How to uninstall Malwarebytes AdwCleaner on Windows
Check quarantine before removing AdwCleaner. Its Remove action deletes quarantined content along with the program files, so recover any safe files you still need before using it.
Save your data and quit
Finish any active scan and review items in Quarantine. Restore only items you have established are safe and need, not every detection. Save any report needed for a support case. For AdwCleaner’s own removal, Settings › Application › Remove AdwCleaner is the documented route; use it only after the quarantine decision. The portable winget test below did not exercise that destructive quarantine workflow.
Uninstall the tested package
In Windows 11, open Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find Malwarebytes AdwCleaner, and choose Uninstall. In Windows 10, use Settings › Apps › Apps & features. Keep the installed program folder intact until its uninstaller finishes. If this was the winget package, first confirm its exact identity:
winget list --id Malwarebytes.AdwCleaner --exact
If the successful query shows the intended installation, remove that package:
winget uninstall --id Malwarebytes.AdwCleaner --exact
This follows the package’s registered removal method; portable packages use their package-manager removal instead. An error or a missing winget match is not proof that the app is absent: check the Windows app list and the original installation method. Follow any vendor confirmation or restart request after saving other work. See Microsoft’s uninstall command documentation.
Data and components to check
The following locations or components need separate decisions. A remaining folder is not automatically disposable.
| Location or component | What to keep or check |
|---|---|
C:\AdwCleaner |
The documented default working directory for logs, quarantine and settings; a custom working directory can differ. Decide quarantine recovery before removing it. |
| Other Malwarebytes products | Independent products and their shared vendor settings are outside this removal. |
See Malwarebytes AdwCleaner’s official documentation.
Check the outcome
winget list --id Malwarebytes.AdwCleaner --exact
A successful package query with no matching row means that package registration was not found. A matching row means it still exists; an error leaves the result unknown. Keep deliberately retained data. Check Task Manager for a process whose executable belongs to this installation, and distinguish another version or a separate companion app before acting.
What Mole lists
The portable package had no separate cleanup rows in the test. System-wide Malwarebytes registry information was retained. This result does not show whether individual quarantined items were checked.
What this test covered
The Windows user-scope portable package was launched and removed. No applicable upgrade was executed. Quarantine restoration and the vendor’s Remove action were not verified by this run.
These results are from a development build of Mole. Other released builds were not individually tested.