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:

1) Use our automatic One click fix tool. Please click the following link and save the tool to your computer (e.g. Desktop):

Automatic One click fix tool

After the download is finished, double-click the tool to run it (if you are using firewall, please allow the communication). The tool is fully automatic. If any user interaction is required, all instructions will be displayed in the window.

The tool will restart your computer to the safe mode, run the test and heal all detected viruses or put them to the AVG Virus Vault. Then the computer will be restarted back to normal mode.

2) Use the manual solution:

Restart the computer into Safe Mode, as described at:
Windows 2000:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/202485
Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315222
Windows Vista:
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/f9c50a72-04ec-4088-9fd4-a4f979eef5a71033.mspx

• In the Safe Mode, you can run AVG by double-clicking its icon on the desktop.
• The Command Line Composer will be displayed and you can change the scan settings according to your individual needs.
• All detected infections will be healed or moved to AVG Virus Vault automatically.

When communicating with AVG Customer Services, you may be asked to use the AVG Diagnostic utility (AVGdiagex). This speeds up the process of solving your request.

This utility is sending encoded data through the HTTP protocol over the Internet. As sometimes the connection may not transmit all the data due to error on the way, the data will not be received. In such case, the AVG Diagnostic will inform you about this.

The data are however collected before sending, so they are still present on your computer. You can send them manually through e-mail. To do that, please follow these steps:

1. Use our automatic One click fix tool:
Please click the following link and save the tool to your computer (e.g. Desktop):

Automatic One click fix tool

After the download is finished, double click the tool to run it (if you are using firewall, please allow the communication). The tool is fully automatic. If any user interaction is required, all instructions will be displayed in the window.

The tool will gather all needed files and upload them to our FTP server. When the tool has finished, please copy the resulting filename and send it to us in an e-mail message.

2. Use the manual solution:

• Open the folder with temporary files located in C:\Windows\Temp. Alternatively, you can open the folder this way:
  • Click Start and select the Run... option (on Windows Vista and Windows 7 type directly into the search field).
  • Type in %systemroot%\temp.
  • Hit Enter.
• In the opened Temp folder browse to folder named avgdiagex.
• Inside, you will find another folder(s) starting with avgdiagex followed by random numbers (e.g. avgdiagex1846). If there are no such folders, please run the diagnostic utility again.
• Open the folder with the highest number at the end.
• Please send us all files in that folder (their extension will be .cab).

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:

If you require any assistance on this or any other subject, please feel free to contact AVG Customer Services.

If the AVG icon in system tray shows error state (AVG icon with yellow exclamation mark), it means that one or more AVG components are not fully functional. Please launch AVG (double-click on the icon). Deactivated component will be marked with a red icon and description of their error state. To rectify this problem, please proceed as follows:

• Anti-Virus, Anti-Spyware
  These components are in error state when the virus base (common for both components) is out of date. Please click Update now button in AVG to remove this warning. In case the update does not proceed, please refer to FAQ 1986.
• Anti-Spam, Anti-Rootkit, System tools
  Incorrect state of one or more of these components indicates, that the AVG installation is damaged. This is not a common problem and repair installation is recommended.
• Firewall
  When Firewall becomes inactive, the reason and/or suggested solution are mentioned in the component details. In case the solution is not available or did not rectify the issue, please visit FAQ 2173.
• E-mail Scanner
  The E-mail Scanner component can report to be not fully functional when the scanning is disabled, and in some cases also when the configuration is not correct:
  • To enable the scanning, please double-click on the E-mail Scanner in AVG and tick one or both of the options Scan incoming (outgoing) messages.
  • To check the configuration, please open AVG -> menu Tools -> Advanced settings -> E-mail Scanner -> Servers -> POP3 -> AutoPOP3:10110, and enable the option Activate this server and use it for receiving e-mail.
• License
  This component informs you about the status of your license. An error state is usually related to approaching expiration date. For information related to your license please contact AVG Customer Services as described in FAQ 2216.
• LinkScanner, Online Shield
  These components are closely related. An error state of each of them occurs in most cases due to disabled features of these components. To rectify this, please double-click on the component and enable their security features.
• Resident Shield
  Usually only disabling the Resident Shield can induce a security warning. To enable it again, please double-click it in AVG and tick option Resident Shield active.
• Identity Protection
  Usually only disabling the Identity Protection can induce a security warning. To enable it again, please double-click on the component in AVG and tick the Identity Protection is active option.
• Update Manager
  The Update Manager component can either report pending restart after an update, or disabled update schedule.
  • If a restart is required, please restart your computer as soon as possible to allow further updates.
  • In case "Database update is disabled" message is displayed, please double-click on Update Manager in AVG and enable the option Start automatic updates.

If you want to disable notification windows about AVG activities that appears from the system tray, you can do it this way:

• Launch the AVG program.
• From top menu "Tools" select "Advanced settings" option.
• Select the "Appearance" option from the left navigation tree.
• Now in the right hand part of this dialog there is "Balloon tray notifications" section available.

