AVG TuneUp - FAQs

General

What is AVG TuneUp?

AVG TuneUp is an optimization tool that includes a range of scans that are designed to detect unnecessary items and performance issues, helping to free up disk space and improve the speed of your system.

How will AVG TuneUp improve the performance of my device?

With frequent use, the reliability and performance of your PC begins to decline. You may notice the following issues:

• Applications that run very slowly, crash, or freeze.
• A lack of disk space.
• Pop-ups from 'bloatware' applications.
• Problems while starting your PC.

When you use AVG TuneUp to scan for and resolve issues on your PC, you may improve the speed of your PC, clear disk space, eliminate unwanted applications, and fix corrupted internal and external drives.

Download and Installation

How can I download and install AVG TuneUp?

For detailed installation and activation instructions, refer to the following articles:

• Installing AVG TuneUp
• Activating AVG TuneUp

What are the system requirements for AVG TuneUp?

Is there a free-trial version of AVG TuneUp available?

Yes. After installing AVG TuneUp, you have free access to all features and functions for a limited time period. A payment method is required to sign up for a free trial. When the trial ends, your paid subscription starts, unless canceled before.

Can I use AVG TuneUp without installing AVG AntiVirus?

Yes. AVG TuneUp can be installed as a standalone application without AVG AntiVirus or AVG Internet Security installed on your PC.

Subscription and Activation

How do I activate AVG TuneUp?

AVG TuneUp is a paid app that requires a subscription to use. After installing AVG TuneUp, you may need to manually activate it using one of the methods below:

• AVG Account: Activate AVG TuneUp by signing in to the application with the AVG Account that contains your AVG TuneUp subscription. Click Menu ▸ Sign in.
• Activation code: Activate AVG TuneUp using the activation code from your order confirmation email. Click Menu ▸ Enter activation code.

For detailed activation instructions, refer to the following article:

• Activating AVG TuneUp

How do I know when my subscription expires?

Open AVG TuneUp and go to Menu ▸ My subscriptions. The subscription duration and expiration date are listed under My subscriptions.

Can I use my AVG TuneUp subscription on multiple devices?

You can activate AVG TuneUp simultaneously on the number of devices you specified during purchase. You can verify the number of devices in your order confirmation email, or via the AVG Account that contains your AVG TuneUp subscription.

If you have reached the device limit for your purchased subscription, you can start using AVG TuneUp on a new device by following the steps below:

1. Uninstall AVG TuneUp from one of your current devices.
2. Install AVG TuneUp on the new device.
3. Activate AVG TuneUp on the new device.

Features

How do I use AVG TuneUp?

For detailed instructions on how to start using AVG TuneUp, refer to the following article:

• AVG TuneUp - Getting Started

What is a Maintenance scan?

The Maintenance scan performs a comprehensive check of your system that helps detect broken or redundant items and tracking data.

It detects and resolves the following issues:

• Broken registry items: Links in your system registry that may be outdated or broken.
• Broken shortcuts: Invalid shortcuts leading to non-existent files or applications.
• System junk: Unnecessary files (such as driver packages, temporary files, and log files) that occupy a lot of space and slow down your system.
• Browser cache: A temporary storage location on your computer that holds downloaded files (for example, picture files stored from websites).
• Tracking & other cookies: Data files that record information about the websites you visit.
• Browsing & download history: The history of visited websites and downloaded files from your browser (this option only removes the list of files and does not delete any files stored on your PC).

To launch a Maintenance scan, open AVG TuneUp and click Details in the Maintain tile.

What is Speed up?

The Speed up feature scans your PC for the following issues:

• Background & startup programs: Programs on your PC that are installed with background processes that continue to run even when the program is closed. AVG TuneUp allows you to put any identified programs to sleep to free up your device memory for other tasks.
  
  On devices with Windows 10 and higher, the Background & startup programs feature supports applications installed through the Microsoft Store. The relevant applications are installed in a Sleep state by default. You can wake the applications in the Background & startup programs screen.
• Unnecessary programs: Nonessential, programs you have not used in a while, or poorly rated programs that may have a negative impact on your PC performance. For each identified program, the following options are available:
  • Move to trash: Removes the program from your PC, but allows you to easily restore the program later if necessary.
  • Uninstall: Completely removes the program from your PC.
  • Ignore: Mark the program as safe and allow it to continue working as before.

