How to completely uninstall Avast CCleaner on Windows

Within the developer software to be able to clean and optimize our Windows computer, there is one that became essential years ago, such as CCleaner. This at first designed by Piriform, making it one of the benchmarks to carry out this work. However, since Avast took over its development, there is some mistrust around it. That is why if we have it installed and we prefer to uninstall it completely without leaving traces, we propose the best options for it.

And it is that since Avast acquired CCleaner in 2018 in exchange for a large amount of money, the company has been looking for methods to amortize the investment in the shortest possible time. Some of these methods have made the program no longer as recommendable as it was originally. Therefore, if we have it installed, we are going to tell you some reasons why we should remove it and how to uninstall it completely.

completely uninstall Avast CCleaner on Windows

Are the problems with CCleaner over?

Changes to the original CCleaner software meant that it was no longer recommended to have it installed. Since its acquisition by Avast, the program has ceased to be 100% free and functional to be paid and more limited, with advertising and with some controversy regarding the use they make of our data, which seems to have been resolved.

Advertising and installation of unwanted software

Avast inserted other unwanted software such as antivirus software or unknown browsers into its cleaner that were installed during the CCleaner installation process. Although they are options and the user can disable them before starting the installation, the truth is that the most clueless or those who do not stop to read ended up with software that they do not need installed on their computer. Along with this, it also included advertising banners that became quite annoying and that were used to show other company products.

ccleaner

Instead, now, the installer is clearer when it comes to offering to install additional software and the advertising banners are much more limited than in the beginning, so they are not so extremely annoying.

Data collection

As of 2018, when installing CCleaner, we accepted terms and conditions that allowed the company to share information collected with third parties that “are not part of the Avast Group” as specified literally, and that affected all users of the free version already that it was only possible to deactivate this option if we had the paid Pro version.

CCleaner 5.71

Fortunately, Google Analytics is now only used to be able to analyze some data in order to improve the service, through the use of anonymous data (operating system, language, product version, etc.) in order to improve the product. In addition, it is already possible that both paid users and those of the free application can deactivate this function to share data.

Background processes

When we use a program to clean and optimize the computer, it is important that it be as invisible as possible, but in version 574 of November 2020 the opposite happened, since it has a process called CCleaner64.exe, related to Avast telemetry, that is constantly running and that consumes both memory and CPU of the computer.

However, in the latest versions the program works without any problem, so it is important that, if we use it, I do so with the most recent version possible. In case we do not use functions such as automatic cleaning, it is convenient to deactivate it and thus avoid background processes.

Why uninstall? The free version is limited

It should be remembered that CCleaner has never been a 100% free program, but was included within Freemium software, and had a free version and a Pro version for advanced users, which included optional functions and did not affect its base performance. Avast has limited features of its free version, and does not allow you to use PC Health Check, or update the software installed on your PC, or perform a full system cleanup, which makes the free version less recommended.

CCleaner Health Check

It is true that not all features have been removed and most have always been available in the free version of the program. But if we want to optimize, clean and improve our entire PC, we have no choice but to buy the license, so the free version may be somewhat short on features, especially when compared to the competition.

Ways to uninstall CCleaner

Despite having corrected its problems, in the event that we are tired of CCleaner and want to remove it from our computer, we have different ways to do so. Either using its own uninstaller, or the one that Windows itself includes and which we can access from the Configuration panel or the Control Panel. We can also use third party programs like HiBit Uninstaller.

Before starting with any of these options we must make sure that CCleaner is not running, and if it is, we close it completely. We must bear in mind that for this it is not enough to click on the X and close its window, but we will have to go to the taskbar, right-click on its icon and select Exit.

Use your own uninstaller

If we want to uninstall CCleaner, we can choose to use its own integrated uninstaller, which we can run by accessing the folder where the program was installed, which by default should be:

C:/ Archivos de programas / CCleaner

Here we find the uninst.exe file that we must execute so that its uninstall wizard appears.

Ejecutar desinstalador de CCleaner

It will only be necessary to specify the folder where it is installed, which already appears by default, and click on the Uninstall button. This will start the process of removing the program from our computer.

Desinstalación de CClenaer

From Settings

It is also possible to remove CCleaner completely from the Windows Settings menu. To access it, just press the keyboard shortcut “Windows + I”. Once it appears, we click on the “Applications” section.

Desinstalar CCleaner desde Configuración

This will take us to a new window, where we must select the “Applications and features” section in the left column. Later, we scroll to the bottom of the screen where we find a list with all the available applications. Here we look for CCleaner and select it. Finally, we click on the ” Uninstall” button and follow the steps of the wizard for its complete removal.

From Control Panel

Another possibility to uninstall Avast CCleaner from our Windows 10 or 11 PC is to carry out the process from the Control Panel. To do this, we will write control panel inside the search box of the Start menu and execute it. Once it appears, we click on “Uninstall a program” in the “Programs” section.

Desinstalar CCleaner desde Panel de control

This will open a new window with a list of all the programs that we have installed in our Windows. Here we must look for CCleaner. Once the application is located, click on it with the right mouse button and select “Uninstall” . All that remains is to follow the steps of the assistant that the assistant marks us until the operation is completed.

With third party software like HiBit Uninstaller

We are talking about software designed to keep track of all the programs installed on our computer, allowing us to uninstall all those applications that we no longer need . It is even possible to delete any modification that the program may have made to the Windows registry.

We can consider it one of the best options to remove all kinds of programs, including the most rebellious ones, so it is ideal for uninstalling the application if we cannot remove it from the Control Panel or Windows Settings. In addition, it is a portable software so it does not need to be installed and can be used from any external storage system. We can download for free from the developer’s own website .

Desinstalar CCleaner con HiBit Unistaller

It will only be necessary to execute it so that the main menu appears. Here we find applications installed on the system. Now we look for CCleaner in the list and once located, we right-click on it and click “Uninstall” . From there, we follow the steps indicated by the wizard until the installation is complete.

Remove leftovers after uninstall

There are times when, despite uninstalling a program, it is capable of leaving traces on our computer, junk files that do not add anything new and that it is convenient to eliminate. That is why it is convenient to delete the CCleaner entries in the Windows Registry .

To do this, press the keyboard shortcut Windows + R, to launch the Run command. Here we write regedit and press Enter or the OK button. Once it appears to us and before modifying anything, we will make a backup, as a preventive measure. To do this, click on “File” and “Export”. We then specify All in the export range, give it a name, select the .reg format, and click Save.

Buscar CCleaner en el registro

Next, press “Control + F” together to open the Find window, and type CCleaner in the “Find” box and click “Find Next”. When the matching result appears, right-click on the keys/values belonging to CCleaner, and then choose Delete option to delete them completely.

Eliminar restos de CCleaner en el registro

Alternatives to CCleaner

Once its problems have been solved, CCleaner also re-enters the lists of recommended applications. However, once deleted we can use these alternatives to optimize our system.

And it is that both Windows 10 and Windows 11 have their own storage sensor , with which we will be able to see a summary of the space occupied on the hard disk and which are the folders and files that occupy the most, so that we can customize the way to save space.

We can also opt for other third-party options such as BleachBit , a free and open source application to free up space by deleting all kinds of junk and unnecessary files. Or if you don’t mind paying Glary Utilities is one of the best-known deep cleaning applications for Windows, as it has a very advanced engine that helps us carry out PC maintenance and protect it.