Sensitive Data Shield - FAQs

What is Sensitive Data Shield?

Sensitive Data Shield is a feature in AVG Internet Security that scans and protects your personal sensitive documents against unauthorized access and malware. The files considered as sensitive contain your personal information which, if revealed, can compromise your privacy and identity. Sensitive Data Shield secures your private data by controlling which applications and users have access to your files.

How do I get Sensitive Data Shield?

Sensitive Data Shield is a paid feature included by default in the latest version of AVG Internet Security. To access the feature, click the Privacy tile on the main AVG Internet Security screen, then click Open above Sensitive Data Shield.

To activate and install the latest version of AVG Internet Security, refer to instructions in the following articles:

• Installing AVG Internet Security on Windows
• Activating AVG Internet Security on Windows

How do I start using Sensitive Data Shield?

1. Open the AVG Internet Security user interface and click the Privacy tile.
2. Click Open above Sensitive Data Shield.
3. Click Scan For Sensitive Documents to search for sensitive documents on your PC.
4. Ensure all documents you want to secure are ticked, then click Protect All or Protect Selected.

During a scan, Sensitive Data Shield checks your entire hard drive, including each page of every document, and looks for files that contain sensitive data. The duration of the scan depends on the number of files stored on your PC.

Which files does Sensitive Data Shield protect?

Sensitive Data Shield scans and protects documents that may contain your personal data. If malware or hackers attack your PC and gain access to these documents, your identity can be stolen and misused.

After scanning, Sensitive Data Shield displays an overview of sensitive documents that were found on your PC. Documents are sorted into several categories, such as:

• Tax documents
• Payroll documents
• Employment documents
• Plane tickets
• Travel documents
• Other sensitive documents

To open a document in any category, hover your cursor over the document's panel, then click the Open icon.

How can I manage Sensitive Data Shield settings?

1. Open the AVG Internet Security user interface and click the Privacy tile.
2. Click Settings (the gear icon) in the top-right corner.
3. Select Full Protection ▸ Sensitive Data Shield in the left panel.

On the Sensitive Data Shield Settings screen, the following options are available:

• Disable or enable Sensitive Data Shield: Click the slider at the top of the screen to enable or disable the feature.
• Block other user accounts on this PC from accessing protected documents (enabled by default): restricts guest users (secondary accounts logged in to your PC) from accessing documents secured by Sensitive Data Shield.
• View allowed / blocked apps: Click this option to open the Blocked & Allowed apps screen.

How can I manage applications that are blocked or allowed by Sensitive Data Shield?

Sensitive Data Shield blocks untrusted applications from accessing your sensitive documents and allows trusted applications by default. When an untrusted application attempts to access your sensitive documents, you receive a Sensitive Data Shield notification, asking you to block or allow the application. After selecting your preference, the application is added to the Blocked & Allowed apps screen. You can also manually add applications to the Blocked & Allowed apps screen to ensure they are always blocked or always allowed automatically by Sensitive Data Shield.

To open the Blocked & Allowed apps screen:

1. Open the AVG Internet Security user interface and go to Menu ▸ Settings.
2. Select General ▸ Blocked & Allowed apps in the left panel.

For detailed instructions to use the Blocked & Allowed apps screen, refer to the following article:

• Using the Blocked & Allowed apps settings screen in AVG Internet Security

Where can I find more information about using Sensitive Data Shield?

For more information about using Sensitive Data Shield, refer to the article below:

• Sensitive Data Shield - Getting Started