To use Speed up, open AVG TuneUp and click the Speed up tile.

What is Free up Space?

The Free up space feature scans for and allows you to safely delete files that may be using a large amount of disk space on your PC. You can review and clean the following categories:

• System junk: Leftover files created by the system, programs, or installers, such as temporary, log, and cached files.
• Browser data: Leftover files and tracking data, such as browser cache, cookies, and history stored on your PC while you browse the web.

To use Free up space, open AVG TuneUp and click Details in the Free up space tile.

What is Fix problems?

The Fix problems feature checks for a variety of problems that may impact the performance and security of your PC. AVG TuneUp may detect the following issue types during a Fix problems scan:

• Unusual system settings: Settings configurations that may affect the reliability of your PC's behavior.
• Outdated programs: Commonly used software on your PC that is out-of-date. Refer to this article for more information about Outdated programs.
• Disk errors: Corrupted files on your internal and external drives. Refer to this article for more information about Disk Doctor.
• Disk fragmentation: Data fragments that are stored separately on the hard disk drive. Refer to this article for more information about Disk defrag and optimization.

To use Fix Problems, open AVG TuneUp and click Details in the Fix problems tile.

What is Disk Doctor?

The Disk Doctor feature scans your internal drives for disk errors caused by corrupted files, then offers to repair any found issues. If left unrepaired, corrupted files can cause crashes, unexpected behavior, problems starting your PC, and the loss of personal data.

To check if a scan is recommended, click All functions (the grid icon) ▸ Open Disk Doctor. Disk Doctor lists any drives that it is recommended to scan. The following options are available for each listed drive:

• Scan now: Scans the relevant drive to check for issues.
• Ignore: Removes the drive from the list of drives to scan. To scan this drive later, click disks ignored ▸ Stop ignoring at the bottom of the Disk Doctor screen.
• Details: View additional information about the relevant drive.

What is Outdated programs?

The Outdated programs feature keeps commonly used third-party software updated to eliminate potential security risks and improve the overall performance of your system. To specify how AVG TuneUp responds when it detects an outdated program on your PC, go to Menu ▸ Settings ▸ Programs ▸ Outdated Programs. The following options are available:

• Update automatically: Checks for, downloads, and installs updates automatically. No action is required from you.
• Download only: Automatically checks for and downloads available updates, but you need to install them manually.
• Just notify me: Checks for available updates, but you need to download and install them manually.

If you don't enable Automatic updates, you can manage the download and installation of updates by clicking All functions (the grid icon) ▸ Show outdated programs.

What is Disk defrag and optimization?

Fragmentation occurs when fragments of the same file are stored separately on the hard disk drive. This can slow down your system, as fragmented files take longer to retrieve and access. The Disk defrag and optimization feature helps improve performance and storage efficiency by re-organizing your hard disk drive to ensure that fragments of the same file are stored together.

Defragging is only recommended if you have an HDD (Hard Disk Drive). If you have a SSD (Solid State Drive), defragging is not necessary or beneficial. AVG TuneUp automatically detects your drive type and only offers to defrag HDDs.

To check if Disk defragging is recommended, go to All functions (the grid icon) ▸ Defragment or optimize disks.

How does AVG TuneUp determine the ratings for Unnecessary programs?

During a Speed up scan, AVG TuneUp scans for unnecessary programs installed on your PC. Click Unnecessary programs after the scan completes to view a list of programs and their ratings (out of five stars). To determine a program's rating, AVG TuneUp uses a cloud-based rating system based on known blocked and allowed lists, heuristic algorithms, AVG's Recommendation Engine, and user ratings. This makes it easier for you to determine which programs you want to keep and which programs you want to remove.

Settings

How do I adjust AVG TuneUp settings?

