Remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar (Virus Removal Guide)

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Written by: Stelian Pilici

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AVG SafeGuard Toolbar is a browser hijacker, which is promoted via other free downloads, and once installed it will add the AVG SafeGuard Toolbar, change your browser homepage to mysearch.avg.com, and set your default search engine to AVG Secure Search.
[Image: AVG SafeGuard Toolbar virus]
AVG SafeGuard Toolbar it’s technically not a virus, but it does exhibit plenty of malicious traits, such as rootkit capabilities to hook deep into the operating system, browser hijacking, and in general just interfering with the user experience. The industry generally refers to it as a “PUP,” or potentially unwanted program.

AVG SafeGuard Toolbar got on your computer after you have installed a freeware software (video recording/streaming, download-managers or PDF creators) that had bundled into their installation this browser hijacker. This browser hijacker is also bundled within the custom installer on many download sites (examples: CNET, Brothersoft or Softonic), so if you have downloaded a software from these websites, chances are that AVG SafeGuard Toolbar was installed during the software setup process.

For example, when you install VAFPlayer, you will also agree to change your browser homepage to mysearch.avg.com, set your default search engine to AVG Secure Search, and install the AVG SafeGuard Toolbar.
[Image: AVG SafeGuard Toolbar redirect]
However when you uninstall VAFPlayer from your computer, your web browser’s default settings will not be restored. This means that you’ll have to remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar and AVG Secure Search from your favorite web browser manually.

You should always pay attention when installing software because often, a software installer includes optional installs, such as this AVG SafeGuard Toolbar browser hijacker. Be very careful what you agree to install.
Always opt for the custom installation and deselect anything that is not familiar, especially optional software that you never wanted to download and install in the first place. It goes without saying that you should not install software that you don’t trust.

How to remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar redirect (Removal Guide)

This page is a comprehensive guide, which will remove “AVG SafeGuard Toolbar” virus from your computer and any other adware program that may have been installed during the setup process.
Please perform all the steps in the correct order. If you have any questions or doubt at any point, STOP and ask for our assistance.

If you are using an Apple Mac OS X operating system, please follow this Remove virus from Apple Mac OS X (Pop-up Ads and Adware) guide to remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar redirect

STEP 1: Uninstall AVG SafeGuard Toolbar from Windows
STEP 2: Remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar redirect with AdwCleaner
STEP 3: Remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar browser hijacker Junkware Removal Tool
STEP 4: Remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free
STEP 5: Double-check for the AVG SafeGuard Toolbar malware with HitmanPro
(Optional) STEP 6: Remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar from Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Firefox and Google Chrome

STEP 1 : Uninstall AVG SafeGuard Toolbar from Windows

In this first step, we will try to identify and remove any malicious program that might be installed on your computer.

  1. Go to the uninstall menu.

    Windows 10 or Windows 8

    1. To uninstall a program on Windows 10 or Windows 8, right-click on the Windows Start button and choose “Control Panel” from the pop-up menu.
      Control Panel in Windows 10
    2. When the “Control Panel” window opens click on the “Uninstall a program” option under “Programs” category.
      Uninstall A Program on Windows 10

    Windows 7 or Windows Vista

    1. If you are using Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7, click the “Start” button, then click on the “Control Panel” menu option.
      [Image: Control Panel in Windows Start Menu]
    2. When the “Control Panel” window opens click on the “Uninstall a program” option under “Programs” category.
      [Image: Uninstall a program]
  2. When the “Programs and Features” screen is displayed, scroll through the list of currently installed programs and uninstall “AVG SafeGuard Toolbar“.
    The malicious program may have a different name on your computer. To view the most recently installed programs, you can click on the “Installed On” column to sort your program by the installation date. Scroll through the list, and uninstall any unwanted or unknown programs.

    If you are having issues while trying to uninstall the AVG SafeGuard Toolbar program, you can use Revo Uninstaller to completely remove this unwanted program from your machine.

    [Image: Uninstall the AVG SafeGuard Toolbar program]

    If you cannot find any unwanted or unknown programs on your machine, then you can proceed with the next step.

STEP 2: Remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar redirect with AdwCleaner

The AdwCleaner utility will scan your computer and web browser for the adware and unwanted browser extensions, that may have been installed on your computer without your knowledge.

