FAQ

There are several ways to update the AVG program:

1. Run the AVG user interface (use the AVG icon on your desktop or Start->All Programs->AVG 8.0->AVG user interface or double-click the AVG icon in the lower-right corner of your screen).

• Click on the Update now button in the left part of the AVG user interface.
• Open the Tools menu and select the Update option.

2. Right-click the AVG icon in the lower-right corner of the screen and select the Update now option.

When updating your AVG to the latest program version, the update process may need to be started twice and the update may ask you to restart your computer. The full update procedure is the following:

1. When you click "Update now" or the scheduled update is started, main part of the update is downloaded and applied.
2. The Update Manager in your AVG will report that new update files are available. Your AVG will be fully functional at this point, but not fully updated yet.
   
3. When the update process is started again, the update will be completed.
4. A computer restart will be required, unless your operating system is Windows Vista. Please note that some AVG components will not work until you restart your computer.

After the restart, AVG will be fully functional and updated to the latest available program version.

In case you have changed Dial-Up connection to Broadband, it is required to change also the AVG configuration to be able to update.

You can set this the following way:
- open AVG
- go to menu Tools - Advanced settings - Update - Dial-up

- disable the option "Use dial-up connections"
- confirm settings with OK 

You should be able to perform an update using your new Internet connection now.

 

Note:
In case the new (broadband) connection is done using DSL modem, which is connected via USB interface directly to your computer, it is needed to keep the original dial-up settings.

The "Database is outdated" message is displayed, when the database is older than one week. To resolve this situation, please proceed as follows:

1. Try to update AVG
   
   • Open main AVG window by double-click on AVG icon on your Desktop or in system tray.
   • Click button Update now.
   • If a list of available updates is shown, click Update.
   • If the update proceeded correctly but your AVG still reports outdated virus base, continue with step 2.
2. Check your system date and time
   Windows XP or 2000
   
   • either double-click on the time display in the lower-right corner of the screen
   • or open Start - Settings - Control Panel - Date and time
   • make sure the date and time are set correctly
   Windows Vista
   
   • either click on the time display in the lower-right corner of the screen and select "Change date and time settings"
   • or open Start - Control Panel - Clock, Language, and Region - Set the time and date - Change date and time
   • make sure the date and time are set correctly
   Try to update AVG.

In case AVG can not be updated due to issues with connection to our update servers, please refer to FAQ 928.

If you are using proxy server for connection into the Internet, you need to modify configuration of AVG update process this way:

Launch AVG User Interface -> from top menu "Tools" select "Advanced settings" option -> in the left navigation tree select "Update" -> "Proxy"
From the combo box menu located on the right hand side of this dialog select whether you want to:

• Use proxy
• Try connection using proxy and if it fails, connect directly

The proxy server settings can be configured either manually or automatically.

Manual configuration:
If you select manual configuration (check the Manual option to activate the respective dialog section) you have to specify the following items:

• Server – specify the server’s IP address or the name of the server
• Port – specify the number of the port that enables Internet access (by default, this number is set to 3128 but can be set differently – if you are not sure, contact your network administrator)

The proxy server can also have configured specific rules for each user. If your proxy server is set up this way, check the Use PROXY authentication option to verify that your user name and password are valid for connecting to the Internet via the proxy server.

Automatic configuration:
If you select automatic configuration (mark the Auto option to activate the respective dialog section) then please select where the proxy configuration should be taken from:

• From browser - the configuration will be read from your default internet browser (supported browsers being Internet Explorer, Firefox, Mozilla and Opera)
• From script - the configuration will be read from a downloaded script with the function returning the proxy address
• Autodetect - the configuration will be detected automatically directly from the proxy server

 

AVG is using a standalone utility to detect the proxy server settings in supported Internet browsers. This utility checks the proper configuration according to the update process settings. Then the result is saved and used by AVG Update Manager.

 

The proxy server settings can be taken from the following Internet browsers:

• Internet Explorer
• Mozilla
• Mozilla Firefox
• Opera

 

Note:

The update started by Scheduler cannot take the settings from any web browser. In this case the update is running under the SYSTEM account and there is no proxy server set for this user.

