RAV Antivirus is a security tool developed by GeCAD Software that usually gets installed via file bundles without the user wanting it. Because of its use of file-bundles to get distributed and its potentially difficult removal, RAV Antivirus can be regarded as a potentially unwanted program.
The RAV antivirus program
Even though PUPs (potentially unwanted programs) are usually not a threat to the computers they are installed on, thereβs a reason they are regarded as unwanted, whether that would be their tendency to aggressively promote other products or sites, the negative effect that they have on the computerβs performance, the fact that they may invite additional unwanted software into the computer, or all of the above. In the case of RAV Antivirus, this is a program that initially started as a good security product developed by the Romanian GeCAD Software company. RAV was the most prominent product of this company, and it was soon bought by Microsoft. In other words, what users currently know as RAV Antivirus is likely an obsolete and not particularly useful version of the original security program, and thereβs pretty much no reason to keep it on your computer.
Most users who have it installed in their systems report performance issues triggered by RAVβs excessive use of hardware resources. Also, it seems that the program typically installs using third-party file bundles, and it could be difficult to remove in some cases, which is why itβs seen as unwanted by both experts and regular users.
Is RAV Antivirus safe?
RAV Antivirus itself is deemed as a safe program, but its presence on your PC may cause performance issues and slow-downs due to excessive CPU and RAM use. Also, RAV Antivirus may get installed together with other undesirable apps that may compromise your PCβs security.
Currently, there are no indications that RAV may be intended or able to harm your computer. The version of RAV that most users get, albeit annoying and not very useful, seems to be legitimate and harmless in and of itself. However, itβs likely that this PUP is involved in different types of online advertising of other products, and so you may end up getting pop-ups on your screen that try to persuade you into installing more software that you donβt need.
In addition, this program may try to get you to install its paid version by telling you thereβs malware on your computer, regardless of whether thatβs the actual truth. Intentional false positives and exaggerated malware scan results are a commonly used strategy to get more users to purchase the premium versions of obscure security tools such as this one, so it wouldnβt be a surprise if RAV tries to do this on your computer.
What is RAV Antivirus?
RAV antivirus is an outdated security tool that currently gets distributed through file-bundling and is mostly regarded as a PUP (potentially unwanted program). Though RAV antivirus is not malware, it can negatively affect the computerβs performance and also nag you to install its paid version.
An additional potential problem with this PUP is that it may bring along other apps that you donβt want to have on your computer. The file bundling method is the main technique used by the creators of less popular apps to spread those apps and get them installed onto more computers without the users knowingly agreeing to the installation. Make no mistake, however, you have most likely agreed at some point to have RAV (and anything else that may have come to your PC together with it) installed on your computer. Itβs all in the fine print and advanced/custom settings of software-bundle installers. Therefore, if youβve recently installed a new program (especially a free one) without taking the time to personally customize its setup settings or to read the details of the installation, then this is the most likely reason youβve landed RAV Antivirus on your computer.
RAVAntivirus
RAVAntivirus is a potentially unwanted program that will slow down your computer by using tons of processor time and memory without doing anything useful. Since RAVAntivirus is typically distributed via file bundles, itβs also possible that other undesirable software gets added to your PC alongside it.
Because other undesirable apps may have entered your system together with RAV, you need to be vigilant during the following removal process and strive to not only delete this particular PUP, but also any other undesired software that could have entered your computer. While RAV is not deemed a security threat, some other potentially unwanted programs may be more problematic and could possibly even lower your systemβs protection and/or serve as a gateway for Trojans, Spyware, Ransomware, and other highly dangerous forms of malware.
SUMMARY:
Name
RAV Antivirus
Type
PUP
Detection Tool
How to uninstall RAV antivirus?
To uninstall RAV antivirus, you must first try to remove the app from your Control Panel and then find and eliminate any remaining data, settings, and Registry entries.
We strongly recommend first reading the more detailed instructions for those four steps that weβve prepared before you attempt to delete the unwanted program.
Detailed removal instructions for RAV Antivirus
Step 1
More information on SpyHunter, steps to uninstall, EULA, Threat Assessment Criteria, and Privacy Policy.
Itβs best if you disconnect from the Internet the computer you are trying to clean β oftentimes potentially unwanted programs use the systemβs Internet connection to establish communication with their creatorβs servers and restore any of their data that the user may manage to delete. This is not absolutely necessary to do, but it may help with the removal.
Step 2
WARNING! READ CAREFULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING!
More information on SpyHunter, steps to uninstall, EULA, Threat Assessment Criteria, and Privacy Policy.
Open the Start Menu and type Uninstall a Program or Programs and Features and open the first thing that shows up in the results. Then try to find RAV Antivirus in the list of programs that opens, right-click it, and select the Uninstall option to evoke the uninstallation manager. Confirm that you want to uninstall the program and if the uninstaller asks you whether youβd like to keep anything from that program (such as personalized settings) on your computer, refuse the offer, and finish the uninstallation.
Also, we recommend exploring the entire list of programs and checking it for other questionable apps, especially ones installed near the date when RAV Antivirus got installed (you can sort the list of programs by installation date). If you notice anything that you donβt recognize and think is suspicious or unwanted, you should probably uninstall it too.
Step 3
Access the Task Manager by either typing task manager in the Start Menu and clicking the first result, or by simply pressing together Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Make sure that you are at the Processes tab and in it look for a process named RAV Antivirus, RAV, Reliable Antivirus, or anything similar. If you notice such a process, right-click it and go to its File Location Folder. Then right-click the process again, select End Process, switch to the Location folder that youβve just opened, and delete everything in it, after which delete the folder itself. If one or more of the files refuses to be deleted, leave it be for now, and come back later, after youβve finished with the rest of the guide to try to delete it once more.
Also, if you notice any other questionable processes that use excessive amounts of system resources (CPU, RAM memory), Google their names to see what information comes up. Additionally, go to their location folders and scan their files with the following professional scanner that you can use for free on our site.
If you find information online that comes from a reputable source and confirms that the process might be rogue and/or if any of the files of that process are flagged as malicious by our scanner, end that process and erase its folder as you did with the RAV Antivirus process.
Step 4
Get your system into Safe Mode β this will block any processes that may interrupt the removal process during the next steps.
Step 4
βUnhideβ the hidden files and folders on your computer by typing Folder Options in the Start Menu, opening the first result, clicking the View section, and checking the Show hidden files, folders, and drives option (if itβs currently unchecked). Make sure to click OK after that to save the changes.
Next, type β%AppData%β in the Start Menu, hit Enter, and sort the files in the newly-opened folder by order of their creation date. Now scan with our free scanner everything created since RAV Antivirus entered your system, and delete anything that it detects as malware. Also, if you see any files named RAV Antivirus or anything similar to this, delete them without the need to scan them.
Do the same thing with these other three folders:
Finally, go to the %Temp% folder and simply delete all files that are in it. Since there would likely be a very big number of files in this folder, press Ctrl + A to quickly select all of them and then press Del to delete them.
Step 5
Copy this line β%windir%/system32/Drivers/etc/hostsβ, place it in the Start Menu, right-click the file that appears in the results, and select Run as Administrator. If you are required to pick a program with which to open this file, click on Notepad. When the file opens, scroll down in the newly-opened text file, see whatβs written right below the second βLocalhostβ line β if anything is there, especially any strange-looking IP addresses, copy that text and share it with us in the comments β we will soon get back to you, informing you whether those IPs or other entries are from RAV Antivirus and whether you need to delete them.
Next, type Task Scheduler in the Start Menu, hit Enter/open the first result, then click on Task Scheduler Library in the upper-right corner, and see if there are any RAV Antivirus tasks shown in the central panel, where all the scheduled tasks are listed. If you see RAV Antivirus tasks there or any other tasks from unfamiliar or unwanted software, right-click them and select Delete.
After that, if you are using Windows 10, start the Task Manager again, go to the Startup section, look for RAV Antivirus items or other items you are not familiar with, and uncheck any such tasks, after which click OK so that the changes would be saved.
To get to the list of Startup items If you are using Windows 7, type msconfig in the Start Menu, hit Enter, and in the window that opens, click the Startup section.
Step 6
Once more, go to the Start Menu, and this time type regedit.exe and open the app that gets shown. Windows will probably require your Admin approval to open the app, so click on Yes if this happens.
Next, when the Registry Editor app appears, open the Edit menu, and click the Find option. Type RAV Antivirus in the search bar, and click Find Next to see if there are any related items in the Registry. If anything is found, delete it and search again. Keep searching and deleting until all related items have been removed. Next, perform searches for Reliable Antivirus and RAV and delete what items get found for those searches.
Finally, go to these three locations by using the panel to the left and explore the keys (subfolders) shown under them. If any of the keys have strange names that look like a long string of randomized letters and/or numbers (for example, something like β329ru983rt98398ut9uej0d93jf093ur2jd093β), tell us about those keys down in the comments. Once we take a look at your comment, we will let you know if the suspicious item(s) must be erased.
If you are still unable to delete RAV Antivirus
If despite all your efforts, the RAV Antivirus PUP is still on your computer, we recommend using the professional removal tool posted in the guide in order to find and erase everything related to this PUP from your computer. The recommended tool specializes in finding and taking care of potentially unwanted software that the majority of antivirus programs wonβt flag as malware, and this makes it perfect for the job of eliminating RAV Antivirus. That said, this tool is also proficient at dealing with actual malware threats, including Trojans and Spyware, so it can also keep your system safe and secure in the future.
About the author
Brandon Skies
Brandon is a researcher and content creator in the fields of cyber-security and virtual privacy. Years of experience enable him to provide readers with important information and adequate solutions for the latest software and malware problems.
The RAV antivirus program
