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Frequently Asked Questions About AVG Anti-virus
Author: Eldon Martin
Updated:  03-06-06

AVG is an anti-virus program produced by Grisoft, an European company.  AVG free edition can be downloaded from free.grisoft.com, and is licensed for home use only.  Business users can purchase the professional edition at www.grisoft.com. 


Q: Why is AVG free for home use?  How does the company make money?

A: Grisoft makes money selling their products to small businesses and enterprises. 


Q: How often do I have to update AVG? How do I do it?

A: Like most anti-virus programs, updates for AVG are released several times per week. AVG will automatically check for updates periodically while you're on the Internet, but those using dial-up may have to update manually from time to time.  To see if AVG is currently up to date, you can glance at the AVG icon on the Windows taskbar near the clock.  This icon is normally colorful, but turns to gray if AVG is out of date.   If this icon remains gray for more than a day or two, you should run the update manually to make sure your protection is up to date.  To do this, double-click the "AVG Free" icon on the desktop, then click "Check for Updates" and follow the prompts.


Q: AVG gives me several choices when it finds a virus. Which one should I choose?

A: First, click the “Heal” button. In most cases, you'll see a success message, and the virus is gone. If you get an error message instead, press “Delete” and confirm when it asks. If even that is unsuccessful, click "Continue" to close the window and run a full scan from within AVG.


Q: My emails have a “checked with AVG" tag at the end. Is there a way to make this go away?

A: The “certify email” feature of AVG adds a "checked with AVG" message to the end of each email, something many users don't like. To disable it, open AVG, go to the Control Center, double-click the email scanner component, click configure, and clear the "certify email" check box under both send and receive.


Q: AVG tries to scan my computer every morning when I'm trying to use my computer. Is this necessary? How can I disable it?

A: Like most other anti-virus programs, AVG constantly checks for viruses in the background, minimizing the need to run a full virus scan every day.  If you leave your computer on during the night, I'd recommend simply reconfiguring the scan to happen during the night when it won't interfere with your work.  If you turn your computer off during the night, disable the scheduled scan altogether, and just run a scan every couple of weeks at a time that is convenient for you. 

To make the changes you desire, open AVG, click Task Scheduler, then double-click the “test plan in basic mode”. You will see an option to set the time to scan, or you can clear the check mark to disable the scan altogether.

 

Copyright(c) 2005 by Eldon Martin