Am I Secure? Windows Security Center says AVG is Turned Off

Your Windows Security Center reports that AVG is turned off even if AVG is running perfectly. The problem is common with free copies of AVG 8 on Windows, especially Vista. When you run an AVG scan, it runs normally, yet still you get the Security Center message.

There may be numerous reasons behind the problem. The following paragraphs discuss the causes and possible fixes for when your Windows Security Center incorrectly reports that AVG is turned off.

First, make sure that you have the most current updates installed. The Windows Security Center may be missing components that help it identify third-party antivirus and firewall software, and hence the message. Download the most recent updates and reboot. The Windows Security Center message should vanish.

If you are running Windows Vista, chances are your UAC settings are creating the problem. This sounds weird, but it is true. Open Control Panel and go to User Accounts to switch off UAC. After turning off UAC, close the Control Panel and run a good system cleaner. Open the Control Panel again and turn on the UAC. Reboot and you'll see the problem disappears. What happens is that when you turn off UAC, you remove some personalization. Once that personalization is gone, the problem- Windows Security Center reports AVG is turned off- is fixed.

One of the possible causes is a corrupt registry: an improper un-installation of the previous antivirus program you had. An improper uninstall may leave behind certain keys that clash with the new ones and thereby give an impression that there is no antivirus is installed. This also triggers the Windows Security Center message about AVG being turned off. If your previous antivirus was something other than AVG, check the Program Files folder to see if the folder for the previous antivirus is still present. If you upgraded or reinstalled AVG, I recommend a clean install again.

For a clean uninstall, remove AVG and delete all the leftover antivirus folders in your Program Files folder. Run a registry cleaner. There are many free yet good registry cleaners available on the Internet. Comodo and CCleaner are two best examples of such software. If you wish, you may backup the Windows registry before using your registry cleaner. After cleaning the registry and hard disk, reinstall AVG. This should solve the problem.

If a clean reinstall also does not solve the problem, check if the Windows Security Center is able to identify AVG security component. To do this, reboot in Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

To achieve this, press F8 as the computer is booting. You will be presented with Windows Boot Screen. Select Safe Mode with Command Prompt. Once you get to the command prompt, type WINMGMT /VERIFYREPOSITORY at the command prompt and hit Enter key. If it says INCONSISTENT, the security component of AVG is not recorded with Windows Security Center. Type WINMGMT /SALVAGEREPOSITARY and hit Enter. If you do not get any response, type WINMGMT /RESETREPOSITARY so that Windows Security Searches to find the AVG security handle. Reboot in either case. This should fix the issue.

If you are sure that your version of AVG is running fine and Windows Security Center falsely reports AVG is off, you can turn off the Security Center Notifications. Click on the alert to open Windows Security Center, click Recommendation and select "I have an antivirus that I will monitor." This will prevent Windows Security Center from displaying false reports about any antivirus.

I also recommend you replace AVG with Microsoft Security Essentials (everything you need to know about MSE), which is more effective that AVG. MSE is one of the best free antivirus programs. It includes Windows Defender meaning no more conflicts between AVG and Windows Defender. This is another, better alternative to stop Windows Security Center from reporting that AVG is OFF.

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