FAQ

The whole computer scan may be launched in different ways. Please select the more suitable one:

1. Launch the complete test by clicking on the "Computer scanner" button

• Please open the AVG Free program
• Click on the "Computer scanner" button from navigation panel located at left hand side
• Then please click on the "Scan whole computer" option
• Now the complete test of your computer is running

2. Launch the complete test from "Tools" menu

• Please open the AVG Free program
• Click on the "Tools" menu located at the top of window
• Select the "Scan computer" option from the menu
• The complete scan of your computer will start imediatelly

Note:
Automatic daily test plan is part of default AVG Free configuration. It is therefore usually not necessary to run the test manually, unless you disabled the default test plan. To check whether the automatic daily test is enabled, please proceed as follows:

• Open AVG Free program.
• Click on the Computer scanner in the left part of the window.
• In the list of Scheduled scans, there will be displayed the time of the next scan.
• In case the Scheduled scan is set to Disabled, double-click on it and tick the option Enable this task.

The scan of specific folders may be launched in two ways. Please select the more suitable one:

1. Launch the complete test by clicking on the "Computer scanner" button

• Please open the AVG program
• Click on the "Computer scanner" button from navigation panel located at left hand side
• Then please click on the "Scan specific files or folders" option
• Tick off all folders that may be scanned by AVG
• To start the test please click on the "Start scan" button

2. Launch the complete test from "Tools" menu

• Please open the AVG program
• Click on the "Tools" menu located at the top of window
• Select the "Scan selected folder ..." option from the menu
• Tick off all folders that may be scanned by AVG
• To start the test please click on the "Start scan" button

The change of a scheduled time of the daily test in AVG Free Edition is very simple. If the AVG Free program is installed, you can change the scheduled time this way:

• Open the AVG User Interface (double-click the AVG Free 8.0 icon on your desktop).
• Open the Tools -> Advanced Settings... menu.
• In the left navigational tree please open the Schedules section by clicking the plus sign on its side and select the Scheduled scan option.
• Now you can select/change the specific time (or other options - run every xx hour, action based scan) in the right settings window
• After you have set all the options according to your needs, please click the OK button to apply all changes.

It is also possible to change the time directly after performing the installation of AVG Free Edition, in the AVG First Run Wizard. To change the scheduled time please follow these steps:

• If the AVG First Run Wizard is running please go through it till you reach the Schedule regular scans and updates (step 2) window.
• In the lower part of the window you can set the time of daily scanning, feel free to set any time reflecting your needs.

The priority of the scan process defines how fast will the scan run, and how much system resources will it use. In other words, you can set the scan to run as fast as possible while slowing down your computer noticably, or you can choose that you wish the test to run using as little system resources as possible, while prolonging its run time.

There are three options for the test priority in AVG:

• Fast scan = shortest scan time, highest usage of system resources
  The Fast scan does not leave any time gaps between reading files on the computer, and the scanning runs in multiple threads to utilize even multi-core processors. The Fast scan is recommended when the computer is not used or no other demanding application is running at the same time.
  
• Slow scan = longest scan time, lowest usage of system resources
  The Slow scan leaves time gaps between reading individual files, so that other applications can access the data on the computer with minimal delay. The scanning itself also runs with lower priority, in single thread, and with lower memory demands.
• Automatic scan = both scan time and generated system load depend on current computer load
  In the Automatic mode, AVG is adjusting the scan priority and gaps between files based on current system load, thus minimizing the impact of the test on the system, while finishing the test in shortest possible time.

The scan priority can be set for both running and scheduled test:

• Running test
  Please adjust the slider in the window of currently running test (AVG User Interface -> Computer scanner -> running scan).
• Scheduled test
  In Computer scanner, please double-click on the scheduled scan and switch to the tab "How to scan". After setting the priority, please click the "Save" button to store the configuration.

The AVG Free test may report a warning - potentially dangerous object on some files, which may be infected or pose a potential threat. Typical examples of such detection are hidden files, cookies, suspicious registry keys, password protected documents or archives, etc. This is a brief description of the most common examples of such objects:

• Hidden files
  The hidden files are by default not visible in Windows, and some viruses or other threats may try to avoid their detection by storing their files with this attribute. If your AVG reports a hidden file which you suspect to be malicious, you can move it to your AVG Virus Vault and send it to us for analysis.
• Cookies
  Cookies are plain-text files which are used by websites to store user-specific information, which is later used for loading custom website layout, pre-filling user name, etc. More information is available in the FAQ dedicated to this detection.
• Suspicious registry keys
  Some malware stores its information into Windows registry, to ensure it is loaded on startup or to extend its effect on the operating system. However, the detection in Windows registry may be also related to an "immunization" function of some anti-spyware programs, as described in this FAQ. Such detections should not be healed to maintain the anti-spyware application functionality.
• Password protected documents or archives
  Password protected files can not be scanned by AVG (or an Anti-Malware program in general), as explained in this FAQ topic.

If you wish, you can adjust the AVG test settings in such way, that only the warnings you are interested in are reported:

• open AVG Free User Interface
• click on Computer scanner
• click "Change scan settings"
• alternatively, you can change these settings in menu Tools - Advanced settings

More information about the files detected by AVG is available in the FAQ section covering viruses.

When AVG Free Edition detects a virus in a file, it attempts to remove such file with the access rights of the user who executed the test, or tried to access the file. In case this is not possible due to limited permissions (e.g. you can open the file but can not modify it or delete it), AVG Free Edition can attempt to remove the file under different user account with higher permissions.

When you select the Remove threat as Power User option, you are asked to enter Windows user name and password for a different user account. In typical situation, administrator user name and password can be used, however this depends on the user accounts you have available on your computer.

To check under which user account are you logged into Windows and which other accounts are available, you  can refer to the FAQ topic 1263.