August 21, 2014

How to remove 'Permanently shred with AVG' from your context menu

By Mike Lewis

If you have recently installed – or upgraded to – AVG 2014, you might have noticed a new item on context menus in Windows Explorer. The item reads 'Permanently shred with AVG', and it does what its name suggests: It completely destroys the file or folder you are pointing to, without any chance of recovery.

Now, it could be that you will find this feature useful. If you want to place some confidential information beyond the reach of the Recycle Bin or a file recovery tool, this is a good way of doing it. But if, like me, you are worried about accidentally shredding an important file, you might prefer to remove this menu option. Here's how to go about it.

First, log into your system as administrator. Then open a command prompt. If you don't have a shortcut or Start menu option for that, just type cmd in the Run dialog.

If you have a 32-bit system, type the following command at the prompt, then press Enter:

regsvr32 /U  "c:\Program Files\AVG\AVG2014\avgse.dll"

If yours is a 64-bit system, type the following command instead:

regsvr32 /U  "c:\Program Files (x86)\AVG\AVG2014\avgse.dll"

(In both the above commands, I'm assuming that AVG was installed in its default location. If you installed it somewhere else, substitute the appropriate path.)

If all goes well, you will see a message saying that the command succeeded. And that's all there is to it. You won't need to reboot your computer or re-load AVG. The change will take effect straight away.

What if I change my mind?

If you later decide you would like to keep the context menu item after all, the process is easily reversible. Simply repeat the steps shown above, but this time omit /U from the relevant command.

You won't need to reverse the process if you just have an occasional file or folder that you want to shred. There are several free utilities around that will do that job for you. Search your favorite software or download site to find one that meets your needs.

Side effect

Be aware that removing 'Permanently shred with AVG' also removes the 'Scan with AVG' item from the context menu. This command performs a virus scan on selected files or  folders on demand. Personally, I don't find the loss of this menu item a problem, as it's easy to do an on-demand scan from within the AVG user interface.

2 comments:

  1. I have followed the advice in this article, and it works. However, there is a small problem. Whenever AVG installs a new version of its executable, the "'Permanently shred" menu item will re-appear. I'm talking about a new or updated version of the program itself (which it does several times per year) - not the daily updates of the virus database.

    When this happens, it's easy enough to run the command again to get rid of the menu item. If you get bored with doing that, place the command in a batch file, and run it from a shortcut on your desktop or the Start menu.

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    Replies
    1. Connie, you are so right. In fact, the day you posted your comment, AVG was updated to version 2014.0.4765. Sure enough, the two menu commands came back.

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