To improve scanning speed in AVG, caching of trusted files was implemented.
This service (AVG Cache Server) is indexing files that qualify as trusted based on several criterias (e.g. digital signature from trusted source). Files which are indexed do not require additional scanning, unless they are changed.
Indexing is done through the "avgchsvx.exe" (for 32-bit Windows) or "avgchsva.exe" (for 64-bit Windows). It runs after computer startup for short amount of time as only changes in the indexed files are searched.
Although the disk is active during that time (the control light indicating disk activity on computer is blinking), the impact on system is minimal.
To alter the settings of AVG Cache server:
Please note, that we do not recommend to change these settings.
{/jkefel}{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[Resident Shield - what is it?]}
The Resident Shield component gives your computer
continuous protection. It scans every single file that is being opened,
saved, or copied, and guards the system areas of the computer. Normally,
you do not even notice the process, as it runs "in the background", and
you only get notified when threats are found; at the same time, the
Resident Shield blocks activation of the threat and removes it.
The
Resident Shield is loaded in the memory of your computer during
startup, and it is vital that you keep it switched on at all times.
What the Resident Shield can do:
For more information regarding AVG Resident Shield please refer to documentation available here.
{/jkefel}{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[Setting programs such as GetRight or WinRAR to scan the files they use]}
You can use the AVG scanner with 3rd party program scanning options. There is a difference based on your system architecture. If you use a 32 bit system (x86) you need to use avgscanx.exe file for the scanning. For 64 bit systems (x64) you should use the avgscana.exe file.
Usually it is necessary to use the /scan parameter with the path of the file location. We also recommend using other parameters, e.g.:
You can access the complete list of parameters by starting the avgscan?.exe with the /HELP parameter or in FAQ 3604.
These are examples of the AVG scanner configuration in some popular applications:
Note:
If you installed AVG to a folder other than the default
one, it is necessary to change the path to the file avgscan?.exe. Please
bear in mind that the specific parameters depend on the given
application. In this case you should ask the provider of the software
for the necessary information.
{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[Excluding folder or file from AVG 2011 scanning]}
To exclude a folder/file from Resident Shield scanning, please proceed as follows:
If you need to exclude a certain Potentially unwanted program from any detection (for example if you are using an Ad-sponsored program or utility, which could be dangerous, but could also be used with your knowledge), proceed as follows:
{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[List of AVG commandline scan parameters]}
AVG scan executable file is located in the installation folder under name avgscana.exe or avgscanx.exe (Default installation folder is C:\Program Files\AVG\AVG10). The avgscan?.exe needs to be started with parameters to specify setting for the scan. You can get list of all parameters by starting it with the /Help parameter or see the following list:
{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[Remove threat as power user]}
When AVG 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
can attempt to remove the file under different user account with higher
permissions.
When you select the option "Remove threat as power user", 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 2521.
{/jkefel}{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[Starting and planning complete scan of the whole computer]}
To start the computer scan, follow these steps:
If you want AVG scan to run automatically according to some schedule please proceed as follows:
{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[Removable device scan]}
Settings of the item Removable device scan are available in the Advanced settings of AVG, under the Scans item.
When you choose the Removable device scan item the dialog allows you to specify parameters for scan of removable devices. It is needed to check the "Enable removable device scan" checkbox to activate this feature. If you do this, upon every connection of any removable device to your computer (for example USB flash drive) this device will be automatically scanned for viruses and/or spyware. If you disconnect the removable device during the scan, the scan will be interrupted (and will start again after next connection of the removable device).
{/jkefel}{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[Options when scheduling scan or program update]}
When scheduling scans or program update the following additional options are available:
Run at specific time interval
The following options are available:
Run on computer startup if task has been missed
If
you schedule the scan to run at a specific time, you can check this
option to ensure that the scan will be performed subsequently in case
the computer is turned off at the scheduled time.
Run even if computer is in low power mode
Check this option to specify that the scan should be performed even if the computer is running on battery at the scheduled time.
