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Unbreakable Administrator Restrictions on McAfee

Anonymous
2019-05-27T06:30:00+00:00

Hi. Sneaky Adobe installed McAfee on my C drive because I use an ad-blocker. I uninstalled the programs themselves, and searched "My PC" for any extra files and I could delete all of them except one. It is C:/ProgramData/McAfee . There is one (and possibly another) file that won't let me delete it. and the reason It won't be deleted is because I don't have permissions. But I do. I have tried deleting this folder as the only profile on the computer, which i have used admin permissions on before, and it works fine, usually. Then I saw that there is a hidden "Super Administrator" profile that has all the permissions, hands down. So I activated that, but got the same message. It asks me to give administrator permissions to delete this folder, but literally a tenth of a second later it tells me that I don't have the privileges and to contact the administrator. Which I am. If I press try again the exact same message just pops up again.So I'm like, 'Okay, what if I change the file properties to make it not read-only?' Well, it tells me that the process failed with that one file I was talking about earlier, mclogs.etl .

Like I said, this doesn't work on my own account or the Admin account. If anyone could help me delete this folder, that would be great. I wouldn't be surprised if someone else has been in this situation. Thanks in advance.

Windows for home | Windows 10 | Files, folders, and storage

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-05-27T06:54:40+00:00

    Go to McAfee and get their uninstalling software.  This will clear out all of their code.

    .l

    When you download any program from the Internet watch what is going on and do not allow any other things to be added to the download of the program.  Even if this looks nice do not do it.  You can always go to the other maker to get those things.

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  1. Anonymous
    2019-05-27T06:40:15+00:00

    Hi Minor

    My name is Andre Da Costa; an Independent Consultant, Windows Insider MVP and Windows & Devices for IT MVP. I'm here to help you with your problem.

    Did you try taking ownership of the folder then attempt to delete it?

    Right-click on the McAfee folder, and then click Properties.

    Go to Security tab.

Click Advanced, then Change Permissions.

Highlight the user, and click Edit.

Choose This folder, subfolders and files under Applies to:.

Choose Full Control under Basic Permissions.

Hit OK.

    Try deleting folder again.

    I would also try deleting it in Safe Mode.

    Press Windows key + R

    Type: msconfig

    Hit Enter

    Click the Boot tab

    Check 'Safe Boot'

    Click Apply then OK

    Sign in

    Attempt the steps above.

    If that does not work, download, install TreeSize and use it to delete the folder:

    https://www.groovypost.com/howto/map-hardrive-u...

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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  2. Virginia M 40,825 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2019-05-27T13:22:51+00:00

    Hi Minor, I’m Virginia an independent advisor.

    Did you also run the McAfee cleanup tool?

    http://mcafee-removal-tool.com/

    Also boot into safe mode & then try deleting the folders.

    Note: This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

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  3. Anonymous
    2019-05-27T07:20:41+00:00

    Thanks for reminding me of this. I tried it once yesterday and all it did was just sit at the start of the bar, so I figured it wouldn't help. Although I still find it a bit unsettling that a program that i don't have to run with administrator permissions can delete a file I can't with admin perms...

    Not downloading Flash again, that's for sure. Ridiculous that they hide the option to not install unwanted antivirus because of ad-blocking.

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