  1. You can download AdwCleaner from the below link.
    ADWCLEANER DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “AdwCleaner”)
  2. Before starting AdwCleaner, close your web browser, then double-click on the AdwCleaner icon.
    Start AdwCleaner
    Picture of User Account Control If Windows prompts you as to whether or not you wish to run AdwCleaner, please allow it to run.
  3. When the AdwCleaner program will open, click on the “Scan” button as shown below.
    AdwCleaner Scan button
    AdwCleaner will now start to search for adware and other malicious files that may be installed on your computer.
  4. To remove the malicious files that were detected in the previous step, please click on the “Cleaning” button.
    Remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar adware with AdwCleaner
  5. AdwCleaner will prompt you to save any open files or documents, as the program will need to reboot the computer to complete the cleaning process. Please do so, and then click on the “OK” button.
    AdwCleaner removing adware
    When your computer reboots and you are logged in, AdwCleaner will automatically open a log file that contains the files, registry keys, and programs that were removed from your computer.

STEP 3: Remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar browser hijacker Junkware Removal Tool

Junkware Removal Tool is a powerful utility from Malwarebytes, which will remove browser hijackers from Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Firefox and Google Chrome.

  1. You can download Junkware Removal Tool from the below link:
    JUNKWARE REMOVAL TOOL DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will automatically download the Junkware Removal Tool utility on your computer)
  2. When Junkware Removal Tool has finished downloading, please double-click on the JRT icon as seen below.
    Run a scan with Junkware Removal Tool
    Picture of User Account Control If Windows prompts you as to whether or not you wish to run Junkware Removal Tool, please allow it to run.
  3. Junkware Removal Tool will now start (as seen in the below image), and at the Command Prompt, you’ll need to press any key to perform a system scan.
    Junkware Removal Tool start scan
    The program will now start to search for known adware, PUPs, and junkware programs that may be installed on your computer. This process may take upwards to 10 minutes while it creates a registry backup and checks your startups, installed modules, processes, services, files, folders, and the Windows Registry.
    Junkware Removal Tool scan
  4. When the Junkware Removal Tool cleaning process will be completed, this utility will display a log with the malicious files and registry keys that were removed from your computer.
    Junkware Removal Tool Report

STEP 4: Remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar with Malwarebytes Anti-Malware

Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free uses industry-leading technology to detect and remove all traces of malware, including worms, Trojans, rootkits, rogues, dialers, spyware, and more.
It is important to note that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware works well and should run alongside antivirus software without conflicts.

  1. You can download download Malwarebytes Anti-Malware from the below link.
    MALWAREBYTES ANTI-MALWARE DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Free”)
  2. Once downloaded, close all programs, then double-click on the icon on your desktop named “mbam-setup” to start the installation of Malwarebytes Anti-Malware.
    Start Malwarebytes Anti-Malware setup
    Picture of User Account Control You may be presented with a User Account Control dialog asking you if you want to run this file. If this happens, you should click “Yes” to continue with the installation.
  3. When the installation begins, you will see the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Setup Wizard which will guide you through the installation process.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Installer
    To install Malwarebytes Anti-Malware on your machine, keep following the prompts by clicking the “Next” button.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware final screen
  4. Once installed, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will automatically start and you will see a message stating that you should update the program, and that a scan has never been run on your system. To start a system scan you can click on the “Scan Now” button.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Scan Now
  5. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now start scanning your computer for malware. When Malwarebytes Anti-Malware is scanning it will look like the image below.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware Scanning for Malware
  6. When the scan has completed, you will be presented with a screen showing the malware infections that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware has detected. To remove the malicious programs that Malwarebytes Anti-malware has found, click on the “Remove Selected” button.
    Remove the malware that Malwarebytes Anti-Malware has detected
    Please note that the infections found may be different than what is shown in the image.
  7. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware will now quarantine all the malicious files and registry keys that it has found. When removing the files, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware may require a reboot in order to remove some of them. If it displays a message stating that it needs to reboot your computer, please allow it to do so.
    Malwarebytes Anti-Malware asking to restart PC
    After your computer will restart, you should open Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and perform another “Threat Scan” scan to verify that there are no remaining threats

STEP 5: Double-check for the AVG SafeGuard Toolbar malware with HitmanPro

HitmanPro is a second opinion scanner, designed to rescue your computer from malware (viruses, trojans, rootkits, etc.) that have infected your computer despite all the security measures you have taken (such as anti-virus software, firewalls, etc.). HitmanPro is designed to work alongside existing security programs without any conflicts. It scans the computer quickly (less than 5 minutes) and does not slow down the computer.

