AVG Technologies provides free and paid anti-virus software to users. Many of their products come with an add-on called "AVG Secure Search" which replaces the toolbar in your Internet browser to vet your search results. This can also get installed when you install other software, such as the DivX video player. Unfortunately, AVG makes getting rid of this extension very difficult, as it embeds itself in your browsers. Luckily, with the right process you can eliminate it completely.
Uninstalling the Program
Open the Control Panel.
You’ll need to uninstall the AVG Secure Search software from Windows before you start removing it from your browsers. You should be able to uninstall it like you would most programs.
- You can open the Control Panel from the Start menu. If you’re using Windows 8, press and select “Control Panel.”
Click “Uninstall a program” or “Programs and Features.”
This will open a list of all of the programs installed on your computer. It may take a few moments for the list to load.
Find and “AVG Secure Search” in the list of programs.
It will usually be towards the top of the list.
Click the “Uninstall” button at the top of the list.
Follow the prompts to uninstall the AVG Secure Search program.
Cleaning Internet Explorer
Open Internet Explorer.
Even if you don’t use Internet Explorer on a regular basis, you’ll still want to reset it. This is because Internet Explorer is used for several Windows functions.
Click the Gear button or the Tools menu.
If you don’t see the menu bar, press Alt.
Select “Internet Options.”
This will open a new window with the Internet Explorer settings.
Click the “Advanced” tab and then click the “Reset” button.
This will start the browser reset process, which will remove any extensions (such as the AVG Secure Search).
Check the “Delete personal settings” box and then click “Reset.”
This will disable the AVG Secure Search extension, and reset your home page and search engine.
Cleaning Chrome
Open Google Chrome.
If you have Google Chrome, you’ll need to reset it as well. If you don’t have Chrome, move on to the next section.
Click the Chrome Menu button (☰) and select “Settings.”
This will open a new tab with your Chrome settings.
Click the “Show advanced settings” link at the bottom of the page.
This will expand the list to show more settings.
Scroll to the bottom and click “Reset settings.”
This will open a new window.
Click “Reset” to confirm that you want to reset your settings.
Your extensions will be disabled, and your home page will be reset. Your search engine settings will be returned to their default.
Cleaning Firefox
Open Firefox.
If you use Firefox, you’ll want to reset it to remove AVG Secure Search. If you don’t have Firefox, move on to the next section.
Click the Firefox Menu button (☰) and select “?.”
You can find this on the bottom of the menu.
Select “Troubleshooting information.”
This will open a new tab.
Click the “Refresh Firefox” button.
Click “Refresh Firefox” to confirm. This will remove all of your extensions, reset your home page, and return your search engine settings to default.
Navigate to “C:
Program FilesMozilla Firefoxbrowsercomponents” on your computer. This folder contains a JavaScript file that will keep AVG Secure Search installed in Firefox. Use an Explorer window to open this folder.
- If you are using a 64-bit system, the location may be “C:Program Files (x86)Mozilla Firefoxbrowsercomponents”.
Find and delete “avgMozXPCOM.js” from the folder.
This will remove the JavaScript file that keeps AVG Safe Search installed.
- This is essential if you want to completely remove Secure Search from Firefox.
Running AdwCleaner
Reset your other browsers.
If you use a different browser than the ones outlined above, perform a rest for that browser as well. The reset process for most browsers is usually similar to the reset processes described above.
Download the AdwCleaner tool.
This free tool scans for and removes malware on your computer. It can find and remove any lingering AVG Secure Search files.
- You can download AdwCleaner for free from here
Run the AdwCleaner program after downloading.
Make sure that all of your browser windows are closed before starting the scan.
Click the “Scan” button to start scanning your computer.
The scan will usually take about 15-20 minutes to complete.
Click the “Clean” button after the scan has finished.
AdwCleaner will remove all of the files that it found during the scan. Your computer will reboot during the cleaning process, so make sure you save any open documents.
- At this point, AVG Secure Search should be completely removed from your computer. Open a browser to test if the removal was successful.