Here you can disable/enable displaying of all system tray notifications or just select some of them according to your needs.

Due to a problem in Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008, you may receive an error message when trying to run these applications along with AVG software:

• MS Flight Simulator
• VATSIM
• SquawkBox
• Asheron's Call

This situation is described on the following Microsoft support webpage:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961775

The solution is to install hotfix provided by Microsoft on the following webpage:
http://support.microsoft.com/hotfix/KBHotfix.aspx?kbnum=961775

Please note that the hotfix is only intended for customers having described issues. In case of further issues with the mentioned hotfix, please contact Microsoft technical support.

In case you are using some third party firewall or software that is checking network traffic, you need to allow communication of lower mentioned processes to ensure correct AVG functionality:

• avgam.exe
• avgcmgr.exe
• avgcsrvx.exe
• avgcsrva.exe
• avgdiag.exe
• avgemc.exe
• avgfws9.exe
• avgiproxy.exe
• avgnsx.exe
• avgnsa.exe
• avgrsx.exe
• avgrsa.exe
• avgscanx.exe
• avgscana.exe
• avgtray.exe
• avgui.exe
• avgupd.exe
• avgwdsvc.exe
• avgidsagent.exe
• avgidsmonitor.exe
• avgdiagex.exe

For correct AVG update functionality is necessary also allow following URLs:

• update.avg.com
• download.avg.com
• backup.avg.cz
• pupdate-af.avg.com
• idpakamai.avg.com
• qh-afcn.avg.com
• *.akamai.net
• *.deploy.akamaitechnologies.com
• stub.avg.com
• akamai.avg.com
• akamai.avg.cz
• akamai.grisoft.com
• akamai.grisoft.cz
• *.mailshell.net
• akamai.grisoft.cz.edgesuite.net
• akamai.avg.cz.edgesuite.net
• akamai.grisoft.com.edgesuite.net
• akamai.avg.com.edgesuite.net

AVG Internet Security and to some extent also the AVG Anti-Virus provide among others a protection against phishing (what is phishing?). The protection is provided on two levels, ensuring that you are informed about a phishing attempt in each of its forms:

• Phishing e-mail
  AVG Internet Security contains an Anti-Spam component, which is designed to recognize spam and fraudulent e-mails. This includes also detection of phishing e-mails.
• Phishing website
  All commercial AVG editions contain the Online Shield and LinkScanner components. These components are checking the addresses and contents of visited websites. When you try to visit a malicious website, you are informed about it and the access to the website is blocked. This detection includes also phishing websites.

If you receive some phishing attempt which is not detected by AVG, please feel free to contact AVG Customer Services as described in FAQ 2216. We will analyze the provided information (address and contents of the website, contents of the e-mail, etc.), and add them to AVG detection if necessary.

This option enables you to set AVG to ignore warning or error Security Status of the selected components, if the warning/error is caused by something you have set intentionally.

If you want to ignore faulty state of some component (e.g. you need to disable some component, but you want to avoid the indicating of this faulty state in AVG system tray icon - it contains a yellow exclamation mark) follow the steps mentioned below:

• Open the AVG program. 
• From top menu Tools select Advanced settings option.
• Select Ignore faulty conditions branch in left navigation tree.
• Now in right hand part of the dialog mark selected component.

Faulty condition of components with a checkmark will be ignored, that is, AVG will show the yellow warning icon in the component overview, and the OK icon in the system tray.

Alternatively you can ignore faulty condition of some component this way:

• Open the AVG program.
• Right-click on the selected component and choose the Ignore the state of this component option.

Warning:
Use this feature sparingly, and only if necessary. Long-term ignoring of a serious problem, e.g. non-functional update, puts your computer at great and unnecessary risk!

AVG creates system restore points to prevent malfunctions of your operating system (e.g. computer does not want to boot up, BSOD, etc.). In order to create such system restore point, the following conditions must be realized:

• Operating system supports creation of the system restore point (Win XP, Vista, 2003 Server, 2008 Server).
• This feature is enabled in your operating system.

In case that your operating system supports such function and it is enabled, system restore point will be created each time when some AVG files are changed. It applies for the following situations:

• AVG installation
• AVG program update

If you wish to disable this funtion for the AVG program update, please proceed as follows:

• Run the AVG program.
• Choose the Advanced settings option from the Tools menu.
• Select the Update option from the left tree menu.
• Untick the Build new system restore point after each program update item.
• Confirm changes by clicking OK.

In order to restore the operating system to a previous state please refer to Microsoft's knowledge base at:

• Windows XP
  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306084
• Windows Vista
  http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/help/517d3b8e-3379-46c1-b479-05b30d6fb3f01033.mspx

System Tools refer to tools offering a detailed summary of the AVG 9.0 Internet Security environment.

