ESET’s Nod32 is one of the more popular antivirus software available for Windows. However, many users experience difficulty when trying to remove Nod32 AV from their computers completely, for example when the subscription period ends (in which case you should take a look at our article Best free security software).
To uninstall/remove ESET Nod32
Multiple methods are listed below, in order of preference. Try the next one if the first one fails, and so on.
Start menu uninstaller
Instead of uninstalling from Control Panel > Add / remove programs, use the uninstaller link provided in ESET Nod32 menu in Programs list.
Nod32 removal tool by ESET
ESET provides a Nod32 removal tool that wipes out the antivirus completely from your computer. Download, install and use it. After it removes Nod32 from your computer, you may have to restart Windows.
Manual uninstall in safe mode
Note that this method is slightly complex and requires sound knowledge of the system. Try it only if above methods fail to remove Nod32 antivirus from your system.
1. Restart in safe mode
Restart your computer in Windows Safe Mode. You can get the option for safe mode by hitting F8 when your computer reboots, and a list of installed hardware (RAM, hard drive etc.) are listed.
Delete registry entries
Open Windows registry editor (Start > regedit in search box and hit enter for Vista and newer, Start > Run > regedit and hit enter in XP and older).
Using the left pane of regsitry editor, navigate to and delete the following keys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ESET
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\ESET
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\egui
Delete hidden files
Enable viewing of hidden files in Windows (Start > Control Panel > Folder Options, click View tab and enable “Show hidden files and folders”).
Delete INFCACHE.1 from C:\WINDOWS\inf
Restart your computer now.
Delete these folders:
C:\Program Files\ESET
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ESET
C:\Documents and Settings\%USER%\Application Data\ESET
Restart your computer once again (safe mode is not necessary) and ESET Nod32 should be uninstalled completely.