  1. You can download HitmanPro from the below link:
    HITMANPRO DOWNLOAD LINK (This link will open a new web page from where you can download “HitmanPro”)
  2. Double-click on the file named “HitmanPro.exe” (for 32-bit versions of Windows) or “HitmanPro_x64.exe” (for 64-bit versions of Windows). When the program starts you will be presented with the start screen as shown below.
    HitmanPro Installer
    Click on the “Next” button, to install HitmanPro on your computer.
    itmanPro while installing on PC
  3. HitmanPro will now begin to scan your computer for malicious files.
    HitmanPro scanning
  4. When it has finished it will display a list of all the malware that the program found as shown in the image below. Click on the “Next” button, to remove malware.
    HitmanPro detected malware
  5. Click on the “Activate free license” button to begin the free 30 days trial, and remove all the malicious files from your computer.
    Remove malware with HitmanPro

(Optional) STEP 6: Remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar from Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Firefox and Google Chrome

If you are still experiencing issues with the AVG SafeGuard Toolbar browser hijacker in Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome, we will need to reset your browser to its default settings. This step needs to be performed only if your issues have not been solved by the previous steps.

Reset Internet Explorer

You can reset Internet Explorer settings to return them to the state they were in when Internet Explorer was first installed on your PC.

  1. Open Internet Explorer, click on the “gear icon” IE Icon Gear in the upper right part of your browser, then click again on Internet Options.
    [Image: Internet Options in Internet Explorer]
  2. In the “Internet Options” dialog box, click on the “Advanced” tab, then click on the “Reset” button.
    [Image: Reset Internet Explorer]
  3. In the “Reset Internet Explorer settings” section, select the “Delete personal settings” check box, then click on “Reset” button.
    [Image: Reset Internet Explorer to its default settings]
  4. When Internet Explorer has completed its task, click on the “Close” button in the confirmation dialogue box. You will now  need to close your browser, and then you can open Internet Explorer again.
    [Image Reset Internet Explorer settings]

Reset Firefox

If you’re having problems with Firefox, resetting it can help. The reset feature fixes many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your essential information like bookmarks, passwords, web form auto-fill information, browsing history and open tabs.

  1. In the upper-right corner of the Firefox window, click the Firefox menu button ([Image: Firefox Menu button]), then click on the “Help” ([Image: Firefox Help button]) button.
    Firefox Help button
  2. From the Help menu, choose Troubleshooting Information.
    If you’re unable to access the Help menu, type about:support in your address bar to bring up the Troubleshooting information page.
    Troubleshooting Information in Firefox
  3. Click the “Refresh Firefox” button in the upper-right corner of the “Troubleshooting Information” page.
    Refresh Firefox button
  4. To continue, click on the “Refresh Firefox” button in the new confirmation window that opens.
    Reset Firefox settings to default
  5. Firefox will close itself and will revert to its default settings. When it’s done, a window will list the information that was imported. Click on the “Finish“.

Note: Your old Firefox profile will be placed on your desktop in a folder named “Old Firefox Data“. If the reset didn’t fix your problem you can restore some of the information not saved by copying files to the new profile that was created. If you don’t need this folder any longer, you should delete it as it contains sensitive information.

Reset Google Chrome

  1. Remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar extensions from Google Chrome.
    Click the Chrome menu Chrome menu  button on the browser toolbar, select Tools and then click on Extensions.
    Google Chrome Extensions
    In the Extensions tab, remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar and any other unknown extensions by clicking the trash can [Image: Remove an extension from Chrome] icon.
    Basically, if you have not installed an extension, you should remove it from your web browser.
    [Image: AVG SafeGuard Toolbar Chrome extension]
  2. Set Google Chrome default search engine from AVG Secure Search to Google.
    Click the Chrome menu Chrome menu  button, then select Settings and click on Manage search engines in the Search section.
    In the Search Engines dialog that appears, select Google and click the Make Default button that appears in the row.
    [Image: AVG SafeGuard Toolbar Chrome redirect]
    Search for AVG Secure Search (mysearch.avg.com) in the Search Engines list, and click the X button that appears at the end of the row.
    [Image: AVG SafeGuard Toolbar Chrome removal]
  3. Change Google Chrome homepage from mysearch.avg.com to its default.
    AVG has modified your Google Chrome settings to open their webpage whenever you start your browser, so we will need to revert this change.
    Click the Chrome menu Chrome menu  button, then select Settings and click on One the New Tab page in the On Startup section.
    [Image: Change Google Chrome homepage to its default]

