zen "protection" be gone

Suddenly AVG free does not recognise its license. :(
Like so so many, I don't want zen. I donlt want a product called "Protection".
I followed the misleading link for free antivirus & was accordingly mislead to get zen & "protection".
I stoppped this install.
I followed a helpful-sounding link to a free antivirus online installer.
The post also had mention of someone removing all registry keys relating to AVG to stop zen & "protection" loading, but no details.
Ran the installer.
viola ==> Zen & "Protection".
Unistalling AGAIN!
Yet another reboot.
Can't uninstall zen without first uninstalling "Protection".
"Protection" uninstall is many minutes into the work & satill shows a green bar about a quarter of the way across.
Its stalled, I guess.
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Just want the free antivirus to work again.
Any suggestions?
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It would be nice if the link for "free antivirus" was just that.
Honest marketing.
If this fails, I guess I'll go buy one, but it's not going to be AVG. Seems you can't trust it.
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Green bar - less than one quarter of the way across.
Multiple reboots - another hour wasted.
So sick of this.
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Anyone have a route to just get the free antivirus?
(I know, asked before, but the ones I found just don't seem to be up to defeating the AVG installer that so knows best.)
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PS: I love the "must have inadvertently" on the answers about getting the zen & "protection" download.
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PPS Hey look the uninstall failed.
Error code 0xC0070643
Description: Event exec_finished
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Can't have the product you want - can't get rid of the ones you don't want.
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Suggestions?