• Enable reputation services: allows you to anonymously contribute technical information based on the prevalence of risky files which helps us to better identify malware threats. This option is enabled by default. For more information, read AVG Privacy Policy.
• Enable CyberCapture: uses the CyberCapture feature to detect and analyze rare, suspicious files. If you attempt to run such a file, CyberCapture locks the file from your PC and sends it to the AVG Threat Labs where it's analyzed in a safe, virtual environment. You are notified when the analysis is complete. This option is enabled by default.
  • Always block it: immediately blocks potentially malicious files and sends the files to AVG Threat Labs. This option is selected by default.
  • Allow me to decide: sends you a notification before a file is submitted to AVG Threat Labs.
  Note: We recommend to keep the default settings enabled unless you are aware of the potential risks.
• Scan for potentially unwanted applications (PUAs): scans for PUAs and sends a notification if any are detected. PUAs are stealthily downloaded with other programs and typically perform unwanted activity. When you receive a notification, you can decide what to do with the detected application. This option is disabled by default.
• Game Mode: prevents AVG popups (including critical alerts) from interrupting full screen applications. This option is disabled by default. We recommend to enable it only temporarily while running an application in full screen.
• Enable AVG email signature: enables the AVG email signature at the bottom of your outgoing emails to inform your recipients that the email has been scanned for malware. This option is enabled by default and applies only to mail clients (such as Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird).

You can manage the behavior of AVG Antivirus popups. Set the length of time that the following types of popup messages are displayed:

• Info popups: displays notifications about general AVG activity.
• Update popups: displays information about program and virus definitions updates.
• Warning popups: displays warnings about possible risks, such as opening an unknown file.
• Alert popups: notifies you about threats detections and other important incidents.

All popups in the above list are set to 20 seconds by default. If you do not want to see popup messages from the above list, you can set the duration time to 0 for each popup type or enable Game Mode in the main settings section.

You can create a password to restrict access to the AVG user interface or specific program settings.

Note: This password is not related to the AVG MyAccount password or any of your Data Safe passwords.

Follow these steps to set a password:

1. Tick Protect AVG with a password.
2. Type your password in the text box. Then type it again below to confirm.
   
3. Specify which areas you want to protect with a password:
   • General program access: for opening the AVG user interface.
   • Program settings: for access to all program settings opened by clicking Settings on the main screen.
   • Protection control: for turning on/off the active protection (Shields).
   • Protection settings: for access to active protection settings (Shields).
   • Scan control: for access to the controls used to start or stop a scan.
   • Scan settings: for access to the settings that determine the various scan parameters.
   • Update control: for updating the program and virus definitions and for changing update settings.
   • Quarantine control: for controlling the files in the Quarantine.
   • Backup/Restore of AVG settings: for backing up or restoring your AVG settings.
   • Firewall settings: for access to all Firewall settings.
4. Click OK.

Note: If you lose or forget your password, you can regain access to the AVG user interface or settings by reinstalling AVG Antivirus.

In the Maintenance panel, you can optimize space on your hard disk by limiting the size of the logs and removing those which are no longer needed. Additionally, you can limit the amount of space used by Quarantine.

• Auto-cleanup: allows you to specify how often AVG should delete the scan logs by selecting the following option(s).
  • Delete scan logs older than: type the amount of days (30 days by default).
  • Delete temporary scan logs older than: type the amount of days (1 day by default).
  • Clean scan history: click to delete all currently stored scan logs immediately.
• Logs: allows you to specify the maximum size (4096 KB by default) for each log file. If the log exceeds the maximum size limit, the oldest records are removed to create space for the most recent records.
  • Enable debug logging: allows AVG to create a special log file when an error occurs while the program is running. AVG Support representatives may request that you send this file to help identify the cause of the error.
• Quarantine: allows you to specify the maximum amount of space (in MB) the Quarantine uses on your PC, and the maximum size of any file (in KB) that is sent to the AVG Threat Labs.
  • Maximum size of Quarantine: Files that exceed this limit (256 MB by default) or the remaining space cannot be added to the Quarantine.
  • Maximum size of file to be sent: Files that exceed this limit (16384 KB by default) cannot be submitted to the AVG Threat Labs.

In the Exceptions panel, you can exclude certain files, folders, or URLs from scanning. While it is generally not recommended, you may want to exclude certain files or websites from scanning, for example if you want to speed up your scans or to avoid false positive detections.

1. Select an appropriate tab to specify what actions an exclusion applies to.
2. Click on the text box to provide details:
   • File paths: type the file or folder location manually into the text box or click Browse, and tick the relevant folder.
   • Urls: type the website address.
   • CyberCapture: type the file location manually into the text box or click Browse, and select a file (.exe).
   • Hardened mode: type the file location manually into the text box or click Browse, and select a file (.exe).
3. Click OK.

To add another item to the list, select the appropriate tab and click Add. To remove an item, click the relevant row in the appropriate tab then click Delete.

Exceptions created in the File paths and URLs sections apply globally to all manual scans and active protection components, such as Shields. To exclude files only from a specific scan or active protection component, use the Exceptions section in the settings of that particular scan or active protection component.

Note: Set exceptions only if you know that the files and websites you want to exclude are not infected.

The Explorer Scan enables you to scan individual files or folders by right-clicking the icon of the file or folder you want to scan in Windows and selecting Scan from the context menu. Click Settings to adjust scan parameters.

In the Privacy panel, you can specify if you want to participate in the following activities:

• Participate in the AVG community: tick to contribute to generic security-related information, such as malware attacks detected on your PC, which helps us immediately identify and react to the latest security threats. Your participation does not compromise any of your personal information.

For more information, read AVG Privacy Policy.

This section allows you to backup and restore your customized AVG settings of components, such as Shields and Firewall. This is useful if you need to reinstall AVG Antivirus, or to copy your settings to another PC where AVG is installed.

Click Back up settings to create a backup of your customized AVG settings:

1. Select which component settings to save and click Continue.
2. Select a location to save your back up file, and click Save.

Click Restore settings to restore previously saved settings:

1. Locate the backup file you previously saved and click Open.
2. Select which saved component settings to restore and click Continue.