In today’s digital world, real-time protection from antivirus software is essential for safeguarding your computer from evolving online threats like malware, ransomware, and viruses. AVG Antivirus is one of the most popular choices for protecting your system in real time. However, as effective as it is in offering security, AVG’s real-time protection can sometimes impact your system’s performance, especially if you’re using resource-intensive applications or gaming. In this guide, we’ll share practical tips to help you boost AVG’s real-time protection while maintaining your computer’s speed and performance.
1. Enable Gaming Mode to Reduce System Load
When you’re running high-demand applications like video games, video editing software, or even graphics-heavy browsing, AVG’s real-time protection can cause noticeable lag or frame rate drops. To prevent this, you can activate Gaming Mode on AVG.
Gaming Mode temporarily suspends non-essential processes, notifications, and pop-ups so that your computer can allocate more resources to running the game or application smoothly. This mode also prevents AVG from running scans during your gaming or work sessions, ensuring a smooth experience without sacrificing protection.
To enable Gaming Mode on AVG:
-
Open AVG Antivirus.
-
Navigate to Settings.
-
Look for the Game Mode option and turn it on.
You can also set it to automatically activate whenever you launch a game or high-performance application, minimizing the impact on your PC’s performance.
2. Exclude Trusted Files and Folders from Scans
AVG’s real-time protection scans every file that you interact with, including those you download and execute. While this is a good security measure, it can sometimes slow down your PC by scanning large, trusted files unnecessarily.
If you regularly use certain programs or files that you trust and know are safe, you can exclude them from AVG’s real-time scans. By doing this, AVG will not waste resources scanning files that are safe, which can significantly improve performance without sacrificing security.
Here’s how to exclude trusted files from AVG scans:
-
Open AVG Antivirus.
-
Go to Settings and find the Exceptions or Exclusions section.
-
Add the files or folders you want to exclude from real-time protection.
Be sure only to exclude files that you’re confident are safe, as excluding malicious files from scans can compromise your security.
3. Adjust the Sensitivity of Real-Time Protection
AVG’s real-time protection can be customized to suit your needs. By adjusting the sensitivity of its scanning features, you can reduce the workload on your system without sacrificing security.
Lowering the sensitivity of the real-time protection means AVG will be less aggressive in scanning every action on your system, thus reducing system lag. However, this may make the software less proactive in detecting potential threats.
To adjust the sensitivity of AVG’s real-time protection:
-
Open AVG Antivirus.
-
Navigate to Settings and select the Real-Time Protection tab.
-
Lower the sensitivity settings to a more moderate level. You can also fine-tune specific options such as File Shield and Web Shield to reduce their impact.
Adjusting these settings can make AVG lighter on your system while maintaining strong protection against threats.
4. Limit the Number of Background Processes
AVG runs several background processes to keep your system protected, including automatic scans, database updates, and virus definitions. While these are essential for security, they can impact your system’s speed if too many processes are running simultaneously.
You can manage AVG’s background processes by setting up schedules for automatic updates or scans and limiting processes that you don’t need running continuously.
To manage background processes in AVG:
-
Open AVG Antivirus and go to Settings.
-
Go to Performance settings and select the Background Scanning section.
-
Set the scans to occur at off-peak times (e.g., overnight or during work hours).
By limiting background processes, AVG can perform necessary updates and scans without bogging down your system during peak usage times.
5. Use a Solid-State Drive (SSD)
One hardware upgrade that can significantly improve your PC’s performance, especially with AVG running in the background, is switching to a Solid-State Drive (SSD). An SSD can speed up your PC’s boot time and make loading programs, including antivirus scans, much faster than a traditional hard drive (HDD).
With an SSD, AVG can perform scans and access files more quickly, reducing the time it takes to complete tasks while improving overall system performance.
If you haven’t already, consider upgrading your PC’s storage to an SSD for a noticeable performance boost.
6. Optimize Your Computer’s System Performance
To ensure AVG runs smoothly without consuming too many system resources, you can optimize your overall system performance. Here are a few general tips to improve system speed:
-
Close Unnecessary Programs: Keep only essential programs running, especially when playing games or using heavy applications.
-
Free Up Disk Space: Use built-in tools like Disk Cleanup to remove temporary files, system files, and caches that can slow down your PC.
-
Upgrade RAM: Increasing the amount of RAM in your system can provide more resources for AVG to run efficiently.
-
Update Software: Ensure that both AVG and your operating system are always updated to their latest versions to avoid performance bugs.
By following these tips, you can ensure your system is optimized for better performance, allowing AVG to run with minimal impact on speed.
7. Regularly Update AVG for Improved Performance
AVG frequently releases updates to improve the software’s functionality, security, and performance. By regularly updating to the latest version, you can ensure that AVG is running at its best and optimized for modern systems. Updates may also include performance improvements that reduce the software’s impact on your PC.
To update AVG:
-
Open AVG Antivirus.
-
Go to the Menu and click on Check for Updates.
-
If an update is available, follow the on-screen instructions to install it.
Conclusion
Enhancing AVG’s real-time protection doesn’t have to come at the cost of performance. By adjusting AVG’s settings, enabling Game Mode, excluding trusted files, and managing background processes, you can achieve a balance between top-tier security and a fast-performing PC. Remember to regularly update AVG and optimize your computer’s overall performance for the best results.
With these strategies, you’ll ensure that your computer stays protected from threats without compromising on speed and performance.
