Anti: what it is and how to remove it

Anti is a program that was installed on the PC, most likely together with something else you downloaded. Free software sites and many installers add extra programs on setup pages with pre-ticked boxes, so the extra install looks like your choice even though nobody read the page.

Check the install date in Settings, Apps, Installed apps: the program you installed that day is the probable carrier. If you do not need Anti, uninstall it. If it belongs to your hardware or to a program you use, search its exact name and publisher first, because drivers and their tools can have unfamiliar names.

First restart the PC and try again, because the program may have been running and locked its own files. If the uninstaller is missing or fails, start Windows in Safe Mode, where most third-party programs do not start, and remove Anti from Installed apps there.

If it still refuses, delete its startup entry and its scheduled task, restart, and try once more. A program that actively prevents removal is behaving like malware, so finish with a Microsoft Defender offline scan. Avoid third-party uninstallers offered on search ads; several of them are unwanted programs themselves.

Because copying the design costs nothing and makes people trust it. The program behind anti in the list of installed apps borrows Windows colours, icons and wording, sometimes even the name of a well-known security brand. None of that gives it access to real security information.

A real alert can be checked in seconds: open Windows Security from the Start menu and look at Protection history. If nothing is listed there, the official-looking window is fake, and the program that draws it is what needs to be removed.

Usually not. A thorough clean-up is enough when the offline scan finds nothing afterwards and you do not see anti in the list of installed apps again. A reset is the safer choice if an attacker had remote control, if security tools were switched off, or if detections come back after every clean-up.

Windows 11 can reset itself without a USB stick under Settings > System > Recovery > Reset this PC. Copy documents and photos out first and scan the copies. A reset does not change passwords or undo stolen data, so the account steps still apply.

For most home users, yes, especially with Potentially unwanted app blocking turned on in Windows Security > App & browser control > Reputation-based protection settings. That setting blocks many scareware installers before they run.

No security tool stops every scam, though, because programs like Anti are usually installed by the user after a frightening message. The habit that helps most is simple: ignore any website or pop-up that claims to have scanned your PC, and never call a number shown in a warning.

Anything you could do. Callers working with fake alerts like Anti typically show you Windows logs as "proof", install their own remote tool for later, and steer you to online banking or a gift card purchase. Some add a password to Windows or lock the PC if you refuse to pay.

Remove every remote access program you did not install yourself, check Settings > Accounts > Other users for new accounts, and change important passwords from a clean device. If you cannot be sure what was changed, a reset of Windows is the safe choice.

Close it in Task Manager first, then uninstall it from Settings > Apps > Installed apps (in Windows 10, Apps & features). If it blocks this or restarts itself, start Windows in Safe Mode, where third-party programs do not start automatically, and uninstall from there.

Afterwards run a Microsoft Defender offline scan and delete any leftover folder named after Anti in C:\Program Files or %AppData%. If nothing works, Windows can be reset while keeping your personal files, which removes the program together with any settings it changed.

Almost certainly not. Refund calls are a well-known second stage of scareware and tech support scams. The caller says you are owed money, asks you to install a remote access program to "process" it, then opens your online banking, makes it look as if too much was refunded and asks you to send the difference back.

Hang up. Real refunds go back to the card or PayPal account you paid with, through your bank or the payment provider, and never need remote access or a gift card.

No. It looks like one, with a shield, a scan and a list of threats, but Anti is a rogue antivirus: its scans are designed to find something every time, and every fix leads to a payment page.

A real antivirus detects the same threats consistently, removes them without asking for money first and does not block other security tools. Windows 11 and Windows 10 already include Microsoft Defender in Windows Security, which is enough for most home users. Remove Anti and keep Defender on.

Fortect scans Windows for malware and unwanted programs and repairs the system files and settings they change, and its free scan shows what it finds on your PC before you decide anything.

For Anti, follow the plan above as well: the browser steps take back permissions and settings that no scanner treats as a threat, and uninstalling the program that brought it removes the source.

Run Microsoft Defender's full scan and, if anything was found, its offline scan as a second opinion. If the symptoms are gone after the plan and both scans are clean, there is nothing more to do.