So, you got a great price on an hp laptop?  Good for you!
But, be warned that that price comes with… well… a price.

Some of laptop prices are low because the computer’s manufacturer is paid by software companies to ship their computers with certain software pre-installed.  Often times, the software is provided with a 30-day free trail, after which you must pay.  And – while we firmly believe it’s your choice whether you want to buy certain programs or not – it is our firm belief that you should always be able to find free antivirus software .  (Microsoft, it would seem, agrees.  Their Microsoft Security Essentials is making great inroads!)  But, I digress…

This tutorial is about removing McAfee Antivirus from your computer.  You know those messages that pop up in the lower right corner, telling you that your McAfee subscription has expired (or similar)?  Yah, that doesn’t have to be there.  So let’s get rid of it!

Note: Before beginning this tutorial, it is our suggestion that you install a free antivirus program such Microsoft Security Essentials, AVG Free Edition, etc.

Tutorial: Uninstalling McAfee

Begin by clicking once on the Start Menu button in the bottom-left corner of your screen.  (See below):

That will open the Start Menu.  Once the Start Menu opens up, click once on Control Panel.

This will, of course, open the Control Panel.  In it, you’ll be presented with a number of different things that you can change on your computer.
Look for the Programs section, and click once on Uninstall a Program .  (See below).

This will take you to the Programs and Features window, where you will see an alphabetical list of the all the programs that are installed on your computer right now.

Please note that it may take about 30 seconds for this list to fully load. Be patient! :)

This should all look something like the picture below:

Now we want to find McAfee in this list.  You will probably have to scroll down.  You can use the wheel on the mouse or click on the little “down”-facing arrow on the right side of the window.  So, find McAfee in the list – it will probably be called “McAfee AntiVirus Plus”.

Once you’ve found it, click on it once .

Now, if you look directly above this list of programs, you should see Uninstall/Change.
Click once on Uninstall/Change .

This will bring is to a “uninstallation wizard”, which will uninstall McAfee from the computer.

The next screen you get will ask you which of the different parts of McAfee you want to remove.
It will look something like this:

We want to remove everything that’s McAfee-related.
If any white box is empty, click on it once to add a checkmark to it.
The screen should now have all white boxes filled with checkmarks.  Like so:

With checkmarks firmly in place, click once on the “Remove” button in the bottom right corner of the window.
Important note: Your screen may look somewhat different! Your “Remove” button may not be blue.  There may be a much more attractive button that coaxes you to purchase McAfee.  It is your choice whether you want to purchase the software.  But again, we firmly believe that you don’t need it.
So, even if it’s a less attractive grey button… choose “Remove”.

You will now get some sort of taunting and/or tempting and/or terrifying message.
If your 30-day trial is still going, you may get a screen saying something like “ Your Subscription is still good. Don’t go! “.
Or, if your trial is expired, it may offer a discounted price on a new subscription.  Or it may suggest that you go to the McAfee website and try another of their products.  Or it may tell you that your computer will be extremely unsafe without McAfee.  Your credit card numbers will be used by an online fraudster to buy luxurious textiles and precious herbs from the Orient.

But you are a smart cookie.  You know to use your common sense with this screen.

Bottom line: The words on the button may change, but just go ahead a click on whichever button is the equivalent of saying, “ I want this software gone from my computer ” or “ I’m not interested in using McAfee anymore “.

Once you click Remove (or the button with an equivalent sentiment), the automatic removal process will begin.

You will be shown the progress of the uninstallation.

Please note that the progress may seem to go nowhere for 3 or 4 minutes.  Be patient!  It will eventually uninstall.

The screen looks like this:

At the end of this automatic uninstallation process, you should get the following screen, telling you that McAfee has been removed from your system.

You did it! Well done!!!

You will be asked to restart your computer to make the effects final.
Do this by clicking on the blue Restart Now >> button.
The computer will restart and reboot into Windows, and McAfee will be gone.

So long, annoying McAfee pop-ups!!