System Assistant - How to remove

System Assistant is potentially unwanted and should not be used, even though it’s advertised as improving your privacy and making your PC run better. It may have been installed on your machine without your informed consent, it fails to offer any original features, and it still asks for money. Real antivirus programs warn users to not run System Assistant (VirusTotal link).

In short about System Assistant:

Type of threat	PUP (potentially unwanted program), PC optimizer.
System Assistant features	Deleting various files, managing startup files.
Problems and issues	Low-reputation developer, suspicious distribution, redundant features that should be free.
Removing System Assistant	Uninstall System Assistant, remove adware, use antivirus programs (Spyhunter, Malwarebytes, etc.) to clean your computer.

What is System Assistant

System Assistant does not have a good reputation. For one, it’s made by Avanquest – the same company that released PC OptiClean, PC Speed Maximizer, OneSafe PC Cleaner, and others. And it’s detected by many reputable antivirus programs as a PUP – potentially unwanted program. My antivirus program immediately blocked System Assistant when I tried to download it. So, what are the issues with this program?

Like most optimizers, System Assistant promises to speed up your computer, improve your privacy, and create more free space on your device. Also like other optimizers, System Assistant does this by deleting unnecessary files. It’s like Windows Storage Sense – but worse, more dangerous, and not free.

System Assistant asks for $10 a month or $36 a year in exchange for maintaining your computer:

• deleting browser history and cookies,
• deleting log files,
• deleting temporary files, caches, and unused settings,
• emptying your recycle bin,
• check your startup programs.

As you can see, System Assistant offers extremely basic functions. Most of what it does won’t do much to improve the speed of your PC, but may make your programs a tiny bit slower. Browser cache saves webpage data to load it faster, deleting it isn’t always good. Browser cookies save your settings and personalize your browsing, deleting them will log you out of some websites and end up wasting your time. File shredding is not useful unless you’re about to sell your computer.

The one thing that System Assistant does that could help make your computer faster is managing startup programs. Startup includes a list of programs that run when you turn on your computer. The more programs do this, the longer your computer takes to properly turn on. Many applications automatically add themselves to startup when you install them, so this can be an issue. You can use System Assistant or another optimizer to solve this, but you can also do it for free:

• right-click the taskbar (the ribbon at the bottom),
• click on Task Manager,
• if needed, click on the arrow in the bottom left to show more details,
• open the Startup tab at the top,
• right-click each program to choose to turn it on or off.

System Assistant asks money for what Windows already offers for free. But that’s not all that’s wrong with it.

How System Assistant spreads

Useless programs like System Assistant don’t generally get detected as malware unless they also use shady distribution methods. These include bundling with free programs to get installed without properly warning the user, advertising by using fake virus warnings, or tricking users in other ways.

System Assistant’s makers may claim that antivirus detections are false positives, or even that antivirus companies are maliciously marking System Assistant for no other reason than to take it down. But that’s not true. Antivirus programs almost never detect their rivals as malware. They have good reasons for detecting PUPs like System Assistant.

Although I downloaded System Assistant from Systemassistantpro.com, Avanquest is no stranger to using scam virus warnings to spread its software. Scareware tactics lead people to pay for software that they don’t want or need.

Email spam marketing, notification pop-ups, intrusive ads shown by adware viruses are also frequently used to promote potentially unwanted programs like System Assistant. If you haven’t recently scanned your computer with a reputable antivirus application, you may want to do that, as adware viruses cause lots of security issues if left unchecked.

How to remove System Assistant

Of course, if you like System Assistant, you can keep using it. It won’t hurt the security of your computer – it’s not malware, just a PUP.

If you wish to remove System Assistant after buying the subscription, know that you should be able to get a refund within 30 days of purchasing it.

System Assistant offers uninstall instructions on Systemassistantpro.com and they’re the same as for most Windows programs: close System Assistant, open Control Panel, click on the option Uninstall a program, and proceed from there. Illustrated instructions are in the section below.

If you suspect an adware virus infection, make sure to scan your computer with a real security program, such as Spyhunter or Malwarebytes. Also check notification settings in your browser for any suspicious sites.

Automatic Malware removal tools

How to remove System Assistant using Windows Control Panel

Many hijackers and adware like System Assistant install some of their components as regular Windows programs as well as additional software. This part of malware can be uninstalled from the Control Panel. To access it, do the following.

• Start→Control Panel (older Windows) or press Windows Key→Search and enter Control Panel and then press Enter (Windows 8, Windows 10).
• Choose Uninstall Program (if you don't see it, click in the upper right next to "View by" and select Category).
• Go through the list of programs and select entries related to System Assistant . You can click on "Name" or "Installed On" to reorder your programs and make System Assistant easier to find.
• Click the Uninstall button. If you're asked if you really want to remove the program, click Yes.
• In many cases anti-malware programs are better at detecting related parasites, thus I recommend installing Spyhunter to identify other programs that might be a part of this infection.