# I can't turn off AVG! **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 14, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-turn-off-avg/395950 "2007-03-14T22:12:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-turn-off-avg/395950/1 "2007-03-14T22:12:13Z")
This is a really stupid question. Right now i’m using AVG Free version 7.5.x and I’d like to shut it off temporarily to see if it helps speed up a game update and install (Vanguard). Anyhow, when I right-click and exit the Control Center, it leaves all the components running. I’ve gone through each component individually and can’t find any way to turn them off. Finally, I looked through AVG’s site and can’t find any info on this. I’ve even gone so far as to stop everything that starts with “avg” in the task manager. That did nothing as they started themselves back up again. It’s somewhat relieving to know that my virus protection is this tenacious, but at the moment, it’s driving me nuts. I’m sure it’s something really simple and I’ll feel like an idiot when I learn the answer. Thanks in advance! ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-turn-off-avg/395950/2 "2007-03-14T23:17:31Z")
Can you shut down the processes in Windows Task Manager (press ctrl-alt-del) ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-turn-off-avg/395950/3 "2007-03-14T23:35:48Z")
I suspect the only ways to stop it 100% are to remove it from startup and restart your computer, or to uninstall. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2007, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-turn-off-avg/395950/4 "2007-03-14T23:40:45Z")
[QUOTE=Struan] I suspect the only ways to stop it 100% are to remove it from startup and restart your computer, or to uninstall. [/QUOTE] I’ll give that a shot. **Peter Morris,** I tried, and it’s starting itself back up. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-turn-off-avg/395950/5 "2007-03-15T01:40:13Z")
Yeah, I hate AV programs that force themselves to run all the time. Anyway: From MS Help: “To open Computer Management, click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. Double-click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management.” Select “Services and applications” then “Services”. Select all the AVG stuff and set them to “disable”. You can also stop them from starting up using “msconfig”. And to be extra sure, I clean up the startup stuff using “Hijack This.” ---
**Author:** ![PBear42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PBear42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PBear42)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2007, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-turn-off-avg/395950/6 "2007-03-15T06:15:56Z")
It’s not clear which AVG component you’re trying to disable, but I assume it’s the daily hard drive scan, which I have disabled because (a) it’s a system hog and (b) redundant AFAICT if screening is continuously in place. About once a month, I reenable it, let it run the scan, then disable again. To disable, double-click the AVG icon. Click Scheduler. Click Scheduled Tasks. Click “Test plan in basic mode.” Click Edit Schedule. Unclick the box for “Periodically start scheduled antivirus test.” To reenable, you would of course go through the same routine, reversing the last step. Hope that helps. If you’re trying to do something else, please explain. ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2007, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-turn-off-avg/395950/7 "2007-03-19T06:54:27Z")
Sorry for getting back to this so late. Anyhow, it appeared that the continuous scanning was somewhat of a resource hog. I ended up uninstalling it for the duration of my update and it seemed to make a bit of a difference. Thanks for the replies. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2007, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-cant-turn-off-avg/395950/8 "2007-03-19T12:55:34Z")
In the future right click on the AVG icon on the right side of the taskbar and uncheck “Activate Antivirus Guard”. The icon for a deactvated AVG will be there now. It can be restarted in the same mannor, and will restart on a reboot. There is one reason why it might not stop when this method is used. You do not have adminstrator rights, and the option “Protect Configuration” is turned on. Only an administrater can shut it down then.