exactly I would think you should be able to get rid of it fully as well.

Up until recently before my HDD died, I had no problems installing Avast free so there was no issues installing something other than McAfee after the removal.