The Apheus Blog

I must say that I’m slightly disappointed in Grisoft – the makers of AVG antivirus software. I’ve successfully used the free version of their software for several years and have praised their product, turning many free versions into paid versions for them. But recently, I have to question: what is going on with AVG updates? The last two major automatic updates have caused major problems with my computer system at home. Basically, AVG updated itself in the wee hours of the morning and afterwards I was unable to access the internet or my POP email. What a drag!

I’m not the only person experiencing this problem. Many people I know personally that use AVG have had the same problem. A quick search of various AVG forums reveals that this is definitely not an isolated incident. The solution to the problem:

1. Completely uninstall AVG.
2. Download the latest version.
3. Install the new version.

I realize that the free version of AVG doesn’t come with any warranties, but come on! Since I updated to AVG 9, I’ve experienced several update issues. Back in the old days of version 7, we had trouble just getting the software to update itself automatically, now this? It doesn’t instill much confidence in an otherwise very good product. I’ll continue to use AVG and I will continue to recommend it to friends and family, but I will be keeping my eye out for another free antivirus program. Sorry, AVG…

I’ve already you shown you how to disable AVG Safe Search in Firefox, so now I’ll show you how to disable AVG Safe Search in Internet Explorer 7. AVG Antivirus Safe Search is an add-on feature for IE7 that lets internet users know ahead of time if a link in their search engine results is safe to visit or not. While this feature may come in handy for occassional or inexperienced users, the Safe Search add-on for Internet Explorer may actually slow down your browser as it scans the links.

AVG and IE Software Versions

When describing this article, we’ll be using AVG AntiVirus 8.0 and Internet Explorer 7 on PC running Windows XP. The steps should be very similar regardless of which software versions you have installed.

How to Disable AVG Safe Search in IE7

1. Open an Internet Explorer browser window by double-clicking the IE icon on your desktop or by selecting IE7 from the Windows Start Menu.
2. Find the “Tools” menu at the top of the browser window and select “Internet Options”.
3. Click on the “Programs” tab in the Internet Options window that opens.
4. Find the “Manage Add-Ons” button towards the bottom of the pane and click it.
5. A new management window will appear displaying a set of add-ons currently installed in IE7. Find the AVG Safe Search listing and highlight it by clicking on it.
6. Click the “Disable” radio button at the bottom of the window.
7. Click any of the “OK” buttons that appear so that you get back to the main Internet Explorer window.
8. Close Internet Explorer and restart the program.
9. That’s It – You’re Done!

After you restart Internet Explorer, you should see that the AVG Safe Search icons have now disappeared from your links in your search results.

AVG 8 was recently released and it contains a lot of neat features that many users will find useful. One of those features is AVG AntiVirus Safe Search. This add-on for Firefox is inteded to help users safely stay away from websites that have been identified as potentially harmful. Unfortunately, some users may find the Safe Search feature annoying when using search engine websites such as Google or Yahoo. Some people have complained that AVG Safe Search causes Firefox to crash or perform slowly.

I tested AVG Safe Search on two different computer systems running Windows XP connected to a broadband internet connection. I had no problems except for a slight delay when loading the pages in Google and Yahoo as the AVG Safe Search examined the links on the search results pages. In the end, I decided to disable AVG Safe Search after the test period was over. This article will describe how to disable AVG Safe Search in Mozilla Firefox 2.0.

AVG and Firefox Software Versions

When describing this article, we’ll be using AVG AntiVirus 8.0 and Firefox 2.0 on PC running Windows XP. The steps should be very similar regardless of which software versions you have installed. AVG AntiVirus and Firefox are both available as free downloads by visiting the links on our downloads page.

How to Disable AVG Safe Search in Firefox

1. Open a Firebox browser window by double-clicking the Firefox icon on your desktop or by selecting Firefox from the Windows Start Menu:
2. Start > Programs > Mozilla Firefox > Mozilla Firefox
3. Find the “Tools” menu at the top of the browser window and select “Add-ons”.
4. Click on the “Extensions” icon to make sure you’re in the correct option menu.
5. Locate “AVG Safe Search” and click on the containing line to highlight and select the add-on.
6. Click the “Disable” button and close the Add-ons window.
7. Close down any Firefox windows you may have open.
8. That’s It – You’re Done!

After you restart Firefox, you should notice that the AVG Safe Search icons have now disappeared from your links in Google and Yahoo.