Here’s a quick tip on how to disable the real-time spyware monitoring feature in AVG Anti-Virus 8.0. This can be particularly useful if you’ve a separate antispyware utility already protecting you (like the default Windows Defender in Vista).

1.To check if AVG’s real-time spyware scanning is on, fire up Security Center from Control Panel (Vista only). You’ll probably see something like this under the Malware protection tab.

The Security Center feature of Windows XP doesn’t provide information on antispyware, so you’ll have to do a bit of poking around – like checking out the icons in your System Tray, or the Add / Remove Programs list in Control Panel – to ensure that you’ve another antispyware protecting you in the background.

2.If AVG Anti-Virus Free shows up under Spyware and other malware protection, double click on the AVG icon in the System Tray to open it. Go to Tools > Advanced settings…

3.Open the Resident Shield tab, and remove the checkmark next to Scan Potentially Unwanted Programs and Spyware threats.

4.Click Apply and then OK, and you’re done! To make sure, open Security Center and AVG Anti-Virus Free would’ve disappeared from the Spyware protection category.

You can make AVG to scan for spyware anytime again by simply re-enabling the option (which you disabled in step 3). Alternately, click on Show me the antispyware programs on this computer in Security Center, select AVG Anti-Virus Free from the list and click on Turn On…