The component displays an overview of:

• Running processes
• Active network connections
• Applications launched at operating system start up
• Browser Extensions
• LSP (Layered Service Provider)

Specific overviews can also be edited but this is only recommended for highly experienced users!

The Processes dialog contains a list of processes (i.e. running applications) that are currently active on your computer.

The Network Connections dialog contains a list of currently active connections.

The Autostart dialog shows a list of all applications that are executed during Windows system start-up. Very often, several malware applications add themselves automatically to the start-up registry entry.

The Browser Extensions dialog contains a list of plug-ins (i.e. applications) that are installed inside your Internet browser. This list may contain regular application plug-ins as well as potential malware programs.

The LSP Viewer dialog shows a list of Layered Service Providers (LSP).
A Layered Service Provider (LSP) is a system driver linked into the networking services of the Windows operating system. It has access to all data entering and leaving the computer, including the ability to modify this data. Some LSPs are necessary to allow Windows to connect you to other computers, including the Internet. However, certain malware applications may also install themselves as an LSP, thus having access to all data your computer transmits. Therefore, this review may help you to check all possible LSP threats.

The main purpose of the Virus Vault is to keep any deleted file for a certain period of time, so that you can make sure you do not need the file any more. If you find out that the missing file is causing problems, you can send it to analysis, or restore it to the original location.

To open the Virus Vault, navigate via AVG User Interface -> History menu -> Virus Vault.

After highlighting an object in the list with your mouse, the function buttons enable you to carry out the following actions:

• Restore – moves the infected file to its original location (stated in the Path to file column)
• Restore as – moves the infected file to a selected folder
  • Note: You can Restore or Restore as multiple items at a time; highlight them in the list (by holding down Ctrl+arrow, or Shift while selecting individual items with your mouse) and press the respective button. If some of the selected items are not restored successfully, these will remain highlighted in the list.
  • When restoring files from the Virus Vault, please also note the following: 
    • If the file was originally an e-mail attachment (see the Original name column), its original location is a temporary folder which might be tricky to find on your harddisk. For this reason, only the Restore as feature will be available for e-mail attachments.
    • Registry keys can be only restored back to original location (i.e. only the Restore button will work).
    • Any file is restored under the Original name. If not available, then the file is restored under name given in the Path to file column.
• Details - provides details about the removed infection. Please let us inform you, that this option is available only for files that were removed by the Identity Protection component.
• Delete – completely and irreversibly removes the file from the disk.
• Empty Vault – removes all files from the Virus Vault. By removing the files from the Virus Vault, these files are completely and irreversibly removed from the disk (not moved to the Recycle Bin).

• Send to analysis – this option is available from context menu after right-click on the file in Virus Vault. After selecting this option file is send for analysis to the AVG virus labs or to the AVG Customer Services.
  Please note that this feature only serves for sending "false alarm" files, i.e. files that have been detected by AVG as infected or suspicious, but you believe are harmless.

Note: All files stored in the Virus Vault are available in a non-executable archives in the $AVG folder. This folder is created on all hard disk partitions at the moment when the first file is moved into the Virus Vault.

Most of today's viruses (Trojan horses, I-Worms, Worms, etc) create their own files which contain nothing but a body of the virus. In such cases the only way to remove the infection is to delete the infected file. When you moved the file to the AVG Virus Vault it was deleted from its original location, coded, and then saved in a non-executable file in a hidden folder. Your PC is no longer infected then.

If you are not missing any data file and your applications are running, then you can delete these vaulted files from the AVG Virus Vault program.

You can do it selectively:

• Open the AVG program.
• Select the Virus Vault option from the History menu.
• Select file you wish to delete -> click on the Delete button.

Or you can delete all AVG Virus Vault contents in one go:

• Open the AVG program.
• Select the Virus Vault option from the History menu.
• Click on the Empty Vault button.

AVG removed a file that I suppose to be clean
In some cases, AVG detection that is designed to recognize files infected by one particular virus may be triggered by a file that is not infected. Such detection is called False Alarm. By providing us with the incorrectly detected files, you will allow us to fix the detection and ensure that only infected files will be reported by AVG.

Typical examples of false alarm are files that you have on your computer for a long time (old documents, backups, etc.), or files that are required by some common/commercial application.

If you suspect that AVG has detected a clean file on your computer, you can send us the file directly from your Virus Vault:

• Open the AVG program.
• Select the Virus Vault option from the History menu.
• Right-click the file in Virus Vault and select Send to analysis option from context menu.

We will then inform you about the result of our analysis, as described on this website.

To change the AVG language please proceed as follows:

• Open the AVG program -> Tools menu -> Advanced settings.
• In the Appearance section, please choose the language you wish to use.
• Click OK to save the configuration and restart AVG (close the program and then run it again by double-clicking the AVG icon on desktop or in the system tray).

Detailed description including screenshots is also available here.

Note:
Only languages selected during installation will be available in AVG. To add a new language please run the latest installation file and select the option Add or remove components. More information on how to proceed can be found in FAQ 949.