FAQ

To install AVG 8.0 over the installed AVG 7.x or AVG 7.5 Free please proceed as follows:

1. Download the latest AVG 8.0 installation file here (choose your edition):

http://www.avg.com/download?prd=aav
(AVG Anti-Virus 8.0)
http://www.avg.com/download?prd=ais
(AVG Internet Security 8.0)
http://www.avg.com/download?prd=avf
(AVG Anti-Virus plus Firewall 8.0)

• Click on "Download AVG now" button
• When you are prompted, please do not open this file directly from the Internet, but click the "Save" button and choose a location, where the installation file should be stored (we recommend saving the file to the Desktop)

2. Reboot your computer

3. Close all running applications, locate the downloaded AVG installation file (it has a four color square icon and its name starts with AVG_...) and launch it

• Follow the installation wizard to install the new AVG 8.0 (previous version of AVG 7.5 will be automatically removed during the installation process)
• Enter your license number when you are asked (we recommend that you use Copy&Paste method to enter this license number into the installation form, as described in FAQ #988

4. Update the AVG program.

Note:
It is not possible to automatically transfer your settings from AVG 7.5 to AVG 8.0, due to major changes in the program function. In case you are using AVG Firewall, only basic rules will be copied to the new AVG 8.0 Firewall configuration.

IMPORTANT:
In case you are installing AVG from the very first AVG 8.0 Backup CD (released in March 2008) it is necessary to uninstall the previous AVG 7.x or AVG 7.5 Free version manually as described below:

1. Uninstall previous AVG version

• Start -> (Settings) -> Control Panel -> Add/remove programs
• Find AVG in the list of installed applications and click on the "Uninstall" button
• Finish the uninstallation process

2. Reboot your computer

3. Close all running applications and launch the installation from the AVG 8.0 Backup CD

• Follow the installation wizard to install the new AVG 8.0
• Enter your license number when you are asked (we recommend that you use Copy&Paste method to enter this license number into the installation form, as described in FAQ #988

4. Update the AVG program.


If there is some issue while installing AVG 8.0 we highly recommend that you use the latest version of AVG installation file as mentioned above. If the issue still persists, please contact our technical support.

LinkScanner is a new security component. It is part of all AVG commercial editions. You can find it in the AVG user interface and you can change its configuration there as well.

You can find 3 options when you open the LinkScanner component:

1. Enable AVG Search-Shield
   It checks the SEARCHED (using Yahoo, Google or MSN) web pages content.
2. Enable AVG Active Surf-Shield
   It checks the VISITED web pages content while the web page is loading.
3. Enable reporting of exploited websites to AVG
   This service sends a report about found insecure web page to our lab for detailed analysis.

The LinkScanner component can be connected with the AVG Security Toolbar, which is part of Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Internet browsers. You can read more about AVG Security Toolbar in FAQ 1188.

The AVG Security Toolbar is a new tool which works together with the LinkScanner component and checks search results of the supported Internet search engines (Yahoo!, Google, MSN).

 

This tool is available in all editions of AVG 8.0. If you select to install the toolbar during the installation of AVG, it will be added into your Internet Explorer and/or Mozilla Firefox. Please let us inform you that in case you are using some alternative Internet browser instead of Internet Explorer, (e.g Avant Browser) you can meet unexpected behaviour.

 

The AVG Security Toolbar can be used to control the LinkScanner functions and to adjust its behavior, and to update your AVG in case new updates are available. There are some another functions included in AVG Security Toolbar.

 

If you decide that you do not wish to use the toolbar, you can either skip its installation during the AVG installation process, or disable it manually in your Internet browser:

1. Internet Explorer

• use the mouse right-click on the toolbar and check-off the AVGTOOLBAR option in the list

 

2. Mozilla Firefox

• Tools menu -> Add-ons, find the AVG Security Toolbar here and click on the Disable button

Disabling or uninstalling the AVG Security Toolbar has no negative effect on the level of security provided by LinkScanner component. The only consequence of missing toolbar is an absence of some of the options, and less verbose information about the threats found by the LinkScanner component. The main settings of the LinkScanner component can be still configured in AVG User Interface.

 

More information about AVG Security Toolbar here.
You can find more information about the AVG LinkScanner component in this FAQ.

 

Note:
AVG Toolbar contains also a Yahoo! search box, which is an integral part of the toolbar and can not be removed separately.

There's also a possibility to set up Yahoo! as a default search engine in your Internet browser while running the AVG First Run Wizard. However that is not connected with AVG Security Toolbar anyhow.

This AVG Firewall function is designed for full-screen applications which need to communicate with Internet, and the Firewall dialogue with choice of available actions would affect the application (minimize it or corrupt its graphics).

The offered solution is the Gaming mode, which can be activated this way:

Open AVG - double-click on the Firewall component - tick the option Enable gaming mode - confirm the change using the button Save changes.

After saving the rule, all communication of all full-screen applications will be allowed.

It is also possible to enable the Gaming mode for each Firewall profile, and change the Firewall action from Allow for all to Block:

Open AVG - menu Firewall settings - profile name

The migration from AVG Admin 7.5 to AVG 8.0 Remote Administration consists of several steps. This is a guide to this process, additional information about AVG 8.0 can be found in the documentation, or in other FAQ topics.

Before following this guide, please make sure that all the clients which will be upgraded to AVG 8.0 comply with its system requirements.

Important note:

All the stations which will be upgraded to AVG 8.0 will be restarted during the remote installation. Please see FAQ topic 1185 for more details.
Please uninstall an old e-mail plugin if you upgrade AVG 7.5 to AVG 8.0 on your e-mail server. More information may be found in FAQ topic 1201.

1. Update your AVG Admin 7.5 to the latest version

• download the latest AVG Admin 7.5 installation file from our website
• the requirement for correct migration is version 7.5.516
• run the installation, select Repair installation
  
• answer NO to both questions during the installation process (this means that you wish to keep your database and TCP Server configuration)

2. Installation of AVG 8.0 Remote Administration

• download the latest AVG Remote Administration installation file from our website
• please select the Network Edition based on your license
• download the file AVG Admin 8.0 for Windows
• install the AVG Remote Administration 8.0
• your Licence Number will be required during the installation

• after the installation, follow the AVG Admin Server Deployment Wizard
• the AVG Admin Server will be started after the wizard
• the server is listening on port 4158 by default, AVG Admin 7.5 and 8.0 can be running at the same time with no risk of collisions or conflicts

3. Prepare a list of stations that shall be reinstalled and moved to AVG 8.0 Remote Administration

• open AVG Admin 7.5
  
• export list of stations which you wish to upgrade to AVG 8.0
  
• select the stations you wish to upgrade
• right-click on the selected stations and click "Export station list"
• you can export list of all stations, or create several lists - e.g. one for each group

4. Install AVG 8.0 onto the stations using AVG Network Installer Wizard

• run the AVG Network Installer Wizard from menu Start -> Programs -> AVG 8.0 Remote Administration
• follow the wizard, while configuring all options according to your needs
• the default settings are sufficient in most cases and will ensure that the stations will connect to AVG Remote Administration 8.0 after the installation
  
• AVG 8.0 installation file will be required in the process. In case the AVG Network Installer Wizard fails to download it automatically, please download it from our website.
• on the screen number 4 "Network Scanning", please select option "Import stations from file"
• browse to the previously created list of stations
• in case you created multiple lists, please repeat the whole step 4 of this guide for each of the lists, all advanced settings will be remembered
• confirm the list of stations and proceed with the installation
• the last screen of the AVG Network Installer Wizard allows you to decide, whether you wish to remove all successfully installed stations from AVG Admin 7.5

As a result, you will have installed 2 different AVG DataCenters on the server:

• AVG Remote Administration 8.0 DataCenter - all upgraded stations will log into the new DataCenter, and can be managed using the new AVG Admin Console
• AVG Admin 7.5 - should the upgrade process fail on some stations, these stations will be still managable using the old AVG Admin 7.5

5. Uninstallation of AVG Admin 7.5

• Once the migration is finished, it is possible to uninstall AVG Admin 7.5. Its removal does not have any effect on the AVG Remote Administration 8.0, nor on the clients connected to its server.
  

If you look into the Windows Task Manager, tab Processes, you can see how much memory is used by each AVG process. This number can range from single to tens of megabytes, depending on the process (e.g. Resident Shield has loaded the whole virus base, plus the data it is currently scanning). However, it is not possible to simply add up the memory consumption of each AVG process to get the overall memory usage of AVG. Some of the allocated memory displayed for each AVG process is in fact shared between all processes. If for example 3 processes are using 10 MB of shared memory, they will be still displayed as 3 separate processes, consuming 30 MB combined, which is not true.