Open AVG TuneUp and go to Menu ▸ Settings. From the Settings screen, you can perform the following actions:

General:

• Language: Change the language of the user interface.
• Notifications: Select which notifications you receive from AVG TuneUp.
• Personal privacy: Manage which app-usage data you want to share.
• History: Specify which actions can be reversed via the History tab, and decide after how long backups are deleted.
• Troubleshooting: Tick the box next to Enable debug logging if requested by AVG Support to troubleshoot issues with the application. You can also specify if you want to automatically send data to the TuneUp team about unexpected crashes.
• Browser data: Specify for how long AVG TuneUp keeps the cookies and browsing history in your web browsers before offering to remove these items during a Free up space scan. You can also add allowed websites that are always exempt when AVG TuneUp clears cookies and other browsing data.
• Developer settings: Configure advanced settings that control how AVG TuneUp behaves when the application is closed. Disabling these settings may prevent AVG TuneUp from working properly.
• Update TuneUp: View your app version number and choose how you want to get app updates.

Automatic Maintenance:

• Enable or disable this feature, specify the frequency of automatic cleaning, and choose which items AVG TuneUp can delete during Automatic Maintenance.

Programs:

• Unnecessary programs: Specify when the applications are labeled as unnecessary and how long they stay in trash before they are auto-uninstalled.
• Outdated programs: Choose between AVG TuneUp automatically updating your apps, downloading the updates for you to install manually, or just notifying you when an application is outdated.

Can I schedule AVG TuneUp to run automatically?

Yes, you can configure AVG TuneUp to perform Maintenance scans automatically. When enabled, Automatic Maintenance doesn't require any action from you, and runs silently in the background to free up space on your PC by removing dispensable items, such as broken shortcuts and registry items.

To enable Automatic Maintenance, go to Menu ▸ Settings ▸ Automatic Maintenance and click the gray (OFF) slider so that it changes to green (ON). The Automatic Maintenance settings screen also allows you to manually select which items AVG TuneUp deletes during Automatic Maintenance.

Can I review found issues before AVG TuneUp optimizes my device?

Yes. When AVG TuneUp completes a scan, you can review and manage any found issues.

When Automatic Maintenance is enabled, you can select which items AVG TuneUp has permission to automatically remove by clicking Menu ▸ Settings ▸ Automatic Maintenance. Click the arrow next to a category to view its individual items, then manually de-select any items you don't want to be deleted automatically.

How can I control which data I share with AVG and third parties?

To change your personal privacy settings, follow these steps:

1. Open AVG TuneUp and go to Menu ▸ Settings.
2. Select General ▸ Personal privacy in the left panel.
3. Tick or untick the boxes next to the privacy settings according to your preferences.

What does AVG TuneUp do with my encrypted files?

AVG TuneUp ignores encrypted partitions and files to ensure your privacy and security. If your entire hard drive is encrypted, AVG TuneUp cannot scan and optimize your system.

Troubleshooting

How can I uninstall AVG TuneUp?

For detailed uninstallation instructions, refer to the following article:

• Uninstalling AVG TuneUp

Can I undo changes made by AVG TuneUp?

Yes. If you want to reverse certain changes that AVG TuneUp has made to your PC, you can undo them in History. Click the History tab on the right side of the AVG TuneUp screen to view a list of actions, then click Undo next to any changes you want to reverse.

How can I report a problem or suspected bug?

If AVG TuneUp produces unexpected results or error messages, report the issue to AVG Support by submitting a ticket.

Send a detailed description of how to reproduce the error and include the following information:

• Your version of Windows and your PC's brand, model, and graphics card.
• A detailed description of the problem and the sequence of actions leading up to the issue.
• Any error messages displayed.
• Any differences on your PC following the issue.

How do I report a falsely identified junk file or program that AVG TuneUp removed from my system?

If AVG TuneUp disables or removes a file or an application that you wanted to keep, report the issue to AVG Support. Include the exact file or application name, all relevant details, and the undesired result.

What can I do if I see the error message 'Well, this is embarrassing'?

For detailed troubleshooting steps, refer to the following article:

• Troubleshooting when AVG AntiVirus or AVG TuneUp fails to load