Third Party Antiviruses are TERRIBLE
So, I was trying to install an APK editor for Windows. I had no idea the one I found was a scam, so I downloaded it and ran the installer. It asked for administrator permissions, I clicked Allow, and then it "failed."
Except... it didn't just fail.
It somehow managed to install Opera GX and Avast One anyway.
Cue the panic.
I immediately opened the Apps section in Settings and tried to uninstall Avast. It asked for administrator permissions again, so I clicked Allow. A little window popped up, said "Loading," and then immediately closed. Nothing happened.
Great.
So I opened Task Manager to kill it manually. There were at least eight different Avast processes running—Installer, Antivirus, Cyber Security, and who knows what else. I started ending them one by one, but they just kept coming back. When I finally found the process that was relaunching everything and tried to end that, Windows hit me with the classic:
"Access Denied."
At this point, I was already losing my mind.
Fine. I'll delete it manually.
I went into Program Files, found the Avast folder, selected everything, hit Delete...
"This action requires administrator permissions."
...Excuse me?
I AM THE ADMINISTRATOR.
How are you telling me I need administrator permissions on my own PC?
I gave up on Avast for the moment and uninstalled Opera GX instead (because apparently that thing shows up every single time you accidentally download something sketchy).
After searching around, I found out Avast has an official uninstall tool. After everything that had already happened, I trusted it about as much as I'd trust a random EXE named DefinitelyNotAVirus.exe, but it was my last option.
I ran it.
It got to 97%...
...and froze.
Perfect.
I opened Task Manager again and noticed the Avast processes were finally disappearing. Three were still running, so I force-closed them.
I checked if Avast was gone.
Nope.
Still there.
So, for one final attempt, I went back into Settings and clicked Uninstall again.
Somehow...
It actually worked.
Avast was finally gone.
That entire 30-minute experience was absolute HELL.
I genuinely cannot stand these fake installers that bundle random software onto your PC. And why is it always Opera GX? I swear that browser has mastered the art of appearing where nobody asked for it.
Can we also stop pretending these bloated third-party antivirus programs are necessary? Microsoft Defender used to deserve all the criticism it got, but it's improved a ton over the years. For the average person, it's more than enough.
Looking back, almost every terrible antivirus-related experience I've had has involved Avast.
Never again.
Have you ever had any of these experiences with Avast or Other Apps/Antiviruses? What Happened?