In case you are experiencing a major slowdown while AVG test is running, or, on the other hand, AVG is not scanning fast enough, please try to adjust the scan performance, which is displayed in the bottom part of the AVG User Interface - "Computer scanner" - currently running scan.

If you are using Windows Vista and your computer or Internet connection is working much slower than before installation of AVG, please try to install the Windows Update Windows update KB929547. 

At the same time, we would like to inform you that we are permanently making an effort to improve the product so that its demands on system resources are as low as possible.

To clear the history of searched terms in AVG Toolbar please proceed as follows:

• Open your Internet browser (Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox).
• Click on the arrow next to the button Search in AVG Toolbar.
• Select Clear history.

The AVG software protects your computer on multiple levels. In case you need to disable AVG, please consider which part of the protection you need to switch off. The AVG parts and their purpose are:

• AVG Resident Shield
  The Resident Shield is the main component protecting you from viruses. It scans accessed files and if a virus is found, the access to the file is blocked. This applies to executing infected programs, as well as to opening of infected documents or any other files.
  Disabling of the Resident Shield is sometimes recommended before installation of a new software or drivers, since it can prevent conflicts that would otherwise occur during their installation. This however applies only to limited number of specific programs and drivers, and there is no general reason why AVG Resident Shield should interfere with an installation of any application.
  To disable the Resident Shield, please:
  • open AVG User Interface
  • double-click on the Resident Shield
  • un-tick the option "Resident Shield active"
  • save the changes
  Please do not forget to activate the Resident Shield again once you performed the tasks requiring its deactivation.
  
• AVG Firewall
  The Firewall component is designed to control and filter network traffic based on a set of rules. You might need to disable the Firewall while troubleshooting connection problems, or to install some network-related application. Please bear in mind that installation of some applications with function similar to that of AVG Firewall may result in conflict and malfunction of one or both programs/components.
  To disable the AVG Firewall, please:
  
  • open AVG User Interface
  • double-click on the Firewall
  • select "Firewall disabled"
  • save the changes
  Please remember to enable the Firewall again once the reason for its disabling is over.
  
• AVG E-mail Scanner
  The AVG E-mail Scanner may affect your sending/receiving of e-mails, since it is designed to scan the messages and needs to access them in some way. The way of accessing the messages depends on your e-mail client, but only the Personal E-mail Scanner plugin can interfere with the communication between your computer and the e-mail server.
  To disable the Personal E-mail Scanner (if it is installed), please:
  
  • open AVG User Interface
  • in menu "Tools" select "Advanced settings"
  • go to E-mail Scanner - Servers - POP3, and click on the POP3 server (usually AutoPOP3:10110)
  • un-tick the option "Activate this server and use it for receiving e-mails"
  • repeat the same for SMTP server
  Please enable the servers that were enabled originally again when possible.
• AVG Web Shield
  The AVG Web Shield component checks HTTP and PROXY communication, and scans files that are downloaded to the computer through the related ports/sockets. Additionally, it is able to scan files downloaded using ICQ and MSN instant messengers.
  To disable the Web Shield, please:
  
  • open AVG User Interface
  • double-click on Web Shield
  • un-tick option "Web protection"
  • switch to tab "Instant messaging" and un-tick "Instant Messaging protection"
  The component should be enabled the same way when possible.

If you require any assistance on this or any other subject, please feel free to contact our Technical Support.

In case the re-installation process from AVG 7.x to AVG 8.0 was aborted for any reason (e.g. computer restart) you can complete the installation by following the instructions described in FAQ 943

In case that some components are inactive or you are experiencing blocked internet connection after the AVG 8.0.196 program update, please try to restart your computer. If the issue persists even after the restart, proceed as follows in order to resolve this issue:

• download the utility from the link below to your hard drive
  fixfiles.exe
• run the "fixfiles.exe" utility
• restart your computer
  

If your Internet connection is blocked and you cannot download the file fixfiles.zip, you can unblock it by temporarily disabling AVG Web Shield and AVG LinkScanner:

• open AVG by double-clicking its icon on your Desktop or in taskbar
  
• double-click on Web Shield component
• untick the option Enable Web Shield, then click Save changes
• double-click on LinkScanner component
  
• disable all its options and click Save changes

If the Internet connection is still blocked, also please try to deactivate the AVG Firewall component:

• open AVG by double-clicking its icon on your Desktop or in taskbar
• double-click on Firewall component
• tick the option Firewall disabled, then click Save changes

Please enable all three components again once the issue is resolved.

