Sensitive Data Shield

Access this feature from: Privacy ▸ Sensitive Data Shield

Sensitive Data Shield scans and protects your sensitive documents against unauthorized access and malware. Sensitive files contain your personal information that, if revealed, can compromise your privacy and identity. Sensitive Data Shield secures your private data by controlling which applications and users have access to your files.

The Sensitive Data Shield screen allows you to view a list of documents currently protected by Sensitive Data Shield, and scan your PC for additional sensitive documents.

NOTE: Sensitive Data Shield is a paid feature that requires a paid subscription to use.

Scan for sensitive documents

To scan for sensitive documents on your PC, follow these steps:

  1. Click Scan Now, then wait while AVG scans your PC.
  2. After scanning, review the list of vulnerable documents found on your PC. File types are organized in categories, such as:
    • Tax documents
    • Payroll documents
    • Employment documents
    • Plane tickets
    • Other sensitive documents
  3. All documents are ticked by default. Untick the box next to documents you don't want to protect.
  4. Click Protect all or Protect selected at the bottom of the screen.
  5. Click Done to confirm the action and return to the main Sensitive Data Shield screen.

Your sensitive data is now protected. If an untrusted application, malware, or user who is not logged in to your Windows account tries to access your protected files, Sensitive Data Shield blocks access or prompts you to confirm if the access attempt is blocked.

Manage protected documents

From the main Sensitive Data Shield screen, you can manage protected documents. The following options are available:

  • To scan your PC for additional sensitive documents, click Scan Now.
  • To stop protecting a sensitive document, click the … icon in the relevant panel, then select Stop Protecting. Click Stop Protecting again to confirm.
  • To view a protected document, click the … icon in the relevant panel, then select Open.
  • Select an option in the left panel to view only documents within a particular category.

Manage your safe settings

You can access Sensitive Data Shield settings by selecting the Privacy tile on the main AVG Internet Security screen, then clicking the gear icon in the top-right corner. Ensure Full protection ▸ Sensitive Data Shield is selected in the left panel. The following options are available:

  • Disable Sensitive Data Shield: click the green (ON) slider so that it changes to red (OFF). We recommend keeping Sensitive Data Shield enabled at all times, and only disabling it for temporary troubleshooting purposes.
  • Restrict document access to this Windows account (ticked by default): we recommend keeping this option ticked at all times to ensure only authorized users have access to your sensitive documents.
  • View allowed / blocked apps: click this option to open the Blocked & Allowed apps screen, where you can manage which apps always have access to your sensitive data, and which apps are always blocked.