How to Disable AVG Antivirus When Needed

If you have AVG Internet Security or AVG AntiVirus Free but don’t want to use it all the time, you can temporarily disable the software. You may also want to disable it if your device seems slower than normal. The best antivirus protects your device from all kinds of cyberthreats, like malware and ransomware, so you don’t want to disable your software unless you feel you have no other options at the time.  

Remember, there is a difference between disabling your AVG software and uninstalling it. When you disable AVG, it’s easy to go back and use it again. If you completely uninstall AVG, you’ll have to reinstall it to use it.

To disable AVG antivirus, the steps are simple but may vary depending on your device. No matter what platform you use, we’ve got you covered with our guide on how to disable your AVG program.

How to disable AVG antivirus on a Mac

The Mac support instructions for turning off AVG are not as straightforward as you might think. You may start out on the support page for Mac, but it could eventually take you to the steps to disable AVG on a Windows device. One of AVG’s support reps even discussed this on one of their forums.

Don’t be discouraged by this. There is a way to disable AVG if you have it installed on a Mac. The workaround is to disable each component of the antivirus program. Here’s an example of how easy, although a bit convoluted, it is to disable AVG on a Mac.

1. Open AVG antivirus by clicking the shield icon on the menu bar. At the main interface, you’ll see the different components loaded.
   
   

   

2. Click on one of the protected icons. This will take you to the screen showing what gets blocked for that specific component. For this example, we selected the Computer icon since it’s the first one shown.
   
   

   

3. Here, you’ll click on File Shield and toggle the button to the off position. You’ll know it’s off when you see the red x. Now, this component of AVG antivirus won’t detect hidden threats.
   
   

   

   Depending on how your Mac is configured, you may need to enter an administrator password to make these changes.
4. Follow these same steps for each AVG component you have installed. In the example in Step 1, the next stop would be Web & Email. Here, we would turn off Web Shield and Email Shield

As previously mentioned, it's a little convoluted to go through this process to disable the antivirus. However, the process only takes a few minutes, and you can turn the features back on whenever you want. You can also keep certain parts of the program on, which could be useful. That means you don’t have to disable the entire AVG antivirus if you don’t want to, which gives you options. If you want a program that’s as easy to disable on a Mac as on Windows, you can review our antivirus recommendations for Mac.

How to turn off AVG antivirus on Windows

Disabling all AVG protection on Windows is super simple because there are only two steps. If you want to disable individual components as we did for Mac, you’ll have to click on the specific protected icons and disable them one by one.

To temporarily disable AVG protection on Windows, follow these two steps:

1. On your Windows taskbar, look for the AVG icon in the system tray at the bottom-right corner of the screen. Click the green slider next to Protection, which is ON.
   
   

   

2. The OK stop button will be highlighted. Double-click the OK stop button in the pop-up window to confirm you want to disable protection. Note that this pause is temporary, as AVG will reenable automatically the next time you reboot your PC.

How to deactivate AVG on Android

The process to deactivate AVG antivirus on Android takes only a few taps on your screen, and you’re all set. You may want to do this when using an older version of Android since older devices sometimes get slow, and antivirus apps can make them even slower. Whatever your reason, deactivating AVG on your Android should be no problem when you follow these steps.

1. Open the AVG app on your Android device. Tap the menu icon in the upper-left corner.
   
   

   

2. Go to Settings, then Protection.
   
   

   

3. Tap Disable Protection, then confirm.

How to turn off certain AVG features

One of the aspects you may like most about AVG is that you can turn off certain features while leaving the others protected. Using our Mac example, we showed how easy it is to go through the different protected components and toggle them off and on. We view this as a customizable option.

The only component of the antivirus we didn’t find a way to turn off was the Network Inspector under Hacker attacks. That may be because you must choose to run a network scan rather than have it scan automatically.

Otherwise, you can turn off certain AVG features one at a time with a few clicks.

1. Select the protected component. For this example, we’ll click on Hacker attacks to disable the Ransomware Shield.
   
   

   

2. Click the OPEN button above Ransomware Shield. Toggle the green checkmark to the OFF position.
   
   

   

   
   

You will follow these steps for each component you want to turn off.

How to delete AVG antivirus

If disabling AVG isn’t enough and you need to delete the antivirus entirely, it’s not hard to do. As with disabling the program, the steps may differ depending on your operating system or device.

It could be that you feel the program bogs down your machine’s performance. That can often be the case if you’re using an older device or don’t have enough memory. You may feel the scanning is too intrusive and takes up too much of your system resources. There are many reasons you might decide to delete AVG from your device.

Fortunately, with a few quick steps, you’ll get the antivirus deleted in no time. 

Remember, when you delete AVG from your device, you must look for any computer virus warning signs since you’ll have no antivirus protection. Your best bet is only to deactivate AVG if you plan to immediately activate alternative antivirus software. 

macOS

To delete AVG from macOS, you’ll start with your Applications folder.

1. Open the AVG icon in the applications settings. Go to the AVG AntiVirus Uninstaller.
   
   

   

2. Click Continue. (You may be asked for an administrator password to complete the uninstall.)
3. The Uninstaller will go through the five settings to finish the uninstall. In the end, you’ll be prompted to complete a customer survey, and then you will receive a notification that the Uninstall was successful. Once you click Finish, AVG AntiVirus will be removed from your macOS.
   
   

   

Microsoft Windows

For Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7:

1. Right-click on the Start button, then go to Apps and Features.
   
   

   

2. Click the AVG antivirus icon and click on Uninstall.
   
   

   

3. You may be prompted for permission. If so, click Yes.
4. Click on Uninstall when the AVG Setup wizard opens.
   
5. Click Yes to confirm. Restart your computer.

Android

You can delete AVG from your Android device using your settings menu. The steps may differ slightly depending on which version you use.

1. Go to Settings, then scroll to Apps.
2. Click on AVG antivirus.
3. Click on Uninstall. If you are prompted, click Deactivate and uninstall.
4. Click OK to confirm.

Alternatives to AVG antivirus

Although you decided to delete AVG, you may still be looking for other antivirus products to fill the gap in your device security. We recommend the following antivirus for a wide range of needs with consideration of budget, accessibility, and advanced security features.

Total AV is cost-effective and user-friendly. This award-winning software comes with antivirus essentials, including automatic antivirus and malware scanning, real-time protection, phishing protection, and more. 

McAfee offers reliable antivirus protection for families. You can install it on unlimited devices, including your children's devices, and it offers plenty of safety features for kids, like parental controls and identity theft protection. 

Norton provides a user-friendly experience with a clean layout and plenty of user guides that explain how to protect your computer. It also has bonus features, like a virtual private network (VPN) and dark web monitoring.

FAQs for disabling AVG antivirus

Bottom line

If you have AVG antivirus and need to turn it off, there are options for whichever platform you use. You can completely disable it or disable separate components and leave others running. It can be a bit overwhelming to disable the components if you’re on a Mac, as you have to toggle off each feature one at a time. That tedium may be a deal breaker for some people, so if you’re in that camp, be forewarned. 

Remember that disabling may be temporary, and AVG can reactivate once you reset your computer. To nix the coverage altogether, be sure to delete AVG. And as always, don't leave your devices unprotected. Consider top-tested antivirus alternatives to keep your computer clean.