In case the issue still persists, please perform repair installation of your AVG as described in FAQ #948.

If the issue persists even after performing a repair installation, please contact us using the "Get Help Online" option in AVG.

More information about contacting AVG Customer Services can be found here: How to contact Customer Services

If you receive the "Invalid update control CTF file" message during AVG update, most probably the update control files are corrupted. In this case it is necessary to delete these files. During a next attempt to update AVG, new control files should be downloaded and update process should be completed without any difficulties. Please kindly follow these steps to delete mentioned control files:

• Run the AVG user interface (double-click the AVG 8.0 icon on your desktop).
• Open the Tools -> Advanced Settings... menu.
• Navigate to the Manage tab in the Update branch.
• Press the Delete temporary update files button.
• Try to update AVG.

If the issue persists, then please follow steps below:

Your Internet settings are not correct

Even if your Internet connection is working correctly, incorrect DNS servers may be filled in, affecting AVG update. This can be caused e.g. by some virus that was previously on your computer.

• Open menu Start -> (Settings) -> Control Panel.
• Double-click on Network connections.
• Right-click on the connection you are using and choose Properties.
• Double-click on Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) item on the General tab.
• Please check (and modify if necessary) the settings of IP address and DNS servers according to your Internet Provider settings or choose the Obtain * * DNS server address automatically option.
• Confirm the settings by clicking on the OK button.
• Close the window.

If the issue persists even after performing the steps above, please contact us using the Get Help Online option in AVG Help menu.

More information about contacting AVG Customer Services can be found here: How to contact Customer Services

In case you you are not able to run your Windows XP operating system after AVG 8.0 virus definition update (DB: 270.9.0/1777) and you do not have Windows XP installation CD, please proceed as follows in order to resolve this situation:

We have prepared an utility which can fix the issue mentioned above. You can use the following boot media: either CD-ROM or USB flash drive. If you decide to use CD-ROM, please follow the instructions in part A), in case of USB flash drive follow the steps in part B). When finished it is necessary (in both cases) to follow additional instructions described in part C).

A. CD-ROM instructions (recommended):

1. Please download the CD image.
2. Use your favorite CD burning software to burn the downloaded image (IMPORTANT NOTE: Please use the "Burn CD from image"* option).
3. Insert the CD into the CD-ROM drive of the affected computer and restart the computer. It should boot up from the CD. If not, please see the user's manual for you motherboard to find out how to let the computer boot from a CD.
4. Continue with instructions in section C).

B. USB flash drive instructions (available only for computers supporting USB boot function):

1. Please download the USB flash archive (rescue.zip).
2. Extract the content of the "rescue.zip" archive to your USB flash drive.
3. IMPORTANT: go to the root of the flash drive.
WARNING: take care to do the next step only when you are located on the flash drive. Doing the step on the local disk can DESTROY BOOT FILES ON YOUR HARD
DRIVE!

4. Please run the "makeboot.bat" batch (pay attention that it is the one on the USB flash drive) and follow the instructions.
5. Connect the USB flash drive to the affected computer and restart the computer. It should boot up from the USB flash drive. If not, please see the user's manual for you motherboard to find out how to let the computer boot from a USB flash drive. Please note that this function is not supported on all motherboards.

C. Additional instructions:

1. Boot the computer from the CD-ROM or USB flash drive as described in steps A) and B).
2. Follow the rescue process.
3. Please login to Windows as Administrator.
4. Update the AVG program (Open AVG User Interface and click the "Update now" button)
5. Rename the file "avgrsx.exe_off" to "avgrsx.exe". This file is located in the AVG 8.0 Program folder (C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8 by default)´.
6. Rename the file "avgsched.dll_off" to "avgsched.dll". This file is located in the AVG 8.0 Program folder (C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG8 by default)
7. Remove the boot media (CD-ROM or USB flash drive) and restart your computer.

* The name of the function may vary depending on used software.