If you want to update AVG from local storage (CD, directory on HDD, USB Flash disc) you can do it this way:

• Open AVG User Interface
• From top menu "Tools" select "Update from directory" option
• Navigate to the folder where AVG update files are stored and click "OK"

AVG update files can be downloaded from:
http://www.avg.com/update

Please note that it is not possible to update AVG from a folder in the following locations:

• shared folders (without access rights for Everyone or System)
• substituted drives
• emulated drives
• other resources with limited access for System account

After a recent major program update, you may encounter a repeated request for restart displayed by AVG. This situation occurs when some AVG files can not be updated correctly. The easiest solution in this case is running repair installation of your AVG:

• Open the Download section of our website and click on the name of the product you are using.
• Click on Download AVG now (paid version).
• Choose to download the file to your computer (i.e. do not run it immediatelly) and select a target location, e.g. your Desktop.
• After the file is downloaded, please locate it and double-click on it to start the installation process.
• Proceed with the installation. When prompted, select Repair installation.
• Finish the installation procedure and restart your computer.

In case of any further problems, please contact our Technical Support.

After you install AVG, the First Run Wizard asks you (among others) how often you wish to update your AVG. The available options are Every 4 hours, or Every day. Keeping your AVG up-to-date is crucial to ensure that all newly discovered viruses will be detected as soon as possible.

Since AVG updates are not released according to any fixed schedule but rather in reaction to amount and severity of new threats, it is recommended to check for new updates at least once a day. Checking every 4 hours will guarantee that your AVG Virus base is kept up-to-date also during the day.

For more information on how to set the AVG update schedule, please see FAQ 1234.

 

If you are using MS SteadyState, AVG may loose its updates after every restart/revert of the computer. To prevent this, you can use the script available in the Tools section of our website.

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

The issue can be caused by another application that is in conflict with this AVG component. Firstly, we would like to recommend you to visit FAQ #1214 which lists all known conflicting applications and recommended solution.

Some users may experience operating system crashes (BSOD) after the last program update. Please be informed that this issue is caused by update process, which installed AVG Firewall drivers accidentally, in case the AVG Firewall is not installed on the computer.

In order to solve this issue, please perform repair installation of your AVG as described in FAQ #948 and restart your computer.

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

Please accept our apology for any inconvenience.

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:

• Download the utility from the link below to your hard drive
  deleteupdatefiles.exe
• Run the downloaded utility (command line window will appear for a short time)
• Try to update the AVG program

If the issue persists, then please follow steps below:

• Double-click the My computer icon on your desktop (or open Start -> My Computer)
• Navigate to the following folder:
• Windows XP / 2000:
  C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\avg8\update\download *
• Windows Vista:
  C:\ProgramData\avg8\update\download *
• Find the avginfoavi.ctf and avginfowin.ctf files and delete them
• Restart your computer

* Please note that some folders/files could be hidden. For more information how to view these hidden folders/files please visit this FAQ: How to view hidden files and folders

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 are not able to run your Windows XP operating system after AVG 8.0 virus definition update, it may be caused by a false positive on a specific "user32.dll" system file. The file was moved to the AVG Virus Vault and deleted. Therefore it is not possible to start Windows. Please follow the steps below to rectify this situation:

In case you do not have Windows XP installation CD with the latest updates, we strongly recommend you to use our fix tool instead. The mentioned fix tool can be found in FAQ 1575.

WARNING! There is a high probability of incompatibility with other system files (for example with winsrv.dll) if the latest installation CD is not used. This can also cause inabitity to start operating system.

1. Please insert the Windows XP installation CD and boot computer from this CD (if you do not have the installation CD please follow steps mentioned in our FAQ 1575).

2. Choose and run Recovery Console.

3. Choose Windows operating system you want to repair.

4. Disable AVG Resident Shield from loading. You can disable loading services/drivers with "disable" command, i.e. you have to type the following commands (some

of them might not be present in all AVG editions):

disable avgMfx86
disable avgMfa86
disable avgldx86
disable avglda86

5. Restore the User32.dll file from the Windows XP installation CD (instead "D:" use letter of your CD-ROM drive):

expand D:\i386\user32.dl_ c:\windows\system32\

In case the command fails, please use the following command to rename original user32.dll and repeat the command above.

ren user32.dll user32.bak

6. Restart computer and boot Windows normally.

7. In order to re-enable the AVG Resident Shield services we recommend that you perform the AVG repair installation as follows:

- Download the latest AVG installation package from the following webpage and save it on your hard disk:

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)

- 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.
- Restart your computer.
- Locate the downloaded AVG installation file (it has a four color square icon and its name starts with AVG_...) and launch the installation by double-clicking on it.
- Follow the installation wizard.
- When prompted, please select the Repair installation option.
- Enter your license number when you are asked (we recommend that you use the copy&paste* method to enter this license number into the installation form).
- Restart your computer and update AVG.

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 neccessary (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 favourite 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.