What is RAV antivirus?
As the name implies, RAV is an antivirus software. It is developed by ReasonLabs. Hence, it is genuine software and not a security threat. If you want to download RAV antivirus software, you can contact them by visiting their official website. But if it gets installed on your system without your permission, it becomes a matter of concern. The users who found it on their computers were unable to identify whether it is genuine software or a virus.
How did RAV antivirus get installed on my PC by itself?
There are many ways by which the RAV antivirus gets installed on your system:
When you visit a malicious websiteWhen you click on a malicious link in your emailWhen you install a program
When you surf the internet, you visit many websites. The website that you visit may be safe or malicious. If you have an antivirus on your system, you are safe because antivirus blocks malicious websites. When you visit malicious websites, you may see messages like:
Your computer might be infected. To remove virus, contact these numbers! Many junk files are detected. Clean junk files now! Congrats! You are a lucky winner. Claim your prize now! The above messages are not the exact messages but you may see the messages like the above messages. Users who are not aware of cybersecurity and cyberattacks can click on the links displayed on such websites. As they click on the links, either a software is installed on their systems or a malicious code is injected into their systems. The same thing happens when you click on the links provided in the malicious emails. When you install a program from an untrusted website, the chances of its being malicious are high. Some programs install other programs additionally without the knowledge of the user. If you have installed a program recently, it is possible that the RAV antivirus was bundled with that program and was installed on your system along with that software.
Is RAV antivirus genuine or malware?
If you find RAV antivirus on your system but you have never installed it, you should take immediate action as it may be a virus or malware. There are multiple ways to check if a file or software is genuine or malicious. Some of these methods are explained below:
By scanning the file with an antivirusBy scanning the file with online free scannersBy viewing the file signature
You can run a full system scan with another antivirus software to see if your system is infected or not. Online scanners such as VirusTotal are also good to know whether a file or software is infected or not. Since you do not have the RAV antivirus installer file, you cannot use this method. Hence, you can use the first or last method. Follow the instructions provided below:
If the signer is not genuine, you should remove the RAV antivirus immediately.
How to remove RAV antivirus
If you have not installed the RAV antivirus on your computer, you should uninstall it. There are many ways to uninstall a program from Windows 11/10. You can use any method.
You can uninstall the RAV antivirus via Windows Settings or the Control Panel.Some programs are not listed in the Control Panel. Such programs may be also missing from Windows 11/10 Settings. If such a thing happens to you, don’t bother because there are other ways too to uninstall programs that are not listed in the Control Panel.If you find the uninstall button greyed out, you can uninstall RAV antivirus via the Command Prompt, PowerShell, etc.
When you uninstall a program from Windows 11/10, some traces are left behind in some cases. It is recommended to remove such traces after uninstalling a program if you want to completely get rid of it. In such cases, you can use free uninstaller software. If you cannot remove the RAV antivirus files or uninstall it, you can do one thing, boot in Safe Mode and then uninstall the software by following this procedure. If the above steps fail, you can perform a System Restore. System restore is a tool developed by Microsoft that helps users protect their computer software. By default, it is turned on. If it is turned on, it automatically creates restore points. These restore points are used to take the system to the previous working state in case a problem occurs. When you install a program on your system, Windows automatically creates a restore point. Open the System Restore tool and use the restore point which was created on the date after which the RAV antivirus was installed on your system. If you do not know the exact date, you can use the oldest Restore Point. But remember, this action will uninstall all the programs installed after that date. Restore your system. This will fix the issue.
How do I remove RAV Antivirus from Windows 11?
Every antivirus has the option to disable it. Sometimes, you need to disable antivirus temporarily. In such cases, you can use this option in your antivirus. RAV antivirus should also have such an option. If you do not know how to disable it, contact their customer support.
Do I need RAV antivirus?
Because cyberattacks are increasing day by day, it is necessary to have an antivirus installed on your system. Windows 11/10 has a pre-installed antivirus, Windows Defender. It is a good antivirus that is provided by Microsoft for free. If you want, you can go for third-party antiviruses. Read next: Is Wave Browser safe or malware? How do I uninstall it?