{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[Tracking cookies scan is disabled in default settings]}
Tracking cookies are not detected in default settings of AVG. Tracking cookies are not dangerous files and, they are created automatically when accessing webpages. For more information about tracking cookies, please see FAQ 2334.
You can however turn the detection on. To do so, please follow these steps:
1. Resident Shield settings
2. AVG test settings
3. Scheduled test settings
{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[Adware detection in AVG]}
AVG is able to detect applications from the Adware category as special part of Potentially Unwanted Applications detection.
Adware software can display and/or download advertisement and may be considered privacy-invasive. Adware applications are however not harmfull and their detection is disabled by default in AVG.
To enable resident Adware detection follow these steps:
To enable Adware detection through a scheduled scan follow these steps:
Please note that some adware may be associated with different application. Deleting them might cause issues with that application or be against license agreement of that application.
{/jkefel}{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[Information in a test result]}
AVG scan is able to detect files which may not be infected, but are suspicious. These files are reported either as Warning (described in FAQ 2344), or as Information. The severity Information can be reported for one of the following reasons:
If you wish, you can adjust the AVG test settings in such way, that only the information you are interested in are reported:
{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[Running AVG in Safe Mode]}
It is possible to run AVG scan in a safe mode, however the functionality is limited to command line scan only. To run the scan, you can proceed as follows:
{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[Exclusions for AVG needed for proper Hyper-V virtual machines functionality]}
When using the Hyper-V virtual machines on Windows Server 2008-based computers, it is necessary to exclude some folders from AVG scanning. This will make sure that the virtual machines run properly. Following erorrs may be reported otherwise:
To prevent these errors, set AVG this way:
For more information, see following Microsoft Knowledge Base topic:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961804/
{/jkefel}Scheduled AVG scans are normally started under the SYSTEM account. This means, that sheduled AVG scan cannot scan network drives (shared folders) as the SYSTEM account does not have permission to access them.
Note: Manually started AVG scan has access to all places the user who started it has.
If you want to run a scheduled AVG scan that will be able to scan also shared folders, you can use the Windows Scheduler to start it. To do that, please follow these steps:
{jkefel kefelui=[tabs] title=[Windows 2000/XP]}{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[How to exclude folder from AVG test]}
To exclude some folder from one AVG test or from a test schedule, please proceed as follows:
{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[Setting scan process priority]}
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 noticeably, 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 four options for the test priority in AVG:
The scan priority can be set for both running and scheduled test:
{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[Usage and return codes of avgscan*.exe]}
The AVG command line scanner avgscan*.exe (available in AVG program folder, where * can be 'x' for 32bit operating systems or 'a' for 64bit operating systems) allows scanning of the whole computer or specified files using a batch file or Scheduled Tasks in Windows. The parameters of the command line scan are available in the AVG documentation or using parameter /? (e.g. avgscanx.exe /?).
Apart from the full test report that is provided once the scan is finished, it is also possible to check the return code of the finished scan. This code can be used to trigger specified actions in case e.g. a virus was found.
The return code of the last finished command line scan is stored in a system variable %ERRORLEVEL% (to check its value for the last AVG scan manually, type "echo %ERRORLEVEL%" in the command line). Possible values and their meanings are:
{jkefel kefelui=[sliders] title=[Crash caused by old Starforce driver after start of Anti-Rootkit scan]}
Older StarForce sfdrv01.sys driver (copy protection application) can cause crash when AVG starts the Anti-Rootkit scan. This will display the so called BSOD (blue fullscreen error message). You will then need to force restart the PC. Please note that this issue is not caused by AVG.
It can be fixed by updating the StarForce protection driver. To do that, please follow the steps on the following web page (belonging to vendor of this application):
http://www.star-force.com/support/drivers/
If you are unsure whether StarForce protection is installed, you can check this way:
On Windows 2000, Windows XP:
On Windows Vista, Windows 7 and newer: