Updated on: August 29, 2024
Short on time? Here’s how to remove SlimCleaner Plus:
- Preliminary Step. Uninstall SlimCleaner Plus. Navigate to your computer’s control panel and run the SlimCleaner Plus uninstallation wizard.
- 1. Run a Full Scan of Your Device. Use a premium antivirus like Norton to scan your whole system.
- 2. Remove Malware or Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs). After the scan is complete, remove all instances of the PUP (potentially unwanted program) and any other malware.
- 3. Stay Safe. Stay protected from further malware and PUPs by choosing a full-featured internet security suite. My top pick is Norton — it offers 100% perfect malware detection and real-time protection.
SlimCleaner Plus is a PUP (potentially unwanted program) that pretends to be a system optimization software — but in reality, all it does is slow down your PC, sell your personal data, and try to trick you into buying a subscription.
Once on your PC, SlimCleaner Plus constantly runs in the background. It then repeatedly issues pop-up notifications alerting you to areas of concern on your PC and encourages you to buy a subscription in order to resolve said issues. However, the vast majority of the issues reported are fake, and the tune-up tools are ineffective.
SlimCleaner Plus is usually bundled with free downloads, meaning it can infiltrate your system without your consent. So, if you’ve accidentally installed it on your PC, there’s no way of knowing how many other potentially unwanted files you’ve installed. This means that in addition to removing SlimCleaner Plus, it’s important you use a comprehensive antivirus suite like Norton to make sure there’s no other malware installed on your PC.
If you intentionally installed SlimCleaner Plus, you should remove it and replace it with a quality and reliable system optimization tool. There are some free options out there, but the most effective optimization tools tend to come bundled with premium antivirus packages.
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Preliminary Step: Uninstall SlimCleaner Plus
Here’s how to uninstall SlimCleaner Plus:
Uninstall SlimCleaner Plus on Windows 11
1. Click the Start button on your PC, and then in the field that says “Type here to search”, type “uninstall”.
2. In the options that appear, click on Add or remove programs.
3. A window will pop up showing all installed applications on your computer. Scroll down until you find SlimCleaner Plus, click the 3 dots to its right, then click on Uninstall in the drop-down menu that appears.
4. Follow the uninstallation wizard’s instructions to remove SlimCleaner Plus from your PC. Once done, you’re then ready to perform a full system scan.
Uninstall SlimCleaner Plus on Windows 10
1. If you use Windows 10, find the Windows icon on your taskbar and type “remove” into the search field.
2. Click on Add or remove programs and select Open. In the window that opens, you’ll see a list of every program installed on your PC. Scroll through the list until you see SlimCleaner Plus. Once you find it, click Uninstall.
3. After this process has finished, you’re ready to run a full system scan.
Step 1. Check for Any Remaining Traces of SlimCleaner Plus With Your Antivirus
Now that SlimCleaner Plus has been removed from your PC, you need to run a full system scan with your antivirus to check for any remaining traces of the program, as well as other potential infections.
Important: If you ever connect removable devices to your PC — including phones, USB keys, SD cards, and portable hard drives — it’s possible that any malware on your PC could have duplicated onto these devices. In this case, you should use an antivirus suite that’s also able to scan removable devices, such as Norton 360.
Once you have a quality antivirus program installed on your PC, run a full disk scan. The full scan will go through every single file and folder on your device, so it can take a few hours, but it looks for all types of malware — including PUPs, spyware, rootkits, and more — and it will quarantine any suspicious files, immediately keeping you safe from further harm.
It’s important to let the full system scan finish. Even if you see an infected file appear during the scan, wait until it has finished before taking any action. Malware typically replicates itself, so if your antivirus has found one infection or suspicious app on your PC, it’s likely there will be more.
When the scan has finished, you’ll be taken to the quarantined file list. You’re now ready to proceed to Step 2.
Step 2. Remove the SlimCleaner Plus Malware and Delete Any Other Infected Files
Once your antivirus has completed its full scan, it will prompt you to go through the quarantined file list and remove any compromised files or programs.
On the whole, I recommend that you trust your antivirus software and delete all quarantined files. However, sometimes antiviruses mistakenly flag safe files as malware (known as false positives). If you’re an advanced user, you may recognize some false positives, in which case you can whitelist them. If you’re unsure, you can always take a screenshot and send it to your antivirus’s customer support team.
Once you’ve deleted all compromised files, restart your PC, and then run a second full-disk scan. This is to ensure there are no traces of malware hiding in your system’s memory. The second scan is usually faster than the first, as many antiviruses (including Norton) recognize recently scanned files they’ve already marked as safe, and only check new or modified files.
If the completed second scan shows any new threats, you need to repeat this step: delete the quarantined files, restart your PC, and run another full scan. Only when your antivirus confirms there are no threats on your device should you move on to Step 3.
Step 3. Keep Your Device Protected From Other Unwanted Programs
Finally, let’s go over what you need to do to stay safe in the future. As you’ve had the PUP SlimCleaner Plus on your PC, you now know how easy it is for malware to infect your device.
New malware is constantly being released, and there are many different forms of malware — some of which come with significant risks to your privacy and security.
So how can you keep yourself and your device protected? There are a number of things you can do:
- Keep Your OS, Software, and Drivers Up-To-Date: Software updates may seem annoying, but they’re necessary. If you neglect to install your device’s updates, you’ll be vulnerable to exploit attacks. Most software updates are actually security patches that close up vulnerabilities that have the potential to be exploited by hackers. Turn on automatic updates where you can and don’t ignore notifications saying your apps are out of date.
- Don’t Download Suspicious Files: Be careful with what you download. Avoid sketchy sites offering free movies and games as these often contain malware or come bundled with PUPs. In the same fashion, be wary of clicking email attachments as these are just as risky. A good antivirus will block dangerous downloads before they activate, providing an extra layer of protection.
- Secure Your Wireless Network and IoT Devices: Malware can spread from one device to another, so you need to protect all of your devices lest any infection spread. Protect your network with a strong password and do the same for any Internet of Things (IoT) devices. A firewall will provide even more protection.
- Download a Secure Antivirus Program: I’m repeating myself at this point, but an antivirus is your best option for avoiding malware. It’s the best complement to good old common sense. An antivirus can remove all threats and even stop them before they activate. Features like web protections, firewalls, and real-time protection are essential.
3 Best Antivirus Programs for Removing SlimCleaner Plus
Quick summary of the best antiviruses for removing SlimCleaner Plus:
- 🥇 1. Norton 360 — Best antivirus for removing the SlimCleaner Plus PUP & other threats.
- 🥈 2. Bitdefender — Cloud-based antivirus that won’t slow down your device.
- 🥉 3. TotalAV — Beginner-friendly antivirus with intuitive apps for all devices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SlimCleaner Plus a Microsoft product?
No, SlimCleaner Plus is not a Microsoft product, nor is it affiliated with Microsoft. It is a well-known PUP (potentially unwanted program) that you’ll want to remove. If you are looking for a quality PC optimization tool, there are plenty of other reputable products on the market, such as TotalAV.
If SlimCleaner Plus has suddenly appeared on your PC, it likely came bundled with another freeware application you downloaded. You should follow our steps to uninstall it and then use a secure antivirus program like Norton to check if your PC is free from any further malware.
Is SlimCleaner Plus safe?
SlimCleaner Plus is a PUP (potentially unwanted program) designed to harvest user data and trick users into paying a costly subscription. Although it won’t cause damage to your PC, it won’t do it any good either, and it’s usually bundled with other PUPs.
If you’ve installed it without realizing, you may have been infected by more dangerous malware too. You should follow our steps to uninstall SlimCleaner Plus and check whether your PC has any infections. If you don’t yet have an antivirus, you should consider a product that also comes bundled with quality system cleanup tools, like Norton, TotalAV, or Avira.
Is SlimCleaner Plus malware?
SlimCleaner Plus is classified as a PUP (potentially unwanted program), so it’s not exactly malware. Still, you’ll want to get rid of it. PUPs often come bundled with freeware downloads and pirated content, meaning they usually download onto your computer without your knowledge or express approval.
Usually, PUPs claim to have a legitimate function. For example, SlimCleaner Plus claims to optimize your PC — but in reality, it just runs fake scans that generate fake results, and then tries to persuade you to pay a subscription to fix the issues. Essentially, PUPs are little more than malicious downloads that steal your data and attempt to scam you into paying money.
How to remove SlimCleaner Plus?
Removing SlimCleaner Plus is easy. All you have to do is uninstall it via your Windows control panel. We have outlined the steps on how to do this above — depending on what version of Windows you’re using:
However, once you’ve finished uninstalling SlimCleaner Plus, you should also run a full disk scan with a reliable antivirus like Norton 360. This is because PUPs like SlimCleaner Plus usually come packaged with other malware. So if you have SlimCleaner Plus on your PC, there’s a good chance your PC is infected with other more dangerous malware threats too.