Reset Microsoft Edge

  1. In the upper-right corner of the Microsoft Edge window, click the “More actions” icon (three dots), then click on the “Settings” option.
    Microsoft Edge Settings
  2. Under the section labeled “Open With“, select the option “Start page“.
    Microosft Edge start page
Your computer should now be free of the AVG SafeGuard Toolbar browser hijacker.
If you are still experiencing problems while trying to remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar redirect from your machine, please do one of the following:

How to Stay Safe Online

Here are 10 basic security tips to help you avoid malware and protect your device:

  1. Use a good antivirus and keep it up-to-date.

    Shield Guide

    It's essential to use a good quality antivirus and keep it up-to-date to stay ahead of the latest cyber threats. We are huge fans of Malwarebytes Premium and use it on all of our devices, including Windows and Mac computers as well as our mobile devices. Malwarebytes sits beside your traditional antivirus, filling in any gaps in its defenses, and providing extra protection against sneakier security threats.

  2. Keep software and operating systems up-to-date.

    updates-guide

    Keep your operating system and apps up to date. Whenever an update is released for your device, download and install it right away. These updates often include security fixes, vulnerability patches, and other necessary maintenance.

  3. Be careful when installing programs and apps.

    install guide

    Pay close attention to installation screens and license agreements when installing software. Custom or advanced installation options will often disclose any third-party software that is also being installed. Take great care in every stage of the process and make sure you know what it is you're agreeing to before you click "Next."

  4. Install an ad blocker.

    Ad Blocker

    Use a browser-based content blocker, like AdGuard. Content blockers help stop malicious ads, Trojans, phishing, and other undesirable content that an antivirus product alone may not stop.

  5. Be careful what you download.

    Trojan Horse

    A top goal of cybercriminals is to trick you into downloading malware—programs or apps that carry malware or try to steal information. This malware can be disguised as an app: anything from a popular game to something that checks traffic or the weather.

  6. Be alert for people trying to trick you.

    warning sign

    Whether it's your email, phone, messenger, or other applications, always be alert and on guard for someone trying to trick you into clicking on links or replying to messages. Remember that it's easy to spoof phone numbers, so a familiar name or number doesn't make messages more trustworthy.

  7. Back up your data.

    backup sign

    Back up your data frequently and check that your backup data can be restored. You can do this manually on an external HDD/USB stick, or automatically using backup software. This is also the best way to counter ransomware. Never connect the backup drive to a computer if you suspect that the computer is infected with malware.

  8. Choose strong passwords.

    lock sign

    Use strong and unique passwords for each of your accounts. Avoid using personal information or easily guessable words in your passwords. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on your accounts whenever possible.

  9. Be careful where you click.

    cursor sign

    Be cautious when clicking on links or downloading attachments from unknown sources. These could potentially contain malware or phishing scams.

  10. Don't use pirated software.

    Shady Guide

    Avoid using Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file-sharing programs, keygens, cracks, and other pirated software that can often compromise your data, privacy, or both.

To avoid potential dangers on the internet, it's important to follow these 10 basic safety rules. By doing so, you can protect yourself from many of the unpleasant surprises that can arise when using the web.

7 thoughts on “Remove AVG SafeGuard Toolbar (Virus Removal Guide)”

  2. I was having problems with my internet connection since I upgraded AVG from version 8.5 to 2012… by problem, I mean that I could access few websites (facebook, electric company website…) but some other gave me errors, like google, youtube, random sites (90% werent loading and some were barely loaded) Anyway, I turned down AVG’s firewall and it worked. The day after I had an error for a malware called best mark-it158.exe. Thought it was the one who was messing with the firewall so I went in safe mode to clean it and thought I got rid of everything (basically clearing the program file folder… noob i know) and then restarted windows 7. The problem came back so I upgraded AVG again to 2014 in case it was a conflict problem. Nothing worked… ran anti-malware, avg itself and microsoft security thingy. Chose to uninstall AVG because nothing was working. Tried a bunch of stuff like going in the network setups and unchecking the avg filter (which wasnt there). Finally found this post… WORKED LIKE A CHARM. Thanks a lot, I feel cleansed. Donated you deserve it!

  4. This totally worked for me, and got rid of some of the nasties I didn’t know I had. Good stuff.

  6. This worked for me your Awesome! been trying to uninstall AVG Malware for months now was unsuccessful. Thank you!

  7. For anyone else having this problem or one similar (Delta-search) this guide actually does work. All the programs are tested and they do remove the software. Thanks!!!!

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