How to Disable or Remove McAfee on Windows 11

If you've decided to disable or remove McAfee on your Windows 11 device, perhaps due to its redundancy with Windows Security or to free up system resources, you're in the right place. This guide will walk you through various methods to accomplish this task, from using the official removal tool to manual methods, ensuring McAfee is completely eradicated from your system.

Remove McAfee Using Official MacAfee Removal Tool (MCPR.exe)

The McAfee Consumer Product Removal tool (MCPR.exe) is the official tool provided by McAfee for uninstalling its products. Here's how to use it:

1. Download the MCPR tool from McAfee's official website.
2. Run the downloaded MCPR.exe file with administrator rights.

3. Follow the on-screen instructions, agreeing to the End User License Agreement.

4. Enter the CAPTCHA code when prompted.

5. McAfee Product Removal Tool will detect all the installed products on your system and remove them completely from your system.

6. After the process completes, restart your computer.

Uninstall McAfee From Windows Settings

For a easy approach without downloading any extra tools, use Windows Settings:

1. Right-click on the Start menu and select 'Settings'.

2. Navigate to Apps > Installed apps.

3. Search or scroll through the app list to find McAfee® Total Protection and click on the three dots next to it.
4. Select Uninstall and follow the prompts to complete the process.

5. Once the uninstaller presents itself on the screen, click on the checkbox preceding each option under the ‘Select what you want to remove’ section to select all McAfee products installed on your system. Then, click on the ‘Remove’ button to proceed.

6. After that, on the next screen, if you have an active subscription on your account, McAfee will notify you of the same. Read the information carefully and click on the ‘Remove’ button.

7. McAfee will uninstall the chosen products, wait patiently while the process runs in the background.

Remove McAfee Using Command Line

For those comfortable with command-line interfaces, Windows Terminal offers a way to uninstall McAfee:

1. Right-click on the Start button and select 'Terminal (Admin)' to open Terminal with admin privileges.
2. Enter the following command to list all installed programs: Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Select-Object -Property Name.
3. Identify the McAfee service from the list.
4. To uninstall, replace app_name with the exact name of the McAfee service in the following command and execute: $app = Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product -Filter "Name="app_name""
5. Restart your computer.

Remove Any Lingering McAfee Files and Services

After uninstallation, some files and services may linger. Use the Command Prompt to remove these remnants:

1. Open Run command box (right-click on the Start button and select 'Run' option).
2. In Run command box, Type services.msc to open Services.
3. Scroll, identify, and note the name of any remaining McAfee services.
4. Now, open Command Prompt by right-clicking on the start menu and selecting 'Terminal' from there.
5. Finally, type sc delete [service_name], replacing [service_name] with the actual name of the McAfee service that you found in step 3 above.

How to Temporarily Disable McAfee Antivirus Protection on your PC

Disabling McAfee antivirus is actually quite simple. All you need to do is turn off the protection temporarily, and you can even set it to automatically enable itself after a certain amount of time.

To disable MacAfee, either right-click on the McAfee Antivirus icon from the tray icon section and click on the ‘Open McAfee’ option from the context menu to open the app, or search for the app from the Start Menu.

Next, on the ‘McAfee’ window, click on the ‘My Protection’ tab to reveal the sidebar. Then, locate and click on the ‘Real-Time Scanning’ option present on the left-sidebar to continue.

Then, from the ‘Real-Time Scanning’ screen, click on the ‘Turn Off’ button. This will bring a separate overlay window on your screen.

Now, click on the drop-down menu and select a preferred time duration if you wish to enable the protection automatically. If you wish to enable the protection manually, select the ‘Never’ option. Then, click on the ‘Turn Off’ button from the bottom right corner of the pane to disable the real-time scanning of McAfee.

After you have disabled real-time scanning, click on the ‘Scheduled scans’ option located on the left sidebar right below the ‘Real-Time Scanning’ option. This will open a separate window on your screen.

Now, click on the ‘Turn off’ button present on the ‘Scheduled Scan’ screen to disable the scheduled scan services completely.

After that, similar to previous steps click on the ‘Firewall’ tab situated on the left sidebar. This will take you to the ‘Firewall’ settings screen.

Now, click on the ‘Turn Off’ button from the ‘Firewall settings’ screen to continue. This will open a separate overlay window on your screen.

Next, click on the drop-down menu present in the ‘Turn of Firewall’ overlay pane and select the duration after which you wish to reactivate the protection. If you wish to reactivate it manually, click to select the ‘Never’ option and then click on the ‘Turn off’ button present on the pane to disable the firewall.

After that, click on the ‘Secure apps’ option from the sidebar to continue. This will take you to the ‘Vulnerability scanner’ settings page.

Then, on the ‘Vulnerability Scanner’ settings page, click on the ‘Scheduled scan settings’ tile to reveal the options.

After that, scroll down the revealed options till you locate the ‘Don’t set a scan schedule’ and click on the radio button preceding the option. Then, click on the ‘Apply’ button to save the changes.

Next, scroll down the revealed sidebar till you locate the ‘Protect yourself on the web’ section, then, click on the ‘Tracker remover’ tile.

Then, click on the ‘Schedule’ tile to reveal the scheduling settings of the feature.

Now, scroll down to locate the ‘Do not schdeule’ option and click on the radio button preceding the option to select. Then, click on the ‘Apply’ button to save the changes.

And that’s it, you have disabled all the McAfee services on your system. In case you are here to uninstall the app altogether from your system, head on to the next section.

Enable Microsoft Defender After Removing McAfee

With McAfee removed or disabled, ensure your system is still protected by enabling Windows Defender on your Windows 11 PC:

1. Open Start menu, type security into the search bar and select the Windows Security app.
2. Click on Virus & threat protection and then on the Turn on button to activate Windows Defender.

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By following these steps, you can disable or remove McAfee from your Windows 11 device, ensuring that your system runs smoothly and remains protected by Windows Defender or another antivirus of your choice. Remember to periodically check for updates for your chosen antivirus solution to